What’s happened?
Carlos Fuentes died on Tuesday night.
Who was he?
He was a revered Mexican novelist, a crucial part of the literary movement in Latin America that came to be known as ‘El Boom’.
What was ‘El Boom’?
It was an artistic movement that emerged in the ‘60s. The writers were mavericks who defied the conventions of Latin American literature. They emphasised the modernist traits found in earlier European and American literature, and many of them experimented with form: they were exponents of magical realism, stream of consciousness and dialogue through question and answer.
What about substance?
This being South America in the mid-20th Century, they were preoccupied with politics, nationalism and history. Many of these writers were left-wing (or at least liberal) and were influenced by the revolutions in Latin America during the ‘50s and early ‘60s, although they decried the authoritarian regimes (both left and right) that emerged thereafter. Many of them pursued political careers at some stage.
So, not the territory occupied by the giants of English literature of the period?
No, not a swingers’ party in sight.
Who were the leaders of this movement?
They were of a generation born in the ‘20s and ‘30s for the most part — writers like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Mario Vargas Llosa, Julio Cortaza and Fuentes. And there were some older authors too, like Pablo Neruda and Jorge Luis Borges.
Was Fuentes well known?
In Latin America, certainly. But perhaps less so abroad.
Why might that be?
I’ve no idea. He is widely translated into English and has sold well in America and Europe at various points. But has not quite matched the fame and renown of Garcia Marquez and Vargas Llosa, both of whom have won the Nobel Prize.
Can you call it a Movement?
Not really. It does not seem to have been a conscious collective effort. And neither was it a cosy coterie of friends: Garcia Marquez and Vargas Llosa have not spoken to each other since having a fist fight at a literary event in 1976. Fuentes was close to both, apparently, so friendship is a feature of ‘El Boom’.
Which is Fuentes’ most revered book?
He is most famous for The Death of Artemio Cruz. It is a historical novel with its eyes placed firmly on the present. Set during the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920), it examines the effect that the conflict has had on succeeding generations. It centres on the thoughts of a dying powerbroker who has lived a corrupt and violent life; it is an indictment of the country’s politics, which were dominated by the Institutional Revolutionary Party for 71 years between 1929 and 2000. The book is still revered as Fuentes’s masterpiece, even though it was written when he was just 34, in 1962.
Did he write many other books?
Yes. There are 23 novels, 9 volumes of short fiction and numerous polemical essays, inspired by his politics and academic career. Of the novels, Terra Nostra (1975) and The Old Gringo (1985) are highly regarded.
Did he do more than write?
He was a distinguished diplomat and public servant, like so many South American authors — Neruda, Ariel Dorfman and Vargas Llosa have all been public servants at some stage. Fuentes was the Mexican ambassador to Paris during the 1970s. He also worked in theatre and cinema, collaborating on screenplays with Garcia Marquez in the ‘60s and ‘70s.
Was he married?
Twice. First to a film star, Rica Macedo, with whom he had a daughter. Their marriage was seasoned with affairs, and was dissolved in 1973. Then he married the journalist and diplomat Silvia Lemus, with whom he had two children, both of whom tragically died in their twenties.
Is he the last of the ‘El Boomers’?
Gabriel Garcia-Marquez still lives and breathes; discount the tweeter who claims to be Umberto Eco and says that Garcia Marquez died on Tuesday. He is a hoaxer. And Vargas Llosa is still alive and kicking.
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