The Embodied Soul: The Voices in the Chronicles of Juan Villoro

In his chronicles, Juan Villoro explores voices of his generation, his fellow citizens, artists and intellectuals, anonymous people, and in particular, his own, combining two traditions: the European and the American ones. This study begins with Villoro defining the current chronicle as “the duck-billed platypus of prose”, a metaphor referring to the hybrid essence of this polyphonic genre being derived from other genres. Villoro’s non-fiction texts are studied through interpretative reading and a comparatist analysis. Contemporary chroniclers’ texts that highlight the polyphony and hybrid character of this genre were analyzed. Villoro’s rhetoric is studied in his chronicles, wherein a wide range of topics are addressed. These do not escape the portrait of the Mexican popular culture. Villoro writes chronicles through which he explains that he resorts to a “delegated voice”, an instrument by means of which he lends his voice and style to others who share their stories and experiences with him. It is concluded that Villoro carried out an operation in his chronicles, wherein he tried to reflect “the embodied soul”, that is, the voices of those that narrate their experiences. Villoro thus becomes a “witness”, a term frequently used by him in his narratives, a role he chooses to play to be able to express such different societal voices in chronicles that resemble essays and autobiographies.