La Sepultura Research Articles

Conservation of tree species of late succession and conservation concern in coffee agroforestry systems

Shade-grown, montane coffee agroforestry systems have the potential to conserve native tree species of conservation concern (CC) and typical of old growth or late succession (LS) forests in montane cloud forests. However, it remains unclear how preferential selection by farmers for or against certain tree species and diameter sizes affects CC and LS trees distribution and abundance. To address this issue, we investigated how management practices may inadvertently compromise the potential of agroforestry systems to serve as reservoirs for CC and LS trees. We sampled tree diversity in 31 coffee farms and 10 forest sites in La Sepultura Biosphere Reserve in Chiapas, Mexico and assessed the relative importance of shade tree density, basal area, proportion of Inga spp. trees, previous land use, and age of fallow (for farms established on land with an agricultural history) on the proportions of CC and LS trees. We then examined if tree size distributions differed between farms and forests, and whether land use legacies mediated the impact of the explanatory variables of interest. These analyses found that management practices that sought to increase the proportion of Inga spp. trees had the largest negative impact on the proportions of trees of LS and CC, but the magnitude of the effects were dependent on land-use legacy. We also found that tree size distributions differed between farms and forests among smaller trees (5–20cm diameter at breast height, (DBH)), but not among larger trees (>30cm DBH). These findings suggest that in order to increase the conservation potential of coffee agroforestry systems, particularly for farms established on land with an agricultural history, it is important to promote farmers’ tolerance of tree species other than Inga spp. and preferred tree species.

The use of farmers' knowledge in coffee agroforestry management: implications for the conservation of tree biodiversity

In agroforestry systems, the survival of shade trees is often the result of farmers' deliberate selection. Therefore, how communities generate knowledge and apply it to resource management practices influence the potential for biodiversity conservation of agroforestry systems. In this study, we investigated the use of knowledge by farmers to manage coffee (Coffea arabica) agroforests and the consequences for the conservation of tree biodiversity and composition of surrounding forests. We interviewed 50 coffee farmers to investigate their shade tree preferences and sources of knowledge of the properties of shade trees and coffee management practices; we also conducted tree inventories in 31 coffee farms and 10 forest sites in La Sepultura Biosphere Reserve in Chiapas, Mexico. Our results showed that farmers are modifying agroforests according to their knowledge and tree preferences, and that the resulting agroforest is lower in tree diversity and dominated by pioneer and farmers' preferred tree species as compared to forests. The principal sources of knowledge of management practices are external sources, such as governmental and non‐governmental organizations, whereas the primary source of tree specific knowledge is empirical knowledge. We found that the higher proportion of pioneer trees relative to forest is mostly explained by farmers' tree selection decisions (63%) rather than as a byproduct of management practices (37%) that disturb the soil and open the canopy, altering light penetration and microclimate conditions. Based on interviews and tree inventories, we found that farmers gradually replace canopy trees of neutral and disliked species by preferred species, in particular Inga spp. We found that external sources continue to promote the idea that Inga spp. trees bring significant benefits to coffee production in spite of a lack of scientific evidence to support this claim. This indicates that farmers are receptive to incorporate outside knowledge into their knowledge systems and adapt their resource management practices accordingly. Our findings highlight the importance of disseminating sound and clear scientific information to practitioners who work directly with farming communities to ensure that accurate and up‐to‐date information is being contributed to local knowledge systems.

“Tan lejos de mi tierra...”: Nota sobre un modelo homérico de Garcilaso

Este breve ensayo quiere arrojar alguna luz sobre los posibles ecos homéricos de la cláusula final del soneto XVI de Garcilaso de la Vega, “Para la sepultura de don Hernando de Guzmán”. Analizando distintos pasajes de la Ilíada y de la Odisea, sus traducciones del s. XV y algunos epitafios poéticos compuestos en torno a Janus Láscaris, se muestra que el soneto de Garcilaso recupera una fórmula poética de larga tradición, aprovechándola para lograr un efecto final lleno de resonancias antiguas.

