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B
y G a b r i e l T r u j i l l o
M u ñ o z
Do Not Destroy What
Life Gives You
Today,
science fiction is still seen as an anomaly in Mexican
literature. But since the 1960s, in Mexico and the
rest of Latin America, this genre of fiction has taken
new routes. Social criticism, the libertarian spirit,
stylistic experimentation, the search for subtler
themes, have turned into the paradigms of the future
envisioned by young writers.
Among the landscapes of tomorrow, ecology - with its
warnings about nature besieged by technology and the
merciless exploitation of its resources - has taken
center stage in the texts of several Mexican science
fiction writers.
For example, in a classic science fiction story, ''Arbol
de vida'' (Tree of Life, 1981), Edmundo Domínguez
Aragonés depicts a land so polluted that only one
tree survives, in a type of greenhouse - the last
tree on the planet. It is but a reminder of all that
has been lost to human destruction. ''Arbol de vida,''
however, is not a pessimistic vision. The author portrays,
from the perspective of a child, the pilgrimage of
a family in the future to contemplate the wonder of
the last living tree. The tale is a travel diary and
the foundation is the promise of greenness the tree
holds for the family under the broad reach of its
foliage.
In ''Los herederos de Scammon'' (The Heirs of Scammon,
1982), by Arturo Casillas, the ecological theme moves
to another species facing extinction: the whales that
travel the Pacific to mate in Ojo de Liebre bay, located
on the Mexican peninsula of Baja California. Casillas
puts his main character, Jorge Isaac, in direct contact
with the whales, which, in the realm of science fiction,
are sentient beings seeking to communicate with humanity
by telepathic means to make us realize that we must
respect them instead of hunting them and imprisoning
them in aquariums.
In works such as ''Cristóbal nonato'' (Christopher
Unborn, 1987), by Carlos Fuentes, ''La destrucción
de todas las cosas'' (The Destruction of All Things,
1992), by Hugo Hiriart, ''Tiempo lunar'' (Moon Time,
1993), by Mauricio Molina, or ''La leyenda de los
soles'' (The Legend of the Suns, 1993), by Homero
Aridjis, Mexican authors show evident concern about
a future in which it will be impossible to halt the
deterioration of our seas and lands. We destroy ourselves,
paraphrasing Mexican writer Rosario Castellanos, ''killing
not only what we love but also all that gives us life.''
The warning in these novels is not for our successors,
their message makes it incumbent upon us to act here
and now. The prevention of future disasters, they
are telling us, is in our hands.
* Excerpt of an article for Tierramérica by Mexican
writer Gabriel Trujillo.
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