Life on Both Sides of the Border: Translation of Aurelia and Madreselvas en flor

FAIN: HR-50087-04

Beth Pollack
New Mexico State University (Las Cruces, NM 88003-8002)

During the term of the fellowship, I propose to translate into English two books, Madreselvas en flor (1984), and Aurelia (1990), by Chicano/Northern Mexican author Ricardo Aguilar-Melantzón. Madreselvas en flor won Mexico's José Fuentes Mares National Prize for Literature. These are two of the three works in Aguilar-Melantzón's trilogy of life on both sides of the US-Mexican border. In late 2003/early 2004, Editorial Eon in Mexico City will publish the trilogy in one volume. I have already translated and published the third book in the trilogy A barlovento/Windward. Therefore, with an upcoming sabbatical, I feel that it is an appropriate time to translate the other two parts of the trilogy and to publish it in English. Both Madreselvas en flor and Aurelia contain stories rich in the life experiences of a Chicano/border dweller presented in fragmented and regional Spanish.