Skin Of The Sky 

By Elena Poniatowska

Translated by Deanna Heikkinen. 

By Rashaan Alexis Meneses

            In Elena Poniatowska’s The Skin of the Sky, the stars not only reflect the soul and drive of one man, but also chart the progress of a nation. Awarded the International Primio Alfaguaro de Novelo Prize in 2001, The Skin of the Sky was recently translated into English by Deanna Heikkinen and reaffirms Poniatowka’s role as one of Mexico’s preeminent writers. Poniatowska began her career as a journalist. She later turned to fiction to explore the history and politics of Mexico, which she deftly weaves into the stories and lives of her protagonists. The Skin of the Sky is no less than an intimate and biting critique of Mexico’s role in the 20th Century.

            The novel follows the rise of Lorenzo de Tena, born an illegitimate son of a peasant woman in the rural countryside of Mexico. Lorenzo centers his life on his mother, Florencia, who embodies the wonders and splendors of the natural world. When Florencia unexpectedly dies, Lorenzo and his siblings are forced to live with their wealthy father and aunt in Mexico City. Estranged from their roots to the land and nature, Lorenzo is immersed in a life of privilege and luxury. Lorenzo and his brother, Juan, readily take to the world of academics and both find camaraderie among fellow male students who share a passion for literature and philosophy. Through their companionship, Lorenzo solidifies the machismo attitude, which will eventually dictate his relationships with other women.

            Although both Juan and Lorenzo excel in the sciences, they are fated to follow different paths. Lorenzo’s destiny is clear; his trajectory leads to the cosmos and the T-tauri protostars that will bring him fame and recognition. As Lorenzo ascends, Juan sinks deeper into the depths of humanity. Lorenzo and Juan are two sides of the same coin. Their contrasting destinies are testaments to the inseparable gulf between the haves and the have-nots that Mexico has yet to bridge.

            Poniatowska is fearless in regards to the myriad of issues she addresses within the novel. From Mexico’s longstanding tradition of sexism to the more current plight of brain drain, through the eyes of Lorenzo and through his scientific advances, Poniatowska tackles the social and political strife that Mexico faces today. Her critique takes shape when Lorenzo is offered a research position at Harvard University. In the United States, he is dazzled by the technology and scientific advancements his northern counterparts have achieved. The liberated women who are not afraid to speak their minds also beguile Lorenzo. Upon his return to Mexico, he awakens to the corruption and backwardness that keeps his country from progressing.

            Much of the novel takes place in the 1930’s. After the revolution, Mexico seemed to promise a vibrant future for its people and was home to some of the world’s most radical and revolutionary artists, writers, and activists. Yet as the U.S. and Europe lead the world into modernization, Mexico looms in their shadows. As his country’s foremost astronomer, Lorenzo faces the Sisyphean task of grappling against political corruption and intellectual and economic stagnation in the hopes that Mexico will be able to compete with First World technology. Yet, despite Lorenzo’s travels around the world, and despite the pervasive obstinacy he continually confronts in his home country, Lorenzo realizes he loves the Mexican sky the best.

            He is most home at the Tacubaya Astronomical Observatory, set in the ancient lands of Tonantzinla where the mystical volcanoes of Popocatéptl and Itzáccihuatal direct the lives of the villagers. Here, Poniatowska recalls the astronomical glories of the Aztecs whose spirits and legacy fuel Lorenzo’s insatiable appetite to understand the stars. In Tonantzinla Lorenzo realizes his roots are tied to the people and the land of Mexico:

The great starry nights were his compassion. He looked to find in the sky what he had seen on Earth. The empty places of the Earth would have their equivalents in space, which now served as his roof. There were vast regions, apparently empty, but nevertheless full of gas, interstellar material, green oases, well-cultivated fields, sources of light and energy. The stars were grouped in crowds like men around a table in the cantina. These stars would spin in a spiral until extinction, like the farmers who clinked glasses- a collision of galaxies. Could the stars be as exhausted as the farmers? Lorenzo followed the parallels. He converted the sky into another Earth. If everyday interplanetary matter fell to Earth, then men should reciprocate, rising and expanding into the atmosphere, swallowed up by the emptiness, would they have life? If we were all the result of a great explosion, an unimaginable ball of fire that came from nothingness and belonged to an always greater universe, what cataclysm would return us to the starting point—if there had in fact, been a starting point. The next morning, Lorenzo felt more love for these weak pieces of matter who lived ten seconds—compared with the age of the universe.

            Lorenzo’s compassion for humanity is most often times debilitating. Unlike the stars, the distance of these fiery beings isn’t light years apart, and whenever Lorenzo turns his eyes away from the heavens, he finds himself enmeshed in the everyday human dramas that he tries so hard to isolate himself from. Throughout his life, women continually elude Lorenzo. Like the moon that obscures his nightly observations, his lovers are haunting frustrations. His romantic relationships pose only more questions that Lorenzo desperately seeks to find answers to.

            Lorenzo’s story is of constant struggle. He struggles with the compulsive chauvinism that is embedded into his character. He struggles to master the stars and the women in his life. And he fights an impossible battle against the tide of decline that he sees his beloved country falling into.

            Like many of her fellow Latin American writers, the characters of Poniatowska’s The Skin of the Sky are a means to an end. Through their thoughts and actions, the trends and issues of a nation are personified. This novel is a complex and beautiful allegory fraught with the harsh realities that many Mexicans face today. Through graceful imagery and clarity of language, Poniatowska reveals her devotion and love for the country she’s called home since her childhood.