The Political Affiliation of Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, affectionately known as "Gabo" is a world-famous acclaimed Colombian novelist. Gabriel viewed himself as a journalist first followed by a novelist. However, above all he considered himself a realist. Gabriel is the founder of the literary genre coined "Magic Realism". A genre which incorporates fantastic or mythical elements into realist literature. Gabriel Garcia Marquez pertained outwardly to his political affiliations and views. Gabriel was a passionate believer in the leftist ideological outlooks of Karl Marx and therefore, had developed a sincere (in the eyes of the public) relationship with the communist leader who fueled the revolution in Cuba and ruled with an iron fist, Mr. Fidel Castro. Gabriel had previously stated that their profound relationship was one built on their common interest in literature. Gabriel and Castro were both two individuals intrigued by literature and therefore, Castro began to thoroughly admire Gabriel's books.
"One day, discussing Garcia Marquez’s book The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor, Castro said that there was a miscalculation in the speed of a boat." This shared interest in literature developed into a partnership where Gabriel would never release a book only until Castro had "refined" it from errors due to his thoroughness in reading. Now this is pure speculation (I did read about it), however, whether Fidel Castro "proof-read", "refined", "cleansed", purified" or "corrected" certain factual errors in Gabriel's books is slightly questionable. Fidel was notorious for his ruthless exploitation of Cuban citizens and immense censorship to repress social change. Therefore, one could argue that the realist elements could have been tweaked to Castro's political agenda, however, this is highly unlikely.
Furthermore, the relationship was not only Fidel criticizing and aiding Gabriel rather, Gabriel was not afraid to criticize Fidel if need be. They did have profound differences of opinion regarding their political outlooks (the specifications of communism) including influencing Castro to abstain from certain executions in Cuba and freeing high-profile political prisoners. Finally, to wrap the comments above one can logically deduce that Gabriel Garcia Marquez's political affiliations with Fidel Castro influenced his political philosophy.
"One day, discussing Garcia Marquez’s book The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor, Castro said that there was a miscalculation in the speed of a boat." This shared interest in literature developed into a partnership where Gabriel would never release a book only until Castro had "refined" it from errors due to his thoroughness in reading. Now this is pure speculation (I did read about it), however, whether Fidel Castro "proof-read", "refined", "cleansed", purified" or "corrected" certain factual errors in Gabriel's books is slightly questionable. Fidel was notorious for his ruthless exploitation of Cuban citizens and immense censorship to repress social change. Therefore, one could argue that the realist elements could have been tweaked to Castro's political agenda, however, this is highly unlikely.
Furthermore, the relationship was not only Fidel criticizing and aiding Gabriel rather, Gabriel was not afraid to criticize Fidel if need be. They did have profound differences of opinion regarding their political outlooks (the specifications of communism) including influencing Castro to abstain from certain executions in Cuba and freeing high-profile political prisoners. Finally, to wrap the comments above one can logically deduce that Gabriel Garcia Marquez's political affiliations with Fidel Castro influenced his political philosophy.
Comments
Post a Comment