The man died yesterday and has been today's news. I am no going to write much about it but I need to acknowledge that he was a rather poor politician, a maybe not so great human being, but one of the most stupendous writers ever. I have already written in 2007 a homage to Cien Años de Soledad, mentioning Love in the Time of Cholera and Chronicle of a Death Foretold, three essential books, to which if you are Latino American you should also add El General en su Laberinto.
One thing I have noticed it is the attacks made against him for his friendship for Fidel Castro. I want to make two comments on that.
First, Garcia Marquez could not let go from a revolution that was still "justifiable" in the 60ies. Castro offered him to direct a new style of news agency at a time he had not written yet 100 Years. That all of this went down the drain is another story. The fact of the matter is that in his old age Garcia Marquez moved to Mexico, not to Havana. And he never embraced Chavez. Amen of limiting his public contacts with his old friend Fidel. We could have hoped for more but we got at least that.
Second, we should not forget that one thing is the artist and another the public persona. The more so when the artist is a creator. For all of his political foibles Garcia Marquez did not let his politics pervade his art, at least not in the 4 books mentioned above. That is why those books are great masterpieces, because they speak to all of us, and probably much, much more to us, sentient beings, than the brain washed Cuban or Chavista. I am sorry for those who have the bad taste of celebrate the passing of one of the best writers of our times. Educated people should be able to make the difference between the likes of Wagner and Garcia Marquez, and the scum that glorified non creators like Dudamel are. To give you a recent example of reprehensible artist.
Saturday, April 19, 2014
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Daniel, we all have our reprehensible artists, don't we?
ReplyDeleteIndeed. It is a voyage au bout de la nuit.....
DeleteDaniel, you know how to hit a raw nerve. If there is someone I cannot stand because of his lack of "fibre morale" (sorry, cannot find the English translation) it is Louis Ferdinand Celine.
DeleteThat would be "moral fiber" same meaning
DeleteVargas Llosa. Great writer, but puts self interests above his country's needs. Love him, and hate him, in the same moment.
ReplyDeleteVargas Llosa. Great writer, but puts self interests above his country's needs.
DeletePlease explain.
Vargas Llosa lost his bid for the presidency of Peru to Fujimori in 1990. He could never accept being defeated, and then by only a university president, so he geared most of his future political moves by that defeat. From Spain he kept telling the Peruvians how their country shoud be ruled.
DeleteBut Llosa's most despicable activities commenced during Humala's run for the Peruvian Presidency in 2011, against Keiko Fujimori, daughter of Alberto Fujimori. By throwing his support for Humala, a two time coup attempter, he legitimized this Captain Carlos (Humala's nom de guerre in 1991 when he protected drug flights from Peru's jungles). Probably Humala would not now be president without Llosa's support and the money that he recieved from Chavez.
Finally, for the past two years, Llosa has supported Humala and his wife Nadine, as they both have corrupted Peruvian institutions. While the majority of Peruvians have turned against this Humala regime, for attempting to take Peru down the Chavez road, Vargas Llosa continues to provide cover for Humala and Nadine.Yes, Llosa plans on visiting Venezuela to support the opposition, but at the same instant he is the biggest supporter of Humala and Nadine, who are supporters of Maduro.
The guy writes well, but he is a fake.
Thanks for the reply. I wasn't aware of all the post-1990 history.
DeleteNo excuses. Such artists can be huge, respected public figures. They should avoid politics, or be careful about possible repercussions. Somehow, I prefer to read Vargas Llosa these days..
ReplyDeleteThere are quite a number of people for whom Castro was a hero in the 60ths .... but it seems to be extremely difficult to let go of the dream of their youth, so they defend them even when older and when they should know better .... seems that only few people are flexible enough to change their opinions
ReplyDeleteGuess Marquez really lived a life of "realismo magico" or smoked way too many in the 60's..
ReplyDeleteel voto de la mujer, en este mundo, como grita el alma sin cuerpo!
ReplyDeleteDaniel, on a finer note CNNE had a 1/2 hour tribute to Gabriel tonight including conversations with Columbian President.
ReplyDeleteGringo Bill,
PS I'm in Venezuela so I can see CNNE
Gabo vivio en Mexico por primera vez en el 61. Cien Años de Soledad fue escrita alli. Despues, salio en el 67, a Barcelona, donde vivio hasta 1975. De alli regreso a Mexico. Asi que no se mudo alla cuando estaba viejo.
ReplyDeleteEn los 60 todo el mundo adoraba e idolatraba a Fidel.
Great creator very poor politician; would you hold back on me if I told you I was a good body and supporter of Mussolini or Adolph Hitler; I guess you would!!!
ReplyDeleteHomophobia, really......
DeletePerhaps we can learn two lesson from Gabo's forays into the political realm:
ReplyDelete1) Writers should stay away from politics, lest they make utter fools out of themselves, like Gabo.
2) If a writer interjects himself into politics, ignore him.
You nailed it Daniel. GGM had hs own political views, but they did not permeated into his art.
ReplyDeleteHere's my post:
http://cuentosintrascendentes.blogspot.ca/2014/04/el-escritor-de-nuestras-vidas.html