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“La tona” is the opening story in Francisco Rojas González’s collection El diosero, published in 1952. It follows the naming of Simón and Crisanta’s newborn son: one name comes from the church calendar, while another grows out of a ritual in which tracks left in hearth ash identify the child’s tona. The doctor’s bicycle gives that naming scene its comic turn.
What happens in “La tona”?
After Crisanta gives birth to a boy with help from a doctor and the midwife Altagracia, Simón returns home and spreads ashes around the house. Altagracia explains that the animal whose tracks appear there will be the baby’s tona—a lifelong companion or protective spirit in the story. The family later prepares for the child’s baptism. Simón chooses Damián, following the church calendar, and Bicicleta, a name linked to the trace associated with the doctor’s bicycle.
What does “tona” mean in the story?
A classroom-oriented literacy resource glosses tona as the first footprint seen on the ground at the entrance to the house when a child is born. In the story, the ash spread around the home makes the identifying tracks visible, and Altagracia describes the tona as a companion who will care for the child throughout life: “Si, tona, ella lo cuidará y será su amiga siempre, hasta que muera.” This is the character’s explanation within the fiction.
Why does the ending feel comic?
The scene brings together two ways of naming the child: Damián, chosen by the church calendar, and Bicicleta, connected to the sign found in the ashes. The unexpected bicycle association turns a solemn birth and naming custom into a joke. The humor comes from the story’s particular sequence; it need not be read as a judgment about the people or beliefs it depicts.
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What cultural context should readers keep in mind?
El Universal describes the story as set among Zoque people in Tapijulapa, Tabasco, and presents the tona as a naming custom. The university-published excerpt supports describing what Rojas González’s story portrays, but a literary scene alone does not establish that the practice is current, universal, or identical across Zoque communities. It is more precise to distinguish the story’s representation from claims about contemporary practice.
How has the story been interpreted?
Ana Lourdes Álvarez Romero’s 2019 peer-reviewed article compares “La tona” with “Hículi Hualula.” Her analysis places both stories within debates about mexicanidad, Indigenous representation, and the authority of literary and anthropological knowledge, and considers how Rojas González’s writing challenges assumptions about Western knowledge’s superiority. This is Álvarez Romero’s reading, not a claim that all critics interpret the story in the same way.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where does “La tona” appear?
“La tona” is included in El diosero (1952), rather than established here as a standalone edition. UNAM’s academic portal labels its excerpt “El diosero: ‘La tona’ [1952].” For readers looking for the story in book form, search for the collection and check the edition and format available from a bookseller or library.
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