Guerrero: A Novel of Conquest and Resistance

Celebrated Spanish writer José Ángel Mañas makes his English-language debut with Guerrero,  a novel based on the real-life Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Guerrero,  who defied Cortés and fought against Spain with his adopted Mayan tribe.

In  January 1512, a caravel full of gold and Indian slaves sinks in a  fierce storm. A small group of survivors including Guerrero wash up on a  beach in Yucatán. Captured by Cocome Mayans, some are sacrificed; the  rest are enslaved. Two survive: the young priest Jerónimo de Aguilar and  the seasoned soldier Guerrero. They are redeemed by the rival and more  sympathetic Tutul Xiúe Mayans. Jerónimo clings to his prayerbook, while  Gonzalo becomes fascinated with Mayan culture and religion, joining with  his new Mayan family to fight against Spanish conquest. For his crime,  he is wiped from the record books of colonial Spain. Though little is  known of Guerrero today, in this masterful short novel he becomes a  larger-than-life figure of resistance and honor.