• Search for:

• Recent Posts

  • Span 365 reflection
  • McOndo
  • Final Reflections
  • Final Reflections
  • Asturias, Marquez, and Carpentier

• Blogroll

  • French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies
  • LAST201: Popular Culture in Latin America
  • Latin American Studies
  • SPAN322: North of the Río Grande
  • SPAN364: Survey of Spanish-American Literature to the 1820s
  • SPAN401: Spanish-English Translation
  • SPAN404: Cinema of Mexico

• Contributors

  • “Black Velvet”
  • Alex E’s Blog
  • alice365
  • Britt’s Blog
  • Chris Weber – SPAN 365
  • Daniela’s 365 Blog!
  • Eben’s 365 Blog
  • espanishola
  • Hanne’s blog
  • Hills’ Blog
  • Howimetpatrick’s Blog
  • Jeff’s365
  • jeremyBLAUGRANA
  • Kayo’s Span 365
  • KYLA BURKE-LAZARUS
  • Laura’s Blog
  • Lee un pinche libro
  • Literatura Española 365
  • Mark Atherton 365
  • masalladelacordillera
  • Matt’s blog SPAN 365
  • Max’s Blog
  • Megan’s Blog
  • My thoughts
  • pensamientos
  • Pooneh- Espanol 365
  • Raluca’s Blog
  • shima_span365
  • Siena’s 365 Blog
  • SPAN 365
  • SPAN 365
  • span 365 blog
  • span365
  • span365
  • stayin’ alive in 365
  • svetlana_sp365
  • The Muse
  • The Room of Lights
  • Tracy’s Blog for SPAN 365
  • Visca Catalunya
  • Words on Whatever

One thing that I found particularly interesting while anayzing the first book was the proffessor`s question on what is real and what isn`t. I found that after reflecting upon what aspects of the book were real, the focus of my reading changed and I was better able to understand the point of the books. For example, it didnt matter anymore why in the world there were three birds talking up in a tree, the greater point was the environment (setting), the athmosphere, the historical events and the cultural way or recounting events (for example dividing time according to the morning, afternoon and evening) that were real and significant in the book. The birds may have been people but afterall the author of the book would not have known the characters and written down word for word their conversations anyways, so it doesn;t matter who the characters are. if they had been people they would have been just as imaginary as the birds!

I took this different mindset into my reading of the second book, which I found to be more reality-based: there were significantly more historical events and characters included, and the distinction of reality versus fantasy became secondary to philosophical reflections in this novel. I found TiNoel’s conclusions at the end of the novel to be extremely moving, since they reflect a past reality that still applies today. Furthermore as we saw in class, it can be interpreted in various different ways. (Without class discussions, for example, I would not have noticed that many interpretations are possible, which is usually what happens with books: each person sees what they want int he book). I therefore feel like the focus of the first book was more the use of fantasy in order to put across to the reader the culture and conflicts of the time, whereas the focus of the second book was to not only to show what historical events and cultural conflicts were like at the time they occurred, but also to make the reader reflect on the situation and the conflicts, both past and present.

Well I’m not sure really how to address this but here it goes.

From the first book Legends of Guatemala we were introduced to the concept of magical realism although this first book seemed more magical with a light splash of realism if any. In contrast Reino de este mundo was a lot more realistic as it comes from Haiti’s history but with a little magick in it in the form of shape-shifters (changing from human to other creatures) and the use of voodoo. So far magical realism just seems like regular story telling nothing overly special in my opinion compared to other books I’ve read in the past and its been a bit of read and forget although Carpentier’s book kind of seems to stick to the mind more so than the first book which was for lack of better words boring.

Over all to me magical realism seems like most books trying to add a bit of magick to reality and alter it to be pleasing to the readers.

acabo de cocinar la cena, y por la segunda vez este fin de semana, he quemado mi comida y hecho la alarma de humo…:|uff…puedo decir que estos días he tenido mala suerte porque no soy mala cocinera jaja…

This class so far… well lets see. Before this class I had no idea that was a difference between magic realism, found in Asturias, and lo real maravilloso, in Carpentier and now thanks to reading the two novels these concepts are clearly defined and differentiated. Magic realism being the essence of magic and the incredible or inconceivable existing in the world we know where as lo real maravilloso is that the world we know is the maravilloso. Although in writing the difference between the terms seems minor, after reading the novels one sees that they are drastically different. I especially am intrigued by the idea of lo real maravilloso, and I think this way of looking the world is very inspiring.

