Authors Interviewing Characters: Sofia Robleda

DAUGHTER OF FIRE

For a young woman coming of age in sixteenth-century Guatemala, safeguarding her people’s legacy is a dangerous pursuit in a mystical, empowering, and richly imagined historical novel. 

Catalina Cerrato is raised by her widowed father, Don Alonso, in 1551 Guatemala, scarcely thirty years since the Spanish invasion. A ruling member of the oppressive Spanish hierarchy, Don Alonso holds sway over the newly relegated lower class of Indigenous communities. Fiercely independent, Catalina struggles to honor her father and her late mother, a Maya noblewoman to whom Catalina made a vow that only she can preserve the lost sacred text of the Popol Vuh , the treasured and now forbidden history of the K’iche people. Urged on by her mother’s spirit voice, and possessing the gift of committing the invaluable stories to memory, Catalina embarks on a secret and transcendent quest to rewrite them. Through ancient pyramids, Spanish haciendas, and caves of masked devils, she finds an ally in the captivating Juan de Rojas, a lord whose rule was compromised by the invasion. But as their love and trust unfolds, and Don Alonso’s tyranny escalates, Catalina must confront her conflicted blood heritage—and its secrets—once and for all if she’s to follow her dangerous quest to its historic end.

Sofia Robleda interviews Catalina Cerrato of House K’iche’ Ajaw for Women Writers Women’s Books.

SR: Hola Catalina, thank you for agreeing to do this interview. I know it’s come as a shock that a person who lives 480 years in your future wants to speak to you. 

Catalina: Yes, well, at first it was rather frightening to meet you. I mean, look at those strange clothes you’re wearing… are those trousers on a lady? And your Castilian is very odd. For a moment, I thought for sure I’d been cursed all over again. 

SR: Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you, and no, I’m not here to put a curse on you!

Catalina: Hmm… I hope not. 

SR: Ok, well, thanks for staying, and for putting your dagger aside, I appreciate it. And I appreciate your efforts. Everything you went through and sacrificed, to write and preserve the Popol Vuh. How do you feel, knowing the K’iche’ stories you wrote are still alive, after all this time?

Catalina pauses, her eyes shine. She clears her throat: Well, that’s the only reason I agreed to this, what did you call it? Interview? You are absolutely certain the book hasn’t been destroyed?

SR: Well truthfully, we’re not quite sure where exactly your manuscript is, but a monk in the 18th century copied the original K’iche’ Maya words and translated them into Spanish, and that’s what we still have today, as well as many translations into other languages. It’s a well-known classic!

Catalina’s eyes brighten: Oh, is it really? Do people know it as much as the Odyssey? Or the Ramayana? Or – ooh, Arabian Nights?

SR: Um… not quite, but I’m trying to change that. It’s one of the reasons I wrote the novel. There are so many wonderful retellings nowadays of Greek myths so I thought, why can’t there be more of our Mayan or Aztec myths showcased and brought to life? They’re just as good, if not better. 

Catalina: Oh, well in that we are in agreement. I just… well, I hope you don’t mind me saying this but I hope you’re a better writer than you are an interviewer. 

SR: Oh gosh, I know – this is so awkward. I’m so stressed right now, and weirdly nervous. 

Catalina laughs and smiles kindly, finally letting her shoulders drop: Nervous? You are a strange creature. You made me up, did you not? I’m not even a real person. Juan and my cousin Cristobal were real, and my father Don Alonso, but not me. 

SR: Well, yes! But you spent a whole year nagging me at every possible opportunity, waking me up at quarter to five in the morning, to show me your world so I would write it down, so you’re very much real to me! 

Catalina: Goodness, are you actually crying? Oh dear, here, take this.

(Catalina hands me an embroidered handkerchief.)

SR: Thanks, this is surreal. Wait! Is this the handkerchief you had when Juan delivered Cristobal’s letter to you, and you realized he cared about you?

Catalina blushes: Indeed.  

SR: Wow, that’s amazing, thanks. Uh – I’m sorry I wiped my nose with it. 

Catalina: Never mind, I’ll wash it later. So… did you have any more questions for me or shall I go back to Guatemala? 

SR: Oh yeah, so uh – how are things between you and Juan?

Catalina: Things? What do you mean by things?

SR: Well, you’ve always been hot, cold, hot, cold… are you hot now? Or cold…

Catalina stands and gathers her skirts: What an impertinent question! You know, I think I’ve had enough of this entire ordeal, thank you very much. I’ll take my leave now, goodbye!

SR: Oh, wait! Right… well… uh, goodbye!

BUY HERE

—

Sofia Robleda is a Mexican writer. She spent her childhood and adolescence in Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore. She completed her undergraduate and doctorate degrees in psychology at the University of Queensland, Australia. She currently lives in the UK with her husband and son, and splits her time between writing, raising her son, and working as a clinical psychologist supporting people with brain injuries and neurological conditions. For more information visit https://sofiarobleda.com/.

 

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: On Writing