Marcos Boeken

In this gorgeous collection of allegorical stories, Subcomandante Marcos, idiosyncratic spokesperson of the Zapatistas, has provided "an accidental archive" of a revolutionary group's struggle against neo-liberalism. For 30 years, the Zapatistas have influenced and inspired movements worldwide, showing that another world is possible. They have infused Left politics with a distinct imaginary--and an imaginative, literary or poetic dimension--organizing horizontally, outside and against the state, and with a profound respect for difference as a source of political insight, not division. Marcos's inspiring and sometimes Kafkaesque stories bear witness to how a defense of indigenous traditions can become a lever for the construction of a new anti-capitalist and anti-patriarchal world. With commentaries that illuminate their historical, political, and literary contexts and an introduction by the translators, this timeless elegiac volume is perfect for lovers of literature and lovers of revolution.

In 1983, a small group of Mexicans traveled to the Lacandón jungle in Mexico's southern state of Chiapas, with the dream of organizing a national revolution. For the next ten years they lived with the indigenous Mayan communities there, listening, learning and blending with them. This was the beginning of the Zapatista movement, which made its dramatic public debut on January 1, 1994, when thousands of armed indigenous people occupied seven Chiapas towns and declared war on the Mexican government. Their demands—not just for the oppressed and poverty-stricken indigenous communities, but for all Mexicans—were equality, democracy, liberty, justice, independence, employment, land, food, housing, health, education and peace. The Fire and the Word tells the story of the Zapatista movement, from its clandestine birth in the jungle of Chiapas, to its impact on Mexico and its ongoing influence around the world. Gloria Muñoz lived for years in remote Mayan villages and interviewed some of the group's organizers. Their first-person accounts are woven throughout the text, along with reportage and contextual history. The result is a story composed of "the little pieces of mirrors and crystals that make up the various moments" (Subcomandante Marcos) of the Zapatistas’ years of open struggle, the reflections of a history that is still being made, one which continues to inform and inspire activists and intellectuals around the globe. Beautifully illustrated with a collection of the most emblematic photographs from Zapatista history, The Fire and the Word is an inspiring testimony of resistance and hope.

Texty Subcomandanta Marcose mají mnoho obdivovatelů a byly jim jednomyslně přiznány literární kvality, ať se jedná o komuniké, poezii nebo prózu mísící a překračující tzv. tradiční žánry. Marcos prostřednictvím svých textů vystupuje jako vizionářský politický analytik a současně jako „interpret“ domorodého myšlení a kultury.„První vesnice, do níž jsme v roce 1985 vstoupili jako zapatisté, je vesnice Starého Antonia. Zde působil svým způsobem jako překladatel, když nám vysvětloval, čím jsme byli a čím bychom měli být. Současně probíhal proces proměny vlastního nitra zapatismu. Starý Antonio je mostem, který umožňuje partyzánům z hor přijít k lidem,“ říká Marcos v závěru knihy.

Das politisch-literarische Werk des 'Shakespeare des Lakandonischen Urwalds'. Briefe über Würde, Demokratie, soziale Gerechtigkeit und Freiheit – teilweise erzählt von einem philosophierenden Urwaldkäfer namens Durito. Im Anhang eine aktuelle Chronik der zapatistischen Bewegung.

„La forza del fiume non proviene dalle acque piovane che cadono nel suo letto, ma dai rivoli che scendono dalle montagne e lo nutrono. Così è la nostra lotta. Nelle montagne nasce la forza, ma non la si vede finché non arriva in basso.“ Con queste parole del Vecchio Antonio, figura spirituale e "fondatore simbolico" dell'EZLN, Subcomandante Marcos spiegò la decisione per l'insurrezione zapatista del primo gennaio 1994. Le storie del Vecchio Antonio si intrecciano come un filo conduttore nei comunicati degli insorti, commentando i momenti critici del movimento zapatista. Esse svolgono una funzione di ponte tra gli intellettuali urbani, che si sono trasferiti nella giungla lacandona, e il mondo indigeno dei Maya chiapanek. Le storie speculari così create sono i testi più poetici scritti da Marcos.

Es ist still geworden um die Zapatisten und ihren legendären Sprecher, Subcomandante Marcos. Was passiert in Chiapas, in den Gebieten, die zwar vom Militär umstellt, nicht aber besiegt wurden, bei den Menschen, die die »erste Revolution des 21. Jahrhunderts« initiiert haben? Im Gespräch mit der Journalistin Laura Castellanos analysiert Marcos, was die zapatistische Bewegung seit ihrem Anfang, dem Aufstand vom 1. Januar 1994, gewonnen und was sie verloren hat. Er skizziert die Konflikte, die über die Zukunft entscheiden werden nicht nur über die der zapatistischen Gemeinschaften, sondern auch über die Zukunft seiner Person und seiner Rolle als »Sub«. Marcos erklärt seine Position zu wichtigen Themen, wie z.B. der Beziehung zu anderen bewaffneten Organisationen, er spricht über Fidel Castro, Hugo Chávez, Evo Morales u.a. und verortet die Bewegung in Chiapas innerhalb der kontinentalen Politik Lateinamerikas. Marcos lässt die Geschichte Revue passieren und antwortet auf die Kritik, die ihm entgegengebracht wurde. Er schildert die Perspektiven der Bewegung und prangert das massive Anwachsen der militärischen Bedrohung an. Eine aktuelle Bestandsaufnahme aus der mexikanischen Krisenregion.

In alternating chapters, Zapatista leader Subcomandante Marcos and the consistently excellent Paco Ignacio Taibo II create an uproarious murder mystery with two intersecting story lines. The chapters written by the famously masked Marcos originate in the mountains of Chiapas, Mexico. There, the fictional “Subcomandante Marcos” assigns Elias Contreras—an odd but charming mountain man—to travel to Mexico City in search of an elusive and hideous murderer named Morales. The second story line, penned by Taibo, stars his famous series detective Héctor Belascoarán Shayne. Héctor guzzles Coca-Cola and smokes cigarettes furiously amidst his philosophical and always charming approach to investigating crimes—in this case, the search for his own “Morales.” The two stories collide absurdly and dramatically in the urban sprawl of Mexico City. The ugly history of the city’s political violence rears its head, and both detectives find themselves in an unpredictable dance of death with forces at once criminal, historical, and political.

Mit diesem Buch beschreibt Subcommandante Marcos die Gegenwart und Geschichte von Mexiko. In dreizehn Kapiteln wird informativ und unterhaltsam über die Basisbewegung geschrieben.