Cornelia Levy

Puerto Bagdad Cornelia Levy

By the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, sleeps Puerto Bagdad, a magical port town that would soon be lost to history. In the summer of 1855 a ship approaching the Mexican port loses its battle against a fierce storm and sinks into the sea. Tomas Lopez, a twelve-year-old peasant, spots a child among the wreckage and takes her to his mother who calls the child Manuela and raises her as her own. Twelve years later, the Confederacy arrives for trade of arms and supplies in the American Civil War and brings with it wealth, corruption and political strife. In this setting Manuela comes of age. Even though the shipwrecked girl goes to school, makes friends, and delights in the presence of ships from faraway lands, she never quite fits in and struggles with conflicts between her dreams and reality. Federico Tamariz, a handsome young man recently arrived at the port, arouses Manuela's passions but abandons her at a critical time. An unwelcome sexual awakening by the river turns the child into a woman. The end of the Civil War marks the beginning of the port's decay. A hidden music box breaks the silence of the shipwrecked girl's past. Time and destiny determine Manuela's future.'