Magic realism and lo real maravilloso help to evolve a major themes that exist in both text, spirituality of Latin America. Both text come out in age trying to bolster “Latin” power. I found it interesting when doing research about Leyendas de Guatemala, that part of the strive to revitalize Latin America was because Europe had just come out devastated from WWI and was looking for new ways support their economy. I think that it is very interesting to think about who the audience is that the author is writing for. When doing my research I found extremely contrasting views of the goals of Asturias in writing Leyendas de Guatemala. It was either argued that Asturias was in order to defend the Indians encouraging them to “untie the bonds” of oppressive European forces. Or the Leyendas de Guatemala aimed to prove that mestizaje is necessary. I am not sure if the same debates surround the works of Carpentier.

Nature plays an important role in both novels. And time is also important in both, sometimes portrayed as transient and other chronological time.

Overall I have really enjoyed the class so far as the two novels have been very interesting and class discussion has really helped me to understand the texts better. I am excited read the next novels and to see the influence Asturias and Carpentier had on them.

Hesitancy in accepting the reality of events is the very reaction that fantastic literature, including magical realism, induces in its readers, who always act as secondary witnesses of sorts. This response should not be understood so much as an unwillingness to acknowledge the “poetic singularity” of the event, but as a readiness to keep an open mind toward several—often even contradictory—ways of perceiving and understanding.
–From “Writing the Vanishing Real: Hyperreality and Magical Realism” by Eugene L. Arva

For one thing, this annotated bibliography has also helped to clear up the idea of what exactly IS magical realism. It has helped me to take this big idea and contain it. This particular quote that I found while reading summed up how I felt when I was reading Leyendas. And I can say that I definitely felt that there wasn’t one single way at approaching the book, and more than anything maybe all I needed to do was to relax and adjust to being unsure of how to interpret the text. I highly recommend Arva’s article, too, especially if you’re feeling like you need a different approach towards the concept of magical realism. For example, I found it really interesting in the way that Arva used Guy Debord’s The Society of the Spectacle to help to explain magical realism. It also really gave me a better understanding of the purpose and the advantages of the use of magical realism in literature as a means of representing reality.

Another thing I’d like to add that I found very helpful, was the distinction between lo real maravilloso and realismo mágico. As a note, I feel that it’s pretty obvious after having read Carpentier’s preface to El Reino de este Mundo, however this article put it plain and simple:

…realismo mágico has a more universal connotation while Carpentier’s lo real maravilloso is more criollista in the sense that it is magical realism that pertains solely to America.
— From “Realismo Magico: True Realism with a Pinch of Magic” by Lee A. Daniel

So as skeptical as I was of this class in the beginning, I think that this Wikipedia project is filling in any existing gaps that I had (or that I felt that I had) with the readings. The research component paired with the examination of magical realist works first hand is shaping up to provide a very comprehensive coverage of the topic of literary magical realism in Latin America.

I think most of us have a prior knowledge of magic realism and its founders, but it’s nice to have a class which focuses on this literary technique in such detail. This course so far has helped me to understand the many ways in which magic realism can be implemented into a story. I feel that the most important thing that I have learnt so far is that magic realism is not indented to define Latin America as a place where the people are childlike and believe in magic, but rather a place that itself is magical, a place where “lo real maravilloso” es lo real. In these works the native and popular beliefs are presented as true knowledge rather than as foreign, unbelievable folklore.

I believe that these writers attempt to bring the past back to life to show the reader that the past is a vital part of human beings. If were want to understand a people, we need to understand their history.

For me this belief in the unbelievable, is just another way of looking at the world that surrounds you. Moreover, I myself had to attempt objectivity when reading these texts. I had to accept the marvelous within the story as reality, otherwise I would not be capable of experiencing the magical. Magical realism is just a different approach to looking at things.

Still, I am aware that since I am born of Haitian decent or Aztec decent, that I will never be able to fully understand or experience this approach. I admire it, but it is not my reality.

I think that magic realism is a wonderful thing, sometimes very confusing, but non the less beautiful. However, I do see some danger of it being abused. I have learnt in other courses that some see it as a hindrance to Latin America rather than I help. If people do not understand its purpose, it can work against the people and make them appear to be naive and uneducated.

So to conclude, I think this course is very important. Considering the fact that magic realism is such a huge part of Latin America and its literature, and many of us are Spanish majors or minors, it is vital to have a solid understanding of magic realism and its purpose.

