Hijo de hombre (Son of Man, 1960) is a novel by the Paraguayan author Augusto Roa Bastos.
Roa Bastos' first published novel, Hijo de Hombre represents his definitive break with poetry. [1] It portrays the struggle between the governing élite and the oppressed in Paraguay from 1912 until 1936, just after the end of the Chaco War with Bolivia. [2] This novel draws upon a system of Christian metaphors as part of the neo-Baroque concept of magic realism to examine the pain of being Paraguayan. [3] Hijo de Hombre contrasts two figures: Miguel Vera and Cristóbal Jara. Vera narrates the odd chapters, although he might also be the narrator of all nine chapters (this is unclear). [2] He is a well-to-do and educated romantic supporter of revolution, who is unable to take real action to support his ideals, and in the end betrays them (not unlike Judas). [4] Jara, on the other hand, is an uneducated “son of man” who becomes a Christ-like leader for Paraguayan people through action and strength of character and will lead them to salvation. Although it was a massive critical success, Roa Bastos remained quite dissatisfied with the work for a number reasons.
According to the Monthly Review Press printing of the English translation (MRP, 1988): "Son of Man was first published in English by Victor Gallancz Ltd., copyright 1965 by Victor Gallancz Ltd. It was originally published in Spanish under the title Hijo de Hombre, copyright 1961 by Editorial Losado, S.A., Buenos Aires." The MRP edition is translated by Rachel Caffyn and published in the Voices of Resistance Series. There is a 4-page Foreword by Ariel Dorfman and a 15-page Afterword by Jean Franco. This paperback's text of the work itself is 249 pages. ISBN 0-85345-733-6 (pbk.). The contents as follows:
Chapter 1, Son of Man, set in Itapé, is the story of Gaspar Mara, the leper, and Macario Francia, beggar (pgs. 15–41). Chapter 2, Wood & Flesh, set in Sapucaí, is the story of the Russian doctor in 1917 (pgs. 42–60). Chapter 3, Stations, set in Itapé, is a Sapucaí to Asunción train trip (pgs. 61–78). Chapter 4, Exodus, set in the Takuru-Puku Mate slave plantation, is the story of the escape of Casiano & Nati in 1914 (pgs. 79–113). Chapter 5, Home, set in Sapucaí, is the story of following the self-made railroad track to find Casiano's coach in 1932 (pgs. 114–129). Chapter 6, Fiesta, set in Sapucaí, is the story of the Paraguayan Army, having defeated the rebels, looking for Cristóbal and prisoners taken off by train in 1932 (pgs. 130–160). Chapter 7, Doomed Men, set in the prison camp of Pena Hermosa, imprisoned on an island penal colony as well as in the Army at the siege of Boqueron in the Chaco War (pgs. 161–190). Chapter 8, Special Mission, set in the Chaco, is the story of trying to get a convoy of trucks to the lone company (pgs. 191–235). Chapter 9, Aftermath, set in Itapé after the Chaco War in 1935-36 (pgs. 236–263).
Chapters 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 narrated by Miguel Vera, who is identified in Chapter 6 (p. 134) as being banished for his seditious activity, "an officer of the Military Academy", a Lieutenant.
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Corrientes is the capital city of the province of Corrientes, Argentina, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, about 1,000 km (621 mi) from Buenos Aires and 300 km (186 mi) from Posadas, on National Route 12. It has a population of 346,334 according to the 2010 Census. It lies opposite its twin city, Resistencia, Chaco.
Augusto Roa Bastos was a Paraguayan novelist and short story writer. As a teenager he fought in the Chaco War between Paraguay and Bolivia, and he later worked as a journalist, screenwriter and professor. He is best known for his complex novel Yo el Supremo and for winning the Premio Miguel de Cervantes in 1989, Spanish literature's most prestigious prize. Yo el Supremo explores the dictations and inner thoughts of José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, the eccentric dictator of Paraguay who ruled with an iron fist, from 1814 until his death in 1840.
The William Faulkner Foundation (1960-1970) was a charitable organization founded by the novelist William Faulkner in 1960 to support various charitable causes, all educational or literary in nature.
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Son of man is the translation of various Hebrew and Greek phrases used in the Hebrew Bible, various apocalyptic works of the intertestamental period, and in the Greek New Testament.
Olga Zubarry was an Argentine actress who appeared in film between 1943 and 1997. She made over 60 appearances in film, spanning six decades of Argentine cinema, but is best known for her work during the Golden Age of Argentine Cinema. Throughout the course of her career, she received four Silver Condor Awards, two Martín Fierro Awards, a Konex Foundation Award and several others for her films and television performances. She is credited with starring in the first film in Argentina which featured nudity, though only her back was shown and she stated repeatedly that she wore a flesh-colored mesh and was not truly nude.
The cinema of Paraguay has historically been small. However, this has begun to change in recent years with films like El Toque del Oboe (1998); María Escobar (2002); O Amigo Dunor (2005), which competed for Best Movie in the Rotterdam International Film Festival; Hamaca Paraguaya (2006), which was screened at the Cannes Film Festival, gaining critical acclaim both in Paraguay and abroad; 7 cajas (2012); Latas Vacías (2014); and Luna de Cigarras (2014).
The Latin American Boom was a literary movement of the 1960s and 1970s when the work of a group of relatively young Latin American novelists became widely circulated in Europe and throughout the world. The Boom is most closely associated with Julio Cortázar of Argentina, Carlos Fuentes of Mexico, Mario Vargas Llosa of Peru, and Gabriel García Márquez of Colombia. Influenced by European and North American Modernism, but also by the Latin American Vanguardia movement, these writers challenged the established conventions of Latin American literature. Their work is experimental and, owing to the political climate of the Latin America of the 1960s, also very political. "It is no exaggeration", critic Gerald Martin writes, "to state that if the Southern continent was known for two things above all others in the 1960s, these were, first and foremost, the Cuban Revolution and its impact both on Latin America and the Third World generally, and secondly, the Boom in Latin American fiction, whose rise and fall coincided with the rise and fall of liberal perceptions of Cuba between 1959 and 1971."
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Maneco Galeano, was a Paraguayan musician, songwriter and journalist.
Emiliano FernándezRivarola was a Paraguayan poet, musician, and soldier. He is the author of more than 2,000 poems and participated in the Chaco War as an infantryman.
Hérib Campos Cervera (1905-1953) was a Paraguayan poet and writer.
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Augusto is an Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish given name or surname. Derived from Augustus, meaning in Latin "majestic," "the increaser," or "venerable", it is notable as being the name of the first emperor of Ancient Rome. The Greek translation of the title Augustus was Sebastos, from which the name Sebastian descends.
Thunder Among the Leaves is a 1958 Argentine drama film directed by Armando Bó, starring himself, Isabel Sarli, Ernesto Báez and Andrés Laszlo. The screenplay by Paraguayan writer Augusto Roa Bastos was based on his short story La hija del ministro. Set in Paraguay, the story is about a strike at a sawmill.
Thirst aka Hijo de Hombre, aka Choferes del Chaco is a 1960 Argentine-Spanish war film directed by Lucas Demare. It is set during the Chaco War (1932–35) between Bolivia and Paraguay, sometimes known as the "War of the Thirst". The script is based on a chapter of Augusto Roa Bastos novel Hijo de Hombre. It was made as a co-production between Argentina Sono Film and the Spanish company Suevia Films.
Javier Viveros is a Paraguayan writer, active member of Academia Paraguaya de la Lengua Española, corresponding member of Real Academia Española and former Vice-president of the Paraguayan Writers Society.
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