La Jornada: The MNA will dedicate exhibitions to two milestones in the life of the enigmatic writer B. Traven

Two milestones in the life of the enigmatic and mysterious German-Mexican writer B. Traven (1882-1969) – one of his many pseudonyms – will be celebrated tomorrow with the opening of the exhibitions Land of spring: B. Traven in the Lacandona jungle y Centenary of The Death Ship, at the National Museum of Anthropology (MNA).

The first takes up the title of spring land (1928), a photographic book published as a result of several trips that Traven made to Chiapas starting in 1926, initially as a member of an expedition organized by the government with a view to locating the habitat of the dreaded lobster.

In that sample, the author of books like Basket of Mexican stories y The treasure of the Sierra Madre He reveals himself as a photographer, a little-known facet of his production, which began on the occasion of these journeys.

B. Traven was not an improvised photographer. When he arrived in Mexico in 1924, he learned the trade with Edward Weston and Tina Modotti, says Timothy Heyman, director in charge of the B. Traven Estate, which is located in Mexico City.

I used to use a Graflex camera and a Leica, one of the first to be manufactured.

“He began photographing out of a desire to document what he saw; for example, how the Lacandons lived and their social structure. He also discovered Mayan ruins,” Heyman notes.

B. Traven’s first translator and agent was Esperanza López Mateos –sister of the former president of Mexico from 1958 to 1964–, from 1941 until her death in 1951.

When the National Museum of Anthropology was inaugurated in 1964, at the initiative of Adolfo López Mateos, the writer, “in an act of friendship,” donated material related to the 1926 expedition to the site. Now, that collection is the “heart” of the exhibition spring land, along with photographs from the Estate.

Reissues of emblematic publications

The second exhibition, Centenary of The Death Ship, commemorates the publication, in 1926, of said novel, the first of a total of 12 books of his authorship.

80 different editions will be shown, published over time, in various languages ​​and countries, of this story of the protest of an American sailor whose passport and, therefore, his citizenship is withdrawn. Traven considered national and international bureaucracy the “archenemy of individual freedom.”

For the exhibitions, the Estate has also provided the narrator’s personal belongings, such as two typewriters, cameras, his saddle, hats and his compass, among other instruments.

On the occasion of the centenary of The ship of deaththis year Penguin Random House Mexico will reissue its version in Spanish. They will also republish the novel Macario (1950) y Basket of Mexican stories. Heyman announces: “We have signed a contract to publish Traven as a classic with the Penguin Classics imprint.” The only other Mexican included in that collection is Mariano Azuela, notes the former banker.

The Estate is also working on three film projects: “we signed a contract for a remake of Macario, which was the first Mexican film, in 1960, to be nominated for an Oscar.

“We also work on a remake of The ship of death as well as The white rose. “We negotiated a contract to put on a play in Germany in 2027.”

When Esperanza López Mateos died, it was Rosa Elena Luján who took over the translation of Traven’s work; He married her in 1957. Malú Montes de Oca, daughter of Luján, and stepdaughter of Traven, specifies that at first it was her mother who was in charge of promoting her work. When Mrs. Rosa Elena died in 2009, the responsibility fell to Montes de Oca until Heyman, who is her husband, assumed the task in 2020.

Regarding the current “popularity” of the author, his stepdaughter answers: “they continue to read him and his books are published continuously. Maybe he sells less than before, so we have to try to interest young people. What matters most to me in life is that he is read and that young people know him.”

Heyman adds: “I think globalization has helped us, as we have been able to create platforms and websites, and employ social media for our efforts.”

For Montes de Oca, “we just have to make an effort in the world’s markets. Traven needs to be well read again; that’s what we dedicate ourselves to.”

The exhibitions Land of spring: B. Traven in the Lacandona jungle y Centenary of The Death Ship They will be inaugurated tomorrow at 7 p.m. at the MNA (Paseo de la Reforma and Gandhi avenues, Chapultepec Polanco neighborhood).