Norma E. Cantú, Caban?uelas: A Novel

Abstract

Reviewed by: Cabañuelas: A Novel by Norma E. Cantú Ana Roncero-Bellido (bio) Norma E. Cantú, Cabañuelas: A Novel. University of New Mexico Press, 2019. Pp. 304. Cabañuelas: A Novel, by Norma Cantú, follows the adventures of Azucena “Nena” Cantú, whom we first met in Canícula: Snapshots of a Girlhood en la Frontera. In Cabañuelas, Nena travels to Madrid on a Fulbright scholarship to research the connections between the traditional festivities of Spain and those of southern Texas and northern Mexico. Readers follow Nena during her first days in Spain, sitting with her in the café where she has breakfast every day, walking with her to the National Library, and waiting with her for the texts she will examine at la colección de raros, the rare books reading room. Immersed in her reading at the Biblioteca Nacional, she soon realizes the best way to conduct her research is to travel to witness the celebrations herself and talk to the people participating in the fiestas she reads about. Cabañuelas then turns into an ethnographic account in which Cantú weaves different voices narrated in the third person and tells readers the fascinating history of many celebrations, such as the Falles de Valencia or the running of the bulls in Pamplona, as well as other religious holidays, like the festivity of Santa Águeda in Zamarramala (Segovia), Los Caballos del Vino honoring the Holy Cross in Caravaca (Murcia), and La Romería de la Virgen de la Cabeza, the dark-skinned virgin in Andújar (Jaén) who reminds Nena of La Virgen de Guadalupe (237). Intertwined with these ethnographic accounts illustrating the diversity of Spain and the commonalities among the fiestas in Spain, Texas, and Mexico is the personal account of the romance between Nena and Paco, a Spaniard with whom Nena experiences the post-Franco Spain not featured in the books she consults at the National Library. Strolls in El Retiro, one of Madrid’s most popular parks, nights at the opera and various tapas bars, and trips to cities such as Ávila, Barcelona, and Segovia allow readers to experience Spain through Nena’s eyes. Transcriptions of her most private correspondence with Paco unveil Nena’s most intimate thoughts. Photographs—of Nena’s family, friends, and other acquaintances; specific aspects of the festivities she studies; landscapes; historical monuments; and cultural artifacts—further immerse readers in Nena’s travels through Spain. It is with this combination of voices and genres that author and protagonist push readers to question [End Page 195] the boundaries between what is fictional and what is not, especially given the writer’s graphic and sincere language in the construction of the autobiographical I. The title of the novel, Cabañuelas, refers to a traditional method of forecasting the weather for the rest of the year based on the weather during the month of January. Nena learns this method from her father and will continue to refer to las cabañuelas during her time in Spain. This constant reference is but one of the main ways in which we see Nena’s homesickness for her family and for Laredo, her geographical, linguistic, and cultural borderlands. It is important to note that Nena’s account of her Fulbright adventure begins with her Christmas celebration at home, where her family makes her promise that she will come back after her trip. The weight of this promise will affect every aspect of Nena’s everyday life in Spain. Indeed, the transborder intercultural connections between Spain-Texas-Mexico are de/constructed not only through Nena’s research but also through many of her reflections about her life in Spain and her conversations with Paco about music, food, language, and culture, among other topics. The borderlands are integral to Nena, to her experiences, and to her writing, and Cabañuelas is a testament to this. Cantú uses Spanish throughout her text, mostly for specific concepts, festivities, and feelings, which are then paraphrased into the dominant language of the text, English. This bilingual writing further reconstructs the borderlands in which Nena finds herself through her research, her relationship with Paco, and her struggles to decide whether to stay in...