El Senor President, is written by Miguel Angel Asturias in 1946. It explores the nature of the political dictatorship and the effects it had on society. This story was developed from an earlier piece by Asturias which was meant as a protest of social injustice.
Here is a little bit of background information to better understand why Miguel Asturias wrote this story:
In 1847, the conservative Rafael Carrera manages to separate the United Provinces of Central America union formed by El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. The situation at this time in Guatemala is highly volatile due to fighting between liberals and conservatives, nationalism and coups. After progressive dreams Justo Rufino, in 1898 the presidency of Manuel begins Estrada Cabrera. This put the country into an authoritarian regime is accused of cruelty to classes rural estates and he has given to foreign exploitation. Finally, it is overthrown in 1920. When developing the facts, the author lived his childhood and adolescence, the narrator himself exteriorized sense of Asturias. (http://html.rincondelvago.com/el-senor-presidente_miguel-angel-asturias.html)
To start reading this story without any general background was a bit of a mistake so when I went back and did some research I was able to understand the plot/characters/dialogue much better. I was a little lost to start out, soon realizing Asturias as, of course, not only the narrator of his story but as a spectator during his life of the government which ruled around him.
I found the narration at times difficult to understand but the dialogue helps make it an easier read since there is so much discussion throughout.
Thanks for the brush-up in history during this period in Guatamala... It does shed more light on the setting of the story.
ReplyDeleteYo tambien lo encontre un poco dificil entender muchas veces - siento que he perdido muchas detalles y momentos interesantes por no entenderlos muy bien - pero la trama queda mas claro que su lenguaje ;-)
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