Mamíferos de la Reserva de la Biosfera “La Sepultura”, Chiapas, México

A species list was elaborated for La Sepultura Biosphere Reserve, Chiapas, Mexico. Line transects and direct observations were made. national and international databases were consulted, and animal traces were registered. Animals were captured during the period May 1994 - December 1999. A total of 848 specimen (248 furs and skulls), 32 tracks in plaster, and 9 osseous fragments were collected. A total of 98 species, 70 genera, 29 families, and 10 orders compose the species list. Of these species 87.7% belong to the orders Chiroptera, Rodentia and Carnivora and 21 species were classified according to some kind of legal protection. These data represent a solid and actualized database useful for designing management and conservation plans for this Biosphere Reserve.

The role of coffee agroforestry in the conservation of tree diversity and community composition of native forests in a Biosphere Reserve

Agroforestry is considered a promising alternative to conventional agriculture that can both conserve biodiversity and support local livelihoods. Coffee agroforestry may be particularly important for sustaining trees of conservation concern and late-successional stage, but this possibility remains unclear. Here, we examined whether coffee agroforestry systems can serve as conservation reservoirs of tree species native to nearby forests. We compared tree diversity, composition and structure between coffee agroforests and forests in La Sepultura Biosphere Reserve in Chiapas, Mexico. We found that, although at the landscape level the full set of coffee agroforests appears to conserve comparable tree species richness to nearby native forests, the species composition that is being conserved is different. Coffee agroforests had a lower proportion of trees of conservation concern, a higher proportion of pioneer trees, were dominated by Inga spp., harbored lower tree species diversity at the plot level, and were composed of different tree species compared to native forests. We suggest that conservation practitioners and policy makers seeking to promote coffee agroforestry as a conservation strategy should consider how such agroforestry systems differ in species diversity and composition from the native forests of conservation interest. Further, promoting different coffee agroforest management strategies, such as discouraging the replacement of diverse agroforest canopies with Inga-dominated canopies, would help improve the conservation value of coffee agroforests through more sustainable practices.

Parásitos del tapir centroamericano <i>Tapirus bairdii</i> (Perissodactyla: Tapiridae) en Chiapas, México

We analyzed 19 samples of Baird's tapir feces from La Sepultura Biosphere Reserve, collected between March and July 1999. We also took samples directly from a male tapir captured at the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve. Both reserves are in Chiapas, Mexico. We used five techniques: flotation, MacMaster, micrometric, Ritchie's sedimentation and Ferreira's quantitative. In addition, we collected ectoparasites from animals captured in both reserves and from a captive couple from Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas. These nematodes and protozoans were found: Agriostomun sp., Lacandoria sp., Neomurshidia sp., Trichostrongylus sp., Strongylus sp., Brachylumus sp, and an unidentified species of ancilostomaide. We also found Eimeria sp. and Balantidium coli, as well as the mites Dermacentor halli, Dermacentor latus, Amblyomma cajannense, Amblyomma coelebs, Amblyomma ovale, Anocentor nitens and Ixodes bicornis.

Perceptions on Sustainable Livestock Training in the Biosphere Reserve La Sepultura, Chiapas, Mexico

KEYWORDS Livestock Farmers. Stakeholders. Interventions. Protected Areas. Participatory Approaches ABSTRACT The perceptions on sustainable livestock training given to farmers from different communities of the Biosphere Reserve La Sepultura (BIRESE) were analyzed. The research was conducted from January t o December 2011 through a socio-anthropological study based upon an evaluative diagnosis, with semi-structured interviews, ethnography, observations, and collection of training materials. The information was synthesized in tables, considering the points of view of livestock farmers, representatives from the institutions supporting the training and the training team. The analysis focused on the background, topics, methods, results and expectations of the training. Results showed that farmers and representatives of the different institutions perceived few changes in livestock systems as a consequence of the training given in the context of BIRESE. However, farmers stated that there were some changes in the system, for example, the increase of production as an indirect result of the training received. Both the farmer groups and the representatives of the institutions are optimistic for the future and acknowledge that cattle raising can be done in an environmental friendly way. The reason of this perception is the permanent presence of actors promoting sustainable livestock. Farmers consider adopting the acquired practices as a very important issue, although they refer to lack of financial resources and technical assessment as the main limitations for its implementation. It is concluded that the perceptions on training are very similar among all actors involved in the BIRESE, which can be considered as an advantage for the initiatives or processes to be encouraged at short and middle terms in relation to sustainable livestock.

