Lucia Zarate: The Odyssey of the World's Smallest Woman
Cecelia Velastegui, 2017
Libros Publishing
278 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780990671381
Summary
In this thrilling new historical novel, award-winning author Cecilia Velástegui again demonstrates her talent for creating spellbinding and haunting period pieces.
Lucia Zárate is based on the poignant, real-life odyssey of the world’s smallest woman. Pretty and gregarious, Lucia Zárate was just twenty inches tall. After her "display" at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition, Lucia’s extraordinary, heartbreaking story is one of exploitation by greedy sideshow hucksters and a fishbowl existence on the road, from New York to Victorian London.
Snatched away from her parents at the age of twelve from Veracruz, Mexico, minuscule Lucia Zárate began her life’s arduous journey among Frank Uffner’s traveling troupe, in the care of an interpreter and protector. Despite Velástegui’s rigorous and extensive research, the name of Lucia’s interpreter has disappeared with the dust of time. Nonetheless, Velástegui masterfully creates Zoila, Lucia’s companion, as a character of depth and emotion.
Zoila is a woman who’s felt the sting of exploitation and exile at the hands of powerful vanilla growers in Mexico: her linguistic talents, wily temperament and compassion help her protect Lucia at all costs. She foils kidnapping attempts, teaches Lucia how to hold her own among European royalty, and facilitates a budding romance between Lucia and General Mite, a member of the traveling troupe of little people.
We follow the adventures of diminutive Lucia Zárate and the devoted Zoila as they grapple with life and death, finding joy and adventure in their bumpy sideshow journey of more than fourteen years. This is an artfully balanced novel that is a mesmerizing tale of survival, resilience, and the uplifting force of friendship.
Author Bio
• Birth—September 29, 1953
• Where—Quito, Ecuador
• Education—M.S.Ed., University of Southern California
• Awards—First Place-International Latino Book Awards (twice)
• Currently—Dana Point, California, USA
Cecilia Velastegui received First Place from the International Latino Book Awards for her novels Missing in Machu Picchu (2013) and Traces of Bliss (2012). The Association of American Publishers and Las Comadres International organization selected her novels to the National Latino Book Club. Parisian Promises (2014) was the runner-up for the Paris Book Award and Gathering the Indigo Maidens (2011) was a finalist for the Mariposa Award. Her children’s bilingual fables: Olinguito Speaks Up, Lalo Loves to Help, and Howl of the Mission Owl have received numerous awards.
Cecilia is an experienced public speaker and has been invited to present her novels and fables at the Los Angeles Times Book Festival, Literary Orange, the Smithsonian Institution, the Los Angeles Zoo, the Big Orange Book Festival, the California Bilingual Education Association, and the Los Angeles and Orange County Libraries.
Cecilia was born in Ecuador and raised in California and France. She received her graduate degree from the University of Southern California, is a former Marriage and Family Therapist, speaks four languages, serves on the board of directors of several educational and arts institutions, and has traveled to one hundred countries. She lives in Dana Point, California. (From the author.)
Book Reviews
Cecilia Velástegui’s mystical prose, depth of characterization and adroit plotting have been compared favorably to the work of established literary figure Arturo Pérez-Reverte. It should be no surprise, therefore, that her latest historical novel, Lucía Zarate, Velástegui, though a relative new-comer, is tied with Pérez-Reverte as a finalist in the 2017 International Latino Book awards.…
This unusual tale typifies the strange and wondrous vision associated with great Latin writers like Márquez, Llosa and Allende. Endowing ordinary events with magical symbolism is a talent that Velástegui has displayed in previous works, notably Missing in Machu Picchu and Traces of Bliss, both winners of the coveted Latino Book Award.
Lucía Zárate has been crafted with admirable acumen. It features two heroines—one a physically fragile but spirited entertainer, the other her steely, seasoned caretaker—locked together in an enthralling tale both true and imagined, and polished to gem-like brilliance by skilled wordsmith Velástegui.
Barbara Bamberger Scott - www.awomanswrite.com
Cecilia velástegui’s historical novel, Lucia Zárate, chronicles the extraordinary life of the tiniest person who ever lived. the opening pages, lyrical and riveting, paint Mexico with vivid brushstrokes, bringing the sights, sounds, and smells of Veracruz and its vanilla bean industry to life.
