Álvaro Enrigue's new novel reimagines Hernán Cortés' and Moctezuma's empires

NPR's Book of the Day

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Arts, Books

4.2 • 672 Ratings

🗓️ 15 January 2024

⏱️ 8 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

You Dreamed of Empires sets the scene for a violent historical encounter: the war between the Spanish and Aztec empires. But in a fictionalization of Hernán Cortés' arrival in the city of Tenochtitlan in 1519, author Álvaro Enrigue challenges ideas about colonialism, revolution and influential rulers. In today's episode, he speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about finding humor and humanity in the men he writes about — sometimes laughing about, but not with, the powerful ones.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, I'm Timbermius and this is NPR's Book of the Day.
0:06.0	What does it mean to be at the center of the universe?
0:10.0	To think of oneself as having the correct way of understanding the world or that your outlook should take precedence over another.
0:17.0	In You Dreamed of Empires, Alvaro Enrique reimagines the encounter between the Aztec Empire and the Spanish Conquistadors of the 16th century.
0:27.7	He talks about the book with Weekend Edition host, Scott Simon, and all that it took to bring it to life.
0:33.4	The research, walking the streets where Magtizuma once did, and why humor is the perfect
0:39.6	accompaniment to a novel about colonialism.
0:43.7	In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.
0:48.5	Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show, Sources and Methods.
0:55.1	NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people, helping you understand
0:59.6	why distant events matter here at home.
1:02.7	Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
1:08.0	Two empires met in 1519 when Ernan Cortez's conquistadors entered Tinochetlan and encountered the court of the Emperor Magdizuma.
1:20.4	The Aztecs didn't know what to make of the horses brought in by the Spaniards and their constant invocation of some kind of power they call Christianity.
1:29.1	Spaniards didn't know what to make of what we'd now call chocolate,
1:32.9	and a kind of cathedral in the palace that was hung with thousands of skulls.
1:39.3	The deeper the conquistadors go inside the Aztec Palace, they begin to wonder,
1:43.9	why did they let us in so easily?
1:46.4	And will they ever let us out?
1:50.7	You dreamed of Empires?
1:52.3	This is the new novel from Alvado Inrigue, the Mexican writer who's been a fellow at the New York Public Library and now teaches at Hofster University.
2:02.2	He joins us from Uruguay. Thank you so much for being with us. Thank you for having me, Scott, really.
	...

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