Motivation for conservation: Assessing integrated conservation and development projects and payments for environmental services in La Sepultura Biosphere Reserve, Chiapas, Mexico

In order to achieve conservation and development, direct strategies, such as Payments for Environmental Services (PES), have been claimed to be potentially more effective than indirect strategies, like Integrated Conservation and Development Projects (ICDPs). However, PES have raised some concerns on the commodification of nature and the potential replacement of non-chrematistic forms of valuing ecosystems. This article evaluates PES and ICDPs in La Sepultura Biosphere Reserve, Mexico, by analyzing the programs' fund allocation, examining conservation perceptions based on 731 structured interviews and presenting a detailed assessment of ICDP/PES preferences in a community with the longest participation in both schemes. People receiving PES tend to make the future of conservation contingent on monetary and utilitarian reasons, this preference increasing with the number of years receiving PES. These are preferred for their directness and short-term results, although raising concerns about the little social capital they generate. ICDPs are appreciated for arising environmental awareness, being linked with long term conservation, productive capacity and social capital building. Negative perceptions of ICDPs are related to past economic failures. Our results suggest that the real issue is not PES vs. ICDPs but how to combine them to find the proper sequence while reinforcing intrinsic value-based attitudes.

Building ties: social capital network analysis of a forest community in a biosphere reserve in Chiapas, Mexico

Governance of the commons depends on the capacity to generate collective action. Networks and rules that foster that collective action have been defined as social capital. However, their causal link is still not fully understood. We use social network analysis to assess social capital, decision-making, and collective action in a forest-based common pool resource management in La Sepultura Biosphere Reserve (Chiapas, Mexico). Our research analyzes the productive networks and the evolution of coffee groups in one community. The network shows some centrality, with richer landholders tending to occupy core positions and poorer landless peasants occupying peripheral ones. This has fostered the community's environmentally oriented development but has also caused internal conflicts. Market requirements have shaped different but complementary productive networks, where organic coffee commercialization is the main source of bridging ties, which has resulted in more connectivity and resilience. Conservation attitudes, along with the institutional setting of the community, have promoted collective action. The unresolved conflicts, however, still leave some concerns about governance in the future.

Abundancia relativa de tres ungulados en la Reserva de la Biosfera “La Sepultura” Chiapas, México

Large mammals have important roles in the dynamics of Neotropical rainforests. However, their ecology has barely been studied in the forests and tropical forest of southern Mexico. In the present study, we assessed the relative abundance in populations of Baird´s tapir Tapirus bairdii , white-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus , and collared peccary Pecari tajacu , along 246.4 km of linear transects in the buffer area of “La Sepultura” Biosphere Reserve (REBISE), Chiapas, Mexico. We observed 0.998, 0.694 and 0.215 tracks/km of Baird´s tapir white-tailed deer and collared peccary respectively. The present study shows that the La Sepultura Biosphere Reserve, plays an important role for conservation of mastofauna of the area as a refuge in an environment with anthropogenic influence.

Biodiversity and distribution of helminths and protozoa in naturally infected horses from the biosphere reserve “La Sierra Madre de Chiapas”, México