Hope everyone had a good weekend! One more week guys!!!! :O)

I’ve already taken Jon’s 322 class (North of the Rio Grande), and although the structure runs along similar lines (pimpin’ out a Wikipedia article, writing blogs, etc…), there are also several adjustments that have been made to the curriculum which I actually see as improvements. For example, in 322 we were racing against time to try to start articles and get them nominated for ‘Did you know…?’ status. The fact that we’re not doing this in this semester could be because all our articles have already been started and at this point are not eligible for DYK, but in my mind: the lack of pressure is all for the best. Competing against time for my first Wikipedia experience was overwhelming and stressful. Even though my group did manage to get a DYK, I felt that I had started my Wikipedia writing style off on the wrong foot, and as a consequence had to go back to the drawing-board halfway through the semester when I realized that wikipedia is (lo and behold) written like an encyclopaedia, not an opinion page or a collection of related quotes. The annotated bibliography is an especially handy tool. I feel that my organized notes on the book I read will enhance my section on Alejo Carpentier’s baroque style because they are all laid out neatly and plainly for me to pick and choose what I want to use; not to mention sections that my group members could also use. Perhaps it’s not a bad idea to do this sort of thing with the other articles and books as well.

I really love the idea of blogwriting for a weekly ‘assignment’. This ensures that the class has read the assigned reading and also allows us to cast all of our thoughts out before we go to class and really delve into the themes, characters, and nuances of each book. I feel particularly passionate about being able to write my blog about whatever pleases me at the time. There’s a seed of freedom there (and, of course, it’s environmentally friendly). 🙂

The readings always seem like a lot at the time, but I’m enjoying that we are spending at least one week of classes on each half of the books. It was wonderful to start out with Asturias and transition into Carpentier; two authors with similar writing styles, but to different ends. Asturias with his mythical tales of religious proportions, and Carpentier who uses historical and cultural references to bring the marvellous , instead of the magical, into the reality that he associates with both his Cuban and European identities.

Al principio del semestre estaba un poco preocupada por matricularme en un curso de literatura en español concentrado en el realismo mágico, porque en mi (poca) experiencia con el real-maravilloso antes de este curso simpre he tenido un poco de dificultad con este tipo de literatura, y como no soy hablante nativa de español siempre he estado un poco más nerviosa de leer obras de literatura en español que leer obras de literatura en íngles. Sin obstante, hasta ahora me ha encantado el curso, los libros de Asturias y Carpentier, y nuestras discusiónes en clase. Me gusta que el curso es muy bien organizado, simpre estoy consciente de lo que debo leer y completar para cada clase y el formato del clase con discusiónes en grupos seguidas por discusiónes de toda la clase como un grupo. Las ideas que discutimos en clase me ayudan en considerar el tema más grande de lo real-maravilloso en conexión específica con los textos y también en el contexto más grande de concepto literario.

Leyendas de Guatemala, aunque técnicamente antecedente del realismo mágico, presenta un carácter híbrido de literatura, antropología y leyendas que me parrece muy fascinante y multifacético. Desde que leí este libro me siento que tengo un entendimiento más profundo del realismo mágico porque aprendí más sobre la importancia del espacio y de la temporalidad en el realismo mágico, y que el realismo mágico presenta muchas figuras mágicas que también tienen un carácter muy humano. Para mi, lo más interesante del texto fue la incorporación de elementos del realismo junto con elementos mágicos, y el equilibro dinámico entre estos dos aspectos que, en mi opinión, forman una parte estructural clave del texto.

El prólogo de Carpentier también me ayudó mucho a comprender el fenómeno del realismo mágico como producto característico de Latinoamérica y también como una parte clave de la cultura de la región – todos los pensamientos que Carpentier desarolla en su prólogo culminan en la pregunta retórica “¿Pero qué es la historia de América toda sino una crónica de lo real-maravilloso?”. En El reino de este mundo Carpentier está destacando otra forma de pensar, como Asturias hace en Leyendas de Guatemala, y en leer la obra de Carpentier me di cuenta de uno de los errores que yo hacía antes de este curso; siempre imaginaba lo real y lo maravilloso como fuerzas opuestas, pero el libro de Carpentier me hizo realizar que no es así; verdaderamente, lo real y lo maravilloso son elementos que funcionan en tándem para crear una visión de Haiti que incluye elementos mágicos pero también elementos históricos, relatados (por la mayoría del texto) desde la perspectiva de un personaje que describimos en clase en una manera que me encanta – un tipo de “Forrest Gump”; Ti Noel siempre se encuentra al centro de acontecimientos claves en la historia de Haiti.

Después de darme cuenta del hecho clave que lo real y lo maravilloso no son fuerzas opuestas, pero que el maravilloso es tan real en Latinoamérica, mi lectura del texto fue mucho más profunda. Estoy contenta que he entendido este hecho clave antes de leer Cien años de soledad – pienso que la lectura de este libro probablemente va ser uno de los hechos más memorables de mi especialización en español.

