"Purported recovery of an epic poem about the indigenous cacique called Nicarao (Nicaragua) and the Spanish conquerors, Pasos' lyrical narrative attempts to distinguish 'historical truth' from fiction. Since his work is a hybrid of both types of discourse, aided and abetted by real and fictional document fragments, glossaries, and digressions, Pasos' attempt to explain the meaning of terms like güegüense and others (thereby forcing and recovering patriotism) ultimately fails"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 58.