Gabriel Garcia Marquez Essay Example

tragic history, they have been more or less engaged in warfare. It is commonly said that in Colombia, you are not a member of these parties by choice but rather by birth; and indeed, they function more as territorial and familial entities rather than peacefully functioning parties with distinctive political platforms.

The country is divided into two main regional groups – the coastal Caribbean, referred to as the costeos, and the central highland, known as the cachacos. These terms are used by both groups to demean and despise each other. The costeos are generally a blend of various races, expressive in their speech, and superstitious. They primarily descend from pirates, smugglers, and black slaves. As a whole, they are characterized as vibrant individuals who have a passion for dancing and seek excitement. On the contrary, the cachacos are more formal, aristocratic, and take pride in their racial purity. They boast about their sophisticated cities like Bogota and their ability to speak flawless Spanish.

In the tropical Caribbean coast, the Liberal party has traditionally received strong support, while the Conservative party tends to hold more influence in the cooler mountains and valleys of the interior. Garca Mrquez, a writer who identifies as mixed-race and originates from the coast (known as a costeo), has been shaped by these influences. In 19th century Colombia, various rebellions, local and national civil wars, as well as multiple coups d'etat occurred. The most devastating civil war in Colombian history was called the War of a Thousand Days. Starting in 1899 and ending in late 1902 with defeat for the Liberals, this war led to over 100,000 deaths predominantly among peasant farmers and their

sons. Notably, Garca Mrquez's grandfather participated in this conflict, and many survivors later became characters within his literary works.

The prevalence of the banana industry and the massacre of 1928 had a significant impact on his work. While coffee is generally seen as Colombia's main export, bananas also played a crucial role in the early twentieth-century economy. The United Fruit Company (UFC), an American company with a monopoly in the industry, controlled the banana trade. This industry was the primary source of income for many regions, including Aracataca. Despite its extensive economic and political power, the UFC treated Colombian workers in a corrupt and unethical manner. In October 1928, over 32,000 native workers went on strike to demand fair conditions such as proper sanitation facilities and payment in cash instead of company scrip.

One night, a large crowd gathered for a demonstration. In an attempt to suppress the situation, the Conservative government deployed troops that fired at the unarmed workers, resulting in the deaths of hundreds. In the following months, many more individuals disappeared, and eventually, the entire incident was officially denied and erased from history. Gabriel Garcia Marquez later included this event in his novel One Hundred Years of Solitude. Another significant event that would eventually influence his writing was a period known as "la violencia," or "the Violence," which he personally experienced. This horrific period was rooted in the banana massacre. During this time, Jorge Elicer Gaitn, a courageous young Liberal member of congress, emerged as one of the few politicians willing to confront government corruption and convened meetings to investigate the incident.

Gaitn quickly rose to prominence as a champion of the peasants and the

poor. However, his actions unsettled powerful members from both parties who viewed him with a mix of fear and hatred. He used radio broadcasts to advocate for change, emphasizing the need for true democracy where people could participate and corporations would be held accountable. By 1946, Gaitn had accumulated enough power to cause a split within his own party, which had been in government since 1930. This division resulted in a Conservative takeover, prompting them to organize paramilitary groups as a precautionary measure. These groups were created with the purpose of instilling terror among Liberal voters, successfully causing thousands of deaths by year-end. In 1947, the Liberals regained control of Congress and appointed Gaitn as their party leader.

Despite the efforts of the Conservatives, the voter turnout reached a record high. Tensions escalated and on April 9, 1948, Gaitn was assassinated in Bogot. This event triggered three days of deadly riots known as el Bogotzo, resulting in 2500 deaths. It marked the beginning of a more violent period called la violencia. Both parties organized guerrilla armies and terror spread throughout the country. Towns and villages were set on fire, and thousands of people, including women and children, were brutally murdered. Farms were seized, and over a million peasants migrated to Venezuela.

In 1949, Conservatives killed a Liberal politician during a speech in Congress. The Conservatives disbanded Congress, declared a state of siege, and targeted Liberals, now called "communists", for hunting, persecution, and murder. The country suffered greatly; by 1953, the violence took the lives of around 150,000 Colombians. This violence later served as the backdrop for several of Garca Mrquez's novellas and stories, particularly In Evil

Hour.

His Family

The most important relatives of Garca Mrquez were undoubtedly his maternal grandfather and grandmother.

His grandfather, Colonel Nicols Ricardo Mrquez Meja, was a Liberal veteran of the War of a Thousand Days and a resident of Aracataca. He played a crucial role in founding the banana town situated by the Caribbean. The Colonel earned great admiration from the costeos due to his refusal to remain silent about the atrocities committed in the banana massacres. In 1929, he fiercely denounced these murders during a Congress session. Besides his activism, the Colonel had an eventful life and was known to be an exceptional storyteller. He had engaged in a duel in his youth, resulting in a fatal shooting. Rumor has it that he also fathered sixteen children. Despite his experiences during the war, he would reminisce about them as if they were enjoyable adventures involving guns. The wise Colonel taught Gabriel important lessons from the dictionary, took him to the annual circus visits, and exposed him to the marvel of ice for the first time, which could be obtained at the UFC company store. He also imparted on his young nephew the concept that there is no greater burden than having taken someone's life, which Garca Mrquez later incorporated into his literary characters' dialogue.

His grandmother, Tranquilina Iguarn Cotes, had a profound impact on young Garca Mrquez, just like her husband. She and her numerous sisters were filled with superstitions and folklore, which they would often share with young Gabriel. Despite his father dismissing their beliefs as "women's beliefs," Gabriel still listened intently because his grandmother had a unique storytelling style. She would deliver even the most

extraordinary tales as if they were absolute truth, a technique that Gabriel would later adopt in his greatest novel, thirty years later. During the early years of his life, Garca Mrquez's parents were largely distant from him, and the reason for this is quite fascinating.

His mother, Luisa Santiaga Mrquez Iguarn, was one of the two children born to the Colonel and his wife. She was a spirited girl who unfortunately fell in love with a man named Gabriel Eligio Garca. Regrettably, Garca was disliked by her parents for being a Conservative and also due to him being considered part of the recently arrived residents in town who were drawn by the banana trade, derogatorily referred to as la hojarasca.

The term "La hojarasca" translates to "dead leaf," symbolizing something that falls in useless flurries and is best swept away. Garcia was notorious for his womanizing ways, being the father of four illegitimate children. He wasn't exactly the man the Colonel had envisioned for his daughter, but he managed to capture her heart through violin serenades, love poems, numerous letters, and even telegrams. Despite their attempts to get rid of him, he kept coming back, and it became evident