The memoirs of Fray Servando Teresa de Mier

Enciclopedia de la Literatura en México

On December 12, 1974, Fray Servando preached a sermin in Mexico City caliming that the Indies had been converted by St. Thomas long before the Spaniards arrived. Because the Spaniards cited the "conversion of the heathen" as the justification of their conquest of the New World, Servando's words were deemed subversive. As a result he was arrested by the Inquisition and exiled to Spain only to escape and spend 10 years traveling throughout Europe. as none other than a French priest. So began the grand adventure of Fray Servando's life, and of this gripping memoir. Here is an invitation hard for any reader to resist: a glimpse the European "Age of Enlightment" through the eyes of a fugitive Mexican friar. Fray Servandos account of Europe is clear-sightes, hilarious -and certainly not included in the travel luiterature of that era. In this memoir, one sees a portrait of manners and morals that is a far cry from the "civilized" spirit that the Empire wanted to impose on its Colonies. This book takes a look at history from an upside-down perspective, asking this question: who where the real savages, the colonizers themselves, or the supposed "savages" they were struggling to convert? Heretic and rebel, fugitive and visionary, character in a noverl and father of his country -Fray Servando Teresa de Mier was all of these things. This memoir truly captures the passionate spirit of a fantastic man.

* Esta contraportada corresponde a la edición de 1998. La Enciclopedia de la literatura en México no se hace responsable de los contenidos y puntos de vista vertidos en ella.

Enciclopedia de la Literatura en México

BIBLIOGRAFÍA RELACIONADA