AND NOW, A RESPITE FROM PEDESTRIAN POLITICS, LITERATURE

"And they went out in certain seasons to hunt enemies; they called it ‘la guerra florida.’"
  Julio Cortazar, The Night Face Up."

By Juan Montoya

It has been said elsewhere that when the Aztec emperor walked the causeways of Tenochtitlan, maidens would run before him throwing flower petals before his feet.

Now, we don't know whether this account, probably by one of the Spanish conquistadors, is really true, but given the splendor of that empire, it has the ring of truth.

Just the other day I was walking past St. Thomas Church on Jefferson Street, and the sidewalk there is literally bordered by oleander bushes twice the size of a man. All down the sidewalk, the oleander petals literally blanketed the walk. That set me thinking about one of the best short stories I have read about the Aztec emperors and the guerra florida, a ritual capturing of rival indians by the Aztecs for ritual sacrifice called the Guerra de las Flores. 

That short story is La Noche Boca Arriba (The Night Face Up)by Julio Cortazar, the Belgium-born Argentinian whose mastery in mixing the past and the future in one story is  legendary. He is best known for the novel Rayuela and several collection of short stories, among them "Blow Up," a story set to film by Michelangelo Antonioni.

As I walked by St. Thomas, there were three ladies gabbing away at the gate of one of the houses and I remarked that the strewn petals of the oleanders reminded me of the Aztec narrative.

"Mira," said one to the others pointing to me and laughing, "Ay va el emperador."

Nonetheless, the abundance of petals on the sidewalks reminded me of Cortazar's short story and without spoiling it for anyone, I invite you to read it by clicking on the link below. I highly recommend it.

It starts in modern-day Buenos Aires (where Cortazar's parents moved after leaving Europe) where a student in a scooter is zooming in heavy traffic and then weaves its magic to Central Mexico where an indian is dodging his Aztec pursuers who want sacrificial victims for their rituals atop a pyramid.

The ending is classic Cortazar. You'll enjoy it.


https://www.colorado.edu/studentgroups/shortfiction/NightFaceUp.pdf