Like all historical fiction, Lucia Zárate plaits fact and fancy. Lucia Zárate (January 2, 1864–January 15, 1890) holds the Guinness World Record as the smallest human, measuring twenty-one inches tall and weighing less than five pounds at seventeen years of age. velástegui describes her as “a wisp of a girl, a perfect and miniature thing, whose singular appearance and sparkling personality were as unique as the cherished fragrance of Veracruz vanilla.” despite her diminutive size, she “spread the velvet folds and lace frills of her gowns in such a way that she extended her personal space in a wide circle all around her.”
Lucia’s story is told primarily from the vantage point of her governess, Zoila. When Zoila realizes she must extricate herself from her village’s internecine vanilla bean trade skirmishes, as well as from the rumors swirling around her own perhaps-nefarious actions, she tucks a vial of her beloved Felipe’s salvaged blood between her ample breasts and heads out. she secures a position as governess for the improbably tiny Lucia, whose parents have contracted for their daughter to perform in human curiosity sideshows. zoila accompanies the Lilliputian girl on the decade-long tour, with visits to domestic and foreign heads of state, as well as considerable time spent among seedy denizens and gawking voyeurs.
This sad life story is intriguing and informative. velástegui’s sensitive descriptions of humans with a variety of deformities and odd conditions is commendable, as is her condemnation of their abominable treatment in nineteenth-century sideshows. Lucia Zárate should appeal to people interested in the human psyche, and those drawn to history should appreciate the author’s adherence to carefully researched historical details. also, young adults with sophisticated vocabularies should enjoy this book.
Forward Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. The novel is framed by the risks and realities of the vanilla trade in nineteenth-century Mexico. Why do you think the author chose to structure the novel this way? How do these risks relate to Lucia’s fragile constitution and to the perils she would encounter by being exhibited abroad? In what way is the vanilla trade symbolic of Lucia’s life?
2. To what extent does the initial chapter concerning Zoila’s life in Paplanta enhance your understanding of her loyalty to Lucia?
3. In what ways do the chapters about Lucia’s childhood in Mexico contribute to a deeper understanding of Lucia’s later life?
4. What is the importance of loyalty in Lucia Zárate? In what ways does the author contrast the treachery and greed of sideshow life with the quality of loyalty and instances of caring?
5. What effect did the opening scene of peril and flight have on your perception of the story that follows?
6. What sort of atmosphere does the author create by using the witchdoctor’s whistle as a recurring motif? Does it initially alarm Lucia and Zoila and how does the motif progress through the novel?
7. How was Lucia’s self-perception shaped by the beliefs of others that she was not human, but rather a mythological chaneque?
8. Consider Zoila’s father’s advice to "always follow the money." Did Zoila heed his advice or did she opt to put Lucia’s immediate welfare first?
9. Despite viewing herself as an "armadillo," how naïve is Zoila? Why didn’t she stand up to Frank Uffner’s or Señor Zárate’s greed?
10. In what ways did Zoila’s compassion for Lucia limit the options she had to lead her own life?
11. Consider Lucia’s progression from a hyperactive and charismatic personality that charmed audiences to a lackluster performer. How would you describe the last phase of her professional life?
12. Consider parallels between Lucia’s diva-like behaviors to today’s young celebrities.
13. How did Lucia cope with her fishbowl existence?
14. Zoila remarks, "As I said earlier, an odyssey is a long and adventurous journey," to which Lucia replied, "But you also said that during an odyssey one faces both adventure and hardships." Do you think that Zoila could have prepared Lucia for the hardships?
15. What parallels does Zoila perceive between the possible trajectory of Lucia’s life and that of Julia Pastrana, Carolina Crachami, and Antonietta Gonzalez ? Comment on the statement, "Zoila resolved to uncover the devious ways these so-called promoters employed to entice unique girls such as Julia Pastrana and to use this knowledge to prevent Lucia from falling victim to their cunning ways."
16. In what ways were Lucia’s shipboard travels transformative for her at different stages of her life?
17. Reflecting on the fact that Frank Uffner felt he had, "Single-handedly created her stage persona, and because of his genius as an impresario, her fame had spread worldwide. Soon, he and he alone would enjoy his well-deserved payback." Do you think Frank Uffner enjoyed the money he earned through exploitation of his performers?
18. What were the pivotal moments that helped Lucia to become a resilient young woman?
19. What is the purpose of the motif of the flying-men from Paplanta? What does this ancient ritual represent in the novel?
20. Lucia was betrayed emotionally, financially, and romantically by her father, Frank Uffner, and General Mite, yet her sense of duty to her family was foremost. Are the morally ambiguous actions of characters, such as Mr. and Mrs. Uffner and Señor Zárate, redeemed?
21. What is the symbolism of the train wrecks and train accidents?
22. How does the friendship between Lucia and Zoila evolve?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)