The Solitude of Latin America
Encyclopedia
The Solitude of Latin America is the name of the speech given by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
upon receiving his Nobel Prize in literature
on December 8, 1982. The Nobel Prize
was presented to Marquez by Professor Lars Gyllensten
of the Swedish Academy
.
Marquez gained fame for his novel One Hundred Years of Solitude
, first published in 1967. According to the Nobel Foundation
, Marquez was awarded the 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature because, “his novels and short stories, in which the fantastic and the realistic are combined in a richly composed world of imagination, reflecting a continent’s life and conflicts". The style of prose the Nobel Foundation is referring, and for what Marquez is famous for is known as magical realism.
, and he specifically addresses Latin American countries that have been affected negatively by foreign policy
.
in regards to European and Western colonialism. Initially, during the Enlightenment Era, the Europeans came up with the idea of modernity to compare themselves to the “others” of the world. Europe calling themselves modern automatically placed unknown cultures in the inferior, or un-modern category. Marquez addresses this in his speech when he uses the example of the United States
using a, “yardstick that they use [to measure] themselves,” to measure those in Latin America.
Once Marquez addresses the colonial legacies and their lingering effects, he then goes into the ongoing process Latin American are currently going through, de/territorialization, or, the process of weakening the ties between culture
and space. The process of de/territorialization itself involves the two separate processes of deterritorialization
and reterritorialization
. In simple terms, this can be thought of as rejecting the dominant colonial power legacies while at the same time reclaiming your own culture. In his speech, Marquez mentions the Central American civil wars
of the 1970s and the influx of refugees that left their homeland as a result. To get an idea of the mass amount of people displaced by these wars, Marquez gives us this comparison, “…the country that could be formed of all the exiles and forced emigrants of Latin America would have a population larger than that of Norway".
and literature
, yet they are so mistrustful of Latin American social movements. For example, in Central America
, when people wanted to simply change things within their country to make it better, they were confronted with military authorities and the mistrustful eye of the north. An example of how much this social unrest affected these small Latin American countries is given in the speech, “…Uruguay…has lost to exile one out of every five citizens…the Civil War in El Salvador has produced one refugee every twenty minutes”.
In this quote, Marquez addresses the ongoing relationship between Latin American and the rest of the dominant, western powers. Marquez believes that, in order to really help Latin America, these global powers need to stop viewing Latin Americans as inferior others. Marquez believes that every race should be allowed a second opportunity to create its own utopia through declining the acceptance of its fate….solitude.
Gabriel García Márquez
Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez is a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo throughout Latin America. He is considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in...
upon receiving his Nobel Prize in literature
Nobel Prize in Literature
Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
on December 8, 1982. The Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
was presented to Marquez by Professor Lars Gyllensten
Lars Gyllensten
Lars Johan Wictor Gyllensten was a Swedish author and physician, and a member of the Swedish Academy, which has the aim of furthering the "purity, vigour and majesty" of the Swedish language and selects the recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature each year.Gyllensten was born and grew up in a...
of the Swedish Academy
Swedish Academy
The Swedish Academy , founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden.-History:The Swedish Academy was founded in 1786 by King Gustav III. Modelled after the Académie française, it has 18 members. The motto of the Academy is "Talent and Taste"...
.
Marquez gained fame for his novel One Hundred Years of Solitude
One Hundred Years of Solitude
One Hundred Years of Solitude , by Gabriel García Márquez, is a novel which tells the multi-generational story of the Buendía family, whose patriarch, José Arcadio Buendía, founds the town of Macondo, the metaphoric Colombia...
, first published in 1967. According to the Nobel Foundation
Nobel Foundation
The Nobel Foundation is a private institution founded on 29 June 1900 to manage the finances and administration of the Nobel Prizes. The Foundation is based on the last will of Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite....
, Marquez was awarded the 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature because, “his novels and short stories, in which the fantastic and the realistic are combined in a richly composed world of imagination, reflecting a continent’s life and conflicts". The style of prose the Nobel Foundation is referring, and for what Marquez is famous for is known as magical realism.
Themes
Several themes Marquez addresses in his speech mirror those of his short stories and novels. Marquez touches on European colonialism, colonial legacies, de/territorialization of the Latin American cultureLatin American culture
Latin American culture is the formal or informal expression of the peoples of Latin America, and includes both high culture and popular culture as well as religion and other customary practices....
, and he specifically addresses Latin American countries that have been affected negatively by foreign policy
Foreign policy
A country's foreign policy, also called the foreign relations policy, consists of self-interest strategies chosen by the state to safeguard its national interests and to achieve its goals within international relations milieu. The approaches are strategically employed to interact with other countries...
.
Colonial Legacies
Marquez addresses colonial legacy in his speech by painting a history of the discovery of Latin America through the lens of European legacy. Marquez brings attention to the legacies his continent of Latin America has endured post-colonialism in the hopes to raise awareness to the historical sufferings of his people that are still prevalent in the modern society. An example of this he mentions is the political turmoil Latin America has faced in the years after their independence from Spanish rule.Instability Within Latin American
Modernity
Another colonial legacy addressed, indirectly, in this speech is the concept of modernityModernity
Modernity typically refers to a post-traditional, post-medieval historical period, one marked by the move from feudalism toward capitalism, industrialization, secularization, rationalization, the nation-state and its constituent institutions and forms of surveillance...
in regards to European and Western colonialism. Initially, during the Enlightenment Era, the Europeans came up with the idea of modernity to compare themselves to the “others” of the world. Europe calling themselves modern automatically placed unknown cultures in the inferior, or un-modern category. Marquez addresses this in his speech when he uses the example of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
using a, “yardstick that they use [to measure] themselves,” to measure those in Latin America.
Once Marquez addresses the colonial legacies and their lingering effects, he then goes into the ongoing process Latin American are currently going through, de/territorialization, or, the process of weakening the ties between culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
and space. The process of de/territorialization itself involves the two separate processes of deterritorialization
Deterritorialization
Deterritorialization is a concept created by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari in Anti-Oedipus , which, in accordance to Deleuze's desire and philosophy, quickly became used by others, for example in anthropology, and transformed in this reappropriation...
and reterritorialization
Reterritorialization
Reterritorialization is the restructuring of a place or territory that has experienced deterritorialization. Deterritorialization is a term created by Deleuze and Guattari in their philosophical project Capitalism and Schizophrenia . They distinguished that relative deterritorialization is always...
. In simple terms, this can be thought of as rejecting the dominant colonial power legacies while at the same time reclaiming your own culture. In his speech, Marquez mentions the Central American civil wars
El Salvador Civil War
The Salvadoran Civil War was a conflict in El Salvador between the military-led government of El Salvador and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front , a coalition or umbrella organization of five left-wing militias. Significant tensions and violence had already existed, before the civil...
of the 1970s and the influx of refugees that left their homeland as a result. To get an idea of the mass amount of people displaced by these wars, Marquez gives us this comparison, “…the country that could be formed of all the exiles and forced emigrants of Latin America would have a population larger than that of Norway".
Ongoing Struggle Within Latin America
Marquez wanted to raise awareness, with this speech, to the ongoing struggle of the Latin American people to have cultural respect from the rest of the hegemonic world. Throughout history Latinos have been denied social and political legitimacy. In his speech, Marquez addresses how Europeans are so readily accepting of Latin American culture in the form of artLatin American art
Latin American art is the combined artistic expressions of South America, Central America, the Caribbean, and Mexico, as well as Latin American living in other regions....
and literature
Latin American literature
Latin American literature consists of the oral and written literature of Latin America in several languages, particularly in Spanish, Portuguese, and indigenous languages of the Americas. It rose to particular prominence globally during the second half of the 20th century, largely due to the...
, yet they are so mistrustful of Latin American social movements. For example, in Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
, when people wanted to simply change things within their country to make it better, they were confronted with military authorities and the mistrustful eye of the north. An example of how much this social unrest affected these small Latin American countries is given in the speech, “…Uruguay…has lost to exile one out of every five citizens…the Civil War in El Salvador has produced one refugee every twenty minutes”.
In this quote, Marquez addresses the ongoing relationship between Latin American and the rest of the dominant, western powers. Marquez believes that, in order to really help Latin America, these global powers need to stop viewing Latin Americans as inferior others. Marquez believes that every race should be allowed a second opportunity to create its own utopia through declining the acceptance of its fate….solitude.