Biologist's experience in Mexico inspires writing of her first novel

The author says she examines ways lives change in small ways.
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- A Salem native went to Mexico to consider studying birds and found herself in the middle of an uprising.
That experience became the background for Sylvia Torti's first book, "The Scorpion's Tail."
"I arrived on the 31st of December 1993 and woke up Jan. 1 to the rebellion," she said in a telephone interview.
The fighting lasted only 12 days, but Torti was lodged in the middle of it because authorities refused to let her and her fellow scientists leave. The scientists left by following the reporters who departed after covering the fighting.
The rebellion in the Mexican state of Chiapas was led by Commander Zero, who is a minor character in the book.
M & aacute;rmol Prize
Since it was published in September, the novel has won the 2005 Miguel M & aacute;rmol Prize for Latino literature from her publisher, Curbstone Press. The prize is named for the late labor organizer and literary figure. The book has received good reviews, and Torti has speaking engagements throughout the country.
Torti, 37, lives in Salt Lake City, with her husband, Donald Feener, a biologist at the University of Utah, and their son, Adrian. Torti is also a biologist.
She is a 1986 graduate of Salem High School. Her parents, Dr. Dardo Torti and the former Frances Yanacos, have moved from Salem to Argentina. Dr. Torti was a pediatrician in Salem for many years.
A mixture of North American and South American views comes into play in "The Scorpion's Tail" as well as the author's life. She went off to college and wound up living in Africa, Europe and South America. Torti said discussions within her bicultural family and her global experiences left her with the perspective of being a citizen of the world rather than of one country.
According to her publisher, the M & aacute;rmol Prize "reflects a respect for intercultural understanding and fosters an appreciation for human rights and civil liberties."
Four perspectives
The book describes the rebellion from the views of four characters: Amy, an American scientist; Pablo, a Hispanic scientist; Chan Nah K'in, a native woman; and Mario, a soldier. Their stories unfold in separate chapters.
Chan Nah K'in and Mario tell their stories in the first-person voice, while the scientists' chapters are written in the third-person.
It is the native woman who gives the book its title. Nah K'in says, "We saw that Chiapas was like a scorpion's tail at the bottom of Mexico. We understood we had the power to whip around and sting those who had been stepping on us for so long."
Torti said the problem in real life ultimately was "too many people and too little land."
And just as the root causes of that rebellion weren't solved, "A Scorpion's Tail" also does not have a clear resolution.
Torti said the book explores "how people change in small ways."
She began her writing "mostly to amuse myself" while working in remote Africa because there was little else to do.
She's now 300 pages into her second novel, which still has no title. It's about a American-Argentine woman in search of her personal and political identity.
In her scientific work, she is trying to determine the amount of energy birds expend in singing.
wilkinson@vindy.com
XFor more information, visit http://www.sylviatorti.com.