A cross sectional survey was performed to identify gastrointestinal helminths and protozoans in naturally infected horses from the biosphere reserve known as “La Sierra Madre de Chiapas”, Mexico (El Triunfo and La Sepultura). During a three-year survey, fecal samples from 90 horses and parasites from 2 necropsied animals were collected. Five families from the Nematoda class: Ascaridae, Kathlanidae, Oxyuridae, Strongylidae and Trichostrongylidae were found, whereas, only one family from the class Cestoda, was observed: Anoplocephalidae. One family from the class Insecta, was observed: Gasterophiilidae. The number of species of parasites ranged from 13 to 18 with an average of 15 per animal. Adult parasites were recovered from the large intestine luminal contents at necropsy. Species recovered included: Strongylus vulgaris, S. equinus, S. edentatus, Oxyuris equi, Parascaris equorum, Coronocyclus coronatum, C. labiatus, C. labratus, Cyathostomum tetracanthum, Cylicocyclus insigne, C. leptostomus, Cylicodontophorus bicoronatus, Cylicostephanus asymetricus, C. bidentatus, C. minutus, C. longibursatus, Petrovinema poculatum, Poteriostomum imparidentatum, Cylicostephanus goldi, Tridentoinfundibulum gobi, Triodontophorus serratus and T. tenuicollis. One species of Diptera were recovered from stomach and identified: Gasterophilus intestinalis. Furthermore, different species of protozoa were recovered from fresh horse-dung and identified in four classes: Sporozoa, Litostomatea, Ciliasida and Suctoria. Nine families: Cryptosporidiidae, Eimeriidae, Balantidiidae, Buetschliidae, Blepharocorythidae, Cycloposthiidae, Spirodiniididae, Ditoxidae, Acinetidae; and 31 ciliates species were recorded: Allantosoma dicorniger, A. intestinalis, Alloiozona trizona, Blepharosphaera intestinalis, Blepharoprosthium pireum, Blepharoconus benbrooki, Bundleia postciliata, Didesmis ovalis, D. quadrata, Sulcoarcus pellucidulus, Blepharocorys angusta, B. cardionucleata, B. curvigula, B. juvata, B. uncinata, B. valvata, Cycloposthium bipalmatum, C. edentatum, C. scutigerum, Charonina equi, Ditoxum funinucleum, Spirodinium equi, Tetratoxum unifasciculatum, Triadinium caudatum, T. galea, T. minimum and Tripalmaria dogieli. Other ciliate observed and recorded was Ochoterenaia appendiculata. This study describes the biodiversity and distribution of common and new helminths and protozoas found in the gastrointestinal tract from horses in the biosphere reserve “Sierra Madre de Chiapas” in Mexico.

Woody Cover and Local Farmers' Perceptions of Active Pasturelands in La Sepultura Biosphere Reserve Buffer Zone, Mexico

La Sepultura Biosphere Reserve—created in 1995 in Chiapas, Mexico—is well known for its biodiversity. Its buffer zone, harboring the upper “Tablón” river basin, has been intensively managed by peasants for 48 years. We carried out interviews with cattle producers at the Los Ángeles ejido, coupled with field surveys of vegetation presence, to determine the nature and allocation of different vegetation associations and their relation to indicators of tree regeneration (sapling presence). Our data showed that 96% of the producers surveyed owned areas with open pastures, and 83% owned at least 1 patch of forested pastures where cattle browse. For oak-forested pastures, the results suggest a trend of high sapling presence with high tree cover. In contrast, for deciduous pastures, the results suggest a trend of high sapling presence with intermediate tree cover. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that woody vegetation within grazing areas may facilitate natural tree recruitment around reserves. Furthermore, these vegetation cover results suggest that within the pasturelands found today in the Los Ángeles ejido, some ranchers may be inadvertently conducting practices that are consistent with agro-silvo-pastoral systems.