Esta entrada del blog es una buena oportunidad para reflejar en los orígenes del realismo mágico. Los textos de Asturias y Carpentier muestran los raices de la literatura latinoamericana que fue escrito para descubrir las diferencias entre Ámerica Latina y Europa. La razón de que la escritura de Asturias y Carpentier sigue a ser importante en los cursos de literatura es que defina los aspectos únicos de las culturas latinoamericanas. Antes de su literatura, me imagino que no hubo mucha discusión sobre la identidad latinoamericana colectiva. En mi opinión, una de las cosas que estes textos alcanzan es mostrar el espiritu de la gente latinoamericana.

Me parece interesante que los dos autores estudiaron en Europa pero regresaron a sus paises para estudiar las culturas locales. Parece que sus experiencias en Europa les hicieron capaz a entender la mezcla de culturas que ha formado la realidad en sus paises nativos. En “Las Leyendes de Guatemala“ el interés en antropología de Asturias es evidente por su exploración de los mitos indígenas en que se ve los efectos de la colonización europea. Además, Carpentier uso su conocimientos de su cultura Cubana para escribir sobre la revolución Haitiana y la combinación de raices africanos y europeos del país.

Los textos de Asturias y Carpentier enfocan en las culturas subordinadas: los indigenas en Guatemala y los esclavos durante la revolución en Haiti. Ambos textos tiene eventos y personajes mágicos que correspondan con las culturas subordinadas y no con las europeas. Me gusta lo que opina Carpentier sobre lo mágico en Haiti: que es un aspecto de la vida y no es el opuesto de “lo real“. Por eso pienso que los aspectos mágicos en la realidad latinoamericana vienen de la influencia de las culturas indigenas y africanas que han guardado su puntos de vista distintos. Este concepto está en contraste con la introducción de “Las Leyendas“ por Valery, en que él escribe que lo mágico contribuya al sentido de soñar (de no ser real) en los cuentos. Esto muestra la opinión popular de las culturas europeas que consideran que la realidad y el magico son cosas opuestas.

Me gusta que estes textos toman el tiempo para revelar el impacto inmenso de las culturas indigenas y africanas en america latina. Muestran la continuación de las creencias de estas culturas y de los limites de la dominación europea.

El curso me ha introducido al genero del realismo magico. Es útil de ubicar el genero y la literatura en la historia de america latina, pero también en la vida y perspectiva de los autores, lo que nos ayuda y es importante para entender lo que escriben. Quizas es porque los dos libros que hemos leído tienen un prologo (en el caso de El Reino de este Mundo) o una carta (en Leyendas de Guatemala) para introducir la obra y el genero, que es muy único. También es importante de leerlo muy cercanamente y de buscar más información porque (especialmente en Leyendas) hay una influencia indígena muy fuerte y se usa muchos dioses.
En los dos libros se ve que el realismo mágico es un genero muy híbrido; mezclan muchos elementos de varias disciplinas: la historia, políticas, antropología, geografía y más. Da una persona de la primera persona como cuento de viaje (en Leyendas) o siguiendo la vida de Ti Noël en El Reino de Este Mundo. Sin embargo, que quisiera examinar más es si hay un significo o representación en las formas especificas que construyen lo que es mágico en las obras. Por ejemplo, si los animales en que se transforman representan algo en ambas culturas haitiana y guatemalteca.
Para mi lo que es muy interesante es el uso del genero para describir una narrativa colonial. Es para describir la experiencia de los indígenas o esclavos, los grupos perseguidos por los europeos. Decimos que en el Reino de este mundo hay los negros, que saben las cosas de los negros y blancos, y lo blancos que solamente saben sus cosas propias. Tal vez el genero da una oportunidad a los grupos perseguidos de tener una nivelación contra los europeos para mantener sus identidad, cultura y para luchar contra los conquistadores. Tengo interés de leer más obras para ver si mantengan ese tema, es decir el discurso colonial desde la experiencia de los habitantes de los países en las obras.
De lo que hemos visto, me gusta el genero. Es muy entretenido y fluido; como menciona el la carta de introducción a Leyendas de Guatemala “se bebe más que se lee”.

• 

• Categories

  • admin
  • asturias
  • comparison
  • garcía márquez
  • introduction
  • mcondo
  • paralelismo entre los 3 textos
  • responses
  • SPAN 365
  • Span 365 1 Asturias
  • span365
  • Span365- McOndo
  • Span365- Reflection
  • Uncategorized

• Recent Comments