Anna Ortiz

The Inhabited Women, by Giocanda Belli, presents the oddity that is Lavinia, a high born young woman, who lives in the fictional town of Faguas, Nicaragua, during the Sandinista Movement of the 1970s. As it follows her life as an architect with a well-paying job, it also passes over her childhood. It details her estrangement from her distant parents, her closeness with her deceased Aunt Inez, whose house she is currently living in. The house holds an orange tree, one of the most important parts of the property, and of the story itself. The tree, or spirit of the tree, seems to hold the essence of Itza, an indigenous woman who was rebelling against the Spanish conquistadors, as they entered what is now Nicaragua.