The Criminals of Lima and Their Worlds: The Prison Experience, 1850-1935

In the last decade, historians have shown increasing interest in prisons as the subject of critical inquiry. This scholarship has sought to understand the greater dimensions of social control, the difficulties in wholly translating Western institutional models to Latin American societies, and the ways in which the criminal-justice and penitentiary systems have reflected states’ exclusionary practices based on class, ethnicity, race, and gender. More broadly then, much of this new research has looked at power and the way it has functioned in the postcolonial world. Carlos Aguirre’s work here is no exception. However, what is exceptional is the innovative perspective that Aguirre takes in examining the world within four of Peru’s prisons: the Lima penitentiary El Panóptico, the penal colony El Frontón, the Carcél de Guadelupe, and the Carcél Central de Varones. He seeks to uphold a subaltern view, one from inside the prison walls, that reveals a tenuous and often improvised relationship between both “common” and political prisoners, prison officials, wardens, criminologists, and doctors, as well as the families, cronies, coworkers, neighbors, and friends on the outside. We learn that one cannot draw the line between the two worlds so distinctly: in many ways, life in the Lima prisons was a reflection of the forms of clientelism and hierarchy that characterized Peruvian society, a point made most elegantly in Aguirre’s analysis of inmate loyalty to political leaders outside the prison during the Augusto Leguía regime. But Aguirre contends that prisoners were also at odds with the system of patronage and used alternative vocabularies — from the language of human rights to the language of tattoos — to express themselves.Breaking the book into three parts, Aguirre first introduces some of the key elements related to prison reform encapsulated in the debates between legalistic and increasingly medicalized notions of criminality. Criminological theories, no matter their lack of rigorous research or consensus, enjoyed tremendous cachet among Leguiísta policymakers, who translated these scientific studies of crime into legal and penal codes and guides on prison management. The second part takes a closer look at the prison experience, revealing the contradictory nature of rehabilitation and reform. On the one hand, the state sought to implement the strategies that famed Peruvian eugenicist Carlos Enrique Paz Soldán designed to inculcate morality, a commitment to hard work, and good citizenship, while the simultaneous neglect and abuse of inmates was commonplace. Relating the horrors of solitary confinement known as la sepultura in El Frontón, Aguirre observes how violence seemed endemic to the penitentiary; in it, a “true regime of terror reigned” (p. 106). The author concludes that despite the attempts by the modernizing Peruvian state to make the prison a model of discipline and order, that “customary order” was built not according to prison design but through personal negotiation, bribery, and resistance, creating a more porous boundary between inmates and prison authorities. In this sense, Aguirre suggests that the idea of authority can be imagined as a floating concept that could be invoked by prison employees, wardens, and inmates, each exerting their leverage over one another in ways that mirrored the racial, spatial, and gendered notions of patronage in society. This idea is best exemplified by the small group of caporales — individuals drawn from the convict population to assist in prison administration — who at times held certain authority over prison officials by virtue of their special knowledge of the prison’s inner workings.The author’s examination of inmate correspondence, particularly the prisoners’ sketches included in the final chapter, offers a valuable perspective on political prisoners, prison administration, and inmate abuse. The extensive documentation and compilation of arrest records for the period of his study, as well as the tables on the number of inmates, painstakingly broken down by categories of age, race, regional origin, and occupation, are illuminating and indispensable data for scholars working in criminality or labor history.Aguirre’s work reaffirms just how important it is that we study the institutions inhabited by subalterns in order to understand the mechanisms of authoritarian rule. His research suggests new ways to see how power is exercised through contestation, solidarity, ambivalence, and—as often is the case in Peru’s prisons — through acts of violence.

Stramps and Stanzas: The New Interpretation of Corella's La sepultura

Corella's La sepultura had for long been seen as dominated by the male voice, when in 1986 Eduard J. Verger maintained that a substantial section was in the voice of the woman. But this convincing reinterpretation, which would make the poem unusual in fifteenth-century Valencian love poetry, was stated rather than argued. The main purpose of the present article is to supply the arguments. A probable Petrarchan source for the poem is also suggested.

OCURRENCIA, DISTRIBUCIÓN Y ABUNDANCIA DEL GÉNERO PASSERINA EN LA RESERVA DE LA BIOSFERA LA SEPULTURA, CHIAPAS

Se realizó el estudio de cuatro especies de aves del género Passerina, en la Reserva de la Biosfera La Sepultura, Chiapas, México con el objetivo de conocer los sitios de ocurrencia y estimar su distribución y su abundancia. El estudio consistió en realizar la recopilación de registros actuales e históricos en bases de datos curatoriales y el muestreo en seis localidades que fueron visitadas durante el período de enero a diciembre de 1999. Los registros recopilados, fueron georreferenciados, digitalizándose también la distribución de los tipos de vegetación y el gradiente altitudinal de la zona de estudio. Mediante análisis de sobreposición de estas coberturas y las tolerancias ecológicas reportadas y observadas para las especies, se generaron tres mapas: uno sobre la ocurrencia de las cuatro especies y otros dos sobre las áreas de distribución potencial, para las especies residentes. La abundancia relativa se obtuvo por temporada (seca y húmeda) para cada una de las especies del género, con relación al esfuerzo de muestreo y expresado en porcentaje para cada localidad. Los resultados de abundancia fueron analizados mediante la prueba estadística de G. Las localidades donde se registraron las especies del género, se localizan en cinco municipios en los que se ubica la Reserva, distribuyéndose las especies residentes de manera restringida al bosque tropical subcaducifolio. Las especies migratorias presentaron un amplio rango de distribución, pudiendo habitar bosques de pino, bosques de pino-encino y bosques mesófilos de montaña. La abundancia de las especies del género, fue mayor en lo que corresponde en la región cercana al Istmo de Tehuantepec.

Ecología del Tapir (Tapirus bairdii) en la reserva de la Biosfera La Sepultura, Chiapas, México.

El tapir centroamericano (Tapirus bairdii) es un mamífero en peligro de extinción debido principalmente a la pérdida de hábitat y a la cacería excesiva en casi todo su rango de distribución. Esta especie subsiste en algunas áreas silvestres del sureste México; sin embargo, el estado de sus poblaciones aún es virtualmente desconocido. Mediante conteos y análisis de rastros, y la aplicación de una encuesta, en este trabajo se determinó la abundancia, preferencias de hábitat, hábitos alimentarios e impacto de la cacería sobre el tapir en la Reserva de la Biósfera La Sepultura (192,734 ha), con el fin de proponer una estrategia para la conservación de la especie en la Sierra Madre de Chiapas y apoyar la elaboración de un plan de manejo para el área protegida. Las evidendas de tapires (huellas y excretas) en La Sepultura fueron más frecuentes en las selvas mediana subperennifolia y baja caducifolia (donde se concentran los cuerpos de agua permanentes) que en el resto de los tipos de hábitat. La especie evitó en lo posible tipos de hábitat muy perturbados y con mayor actividad humana (bosques de pino y pastizales), mientras que los bosques de encino y mesófilos de montaña fueron utilizados da acuerdo a su extensión. La composición de la dieta fue similar a la observada en otras localidades de Centroamáríca, aunque la proporción de frutos consumidos a lo largo del año fué más constante en La Sepultura. Los resultados de la encuesta aplicada sugieren que el impacto de la cacería sobre los tapires tiende a disminuir en el área de estudio; sin embargo, la constante pérdida de bosques y selvas debida a actividades agropecuarias acelera la fragmentación del hábitat y el aislamiento de la población. Para evitar la extinción del tapir en el área de estudio, recomendamos preservar las áreas forestales remanentes, evitar la creación de nuevos centros de población dentro de los límites da la reserva, y generar la información requerida para el diseño de un plan de manejo del área protegida.

Geology of the Paleocene Sepultura Formation, Mesa de La Sepultura, Baja California

At its Mesa de La Sepultura type area, the upper-lower to upper Paleocene Sepultura Formation lies with apparent disconformity on the lower Maastrichtian, marine upper slope and shelf deposits of the Rosario Formation. In places the uppermost Rosario Formation is marked by a kaolinite-rich paleosol. The Sepultura Formation is a deepening-upward sequence divided into a lower glauconitic-clastic member and an upper limestone member. The lower member has a basal plutonic-volcanic conglomerate overlain by sandstone containing abundant Turritella peninsularis of late-early to early-late Paleocene age. The dominant lithology is calcite-cemented, glauconitic, fossiliferous arkose or lithic arkose of apparent Peninsular Ranges provenance. The beds contain abundant red algal nodules, storm deposits, and iron-stained corrosion surfaces. Terrigenous sediment influx was diverted so that the upper member is virtually pure limestone dominated by branching red algae fragments and forams but devoid of micrite. The Sepultura Formation at Mesa de La Sepultura is a carbonate sediment-dominated record of late-early to late Paleocene deepening that progressed from shallowest marine at the base to 200 m deep shelf waters at the top. During this time, terrigenous coarse sediment deposition was blocked here even though it dominated in areas to the north and South.

The Death of Lazarillo de Tormes

In Contrast to the apologetic and ambiguous prologue of the Libro de buen amor, that preceding the Lazarillo de Tormes shocks us with its forthright arrogance: “Yo por bien tengo que cosas tan señaladas y por ventura nunca oydas ni vistas vengan a noticia de muchos y no se entierren en la sepultura del olvido.” The evasive ego of Juan Ruiz—an ego which, as Alfonso Reyes notes, is comic by mediaeval definition and slips with childish glee into one role after another—has been replaced by an explosion of self: “Yo por bien tengo …” The “soy quien soy” of the hero-braggarts of the “comedia” seems to have been combined with the autobiographical complacency of an Alonso de Contreras or a Pedro de Baeza. The result is that the reader, as soon as he becomes aware of the insignificance of the events so pompously announced, tends to read the prologue as a parody. If Lazarillo is an anti-hero, the prologue is appropriately an anti-prologue. The oral bombast of “cosas tan señaladas y por ventura nunca oydas ni vistas” sounds almost as if it were designed to hawk the “pliegos sueltos” of a “romance.” Prologues are by definition self-conscious, but in this one self-consciousness is driven to self-caricature.