SOURCE: “Letters and Desire: The Function of Marks on Paper in Elena Poniatowska's Querido Diego, te abraza Quiela,” in Continental, Latin-American and Francophone Women Writers, Vol. 2, 1990, pp. 1–6.

In the following essay, Paul examines the meaning of the words, etchings, and spaces in Querido Diego, te abraza Quiela, and how they are important to understanding Quiela's situation.

In her novella, Querido Diego, te abraza Quiela, Elena Poniatowska sets her fictional narrative within an accurate historical context: the text consists of a series of twelve letters purportedly written by the Russian artist Angelina (“Quiela”) Beloff and addressed to her absent lover, the Mexican painter Diego Rivera. After living in Paris with Quiela for ten years, Rivera has returned home to Mexico alone, since the two lovers can afford only one ticket. Rivera leaves, promising to send for Quiela at a later date. He writes her brief, emotionally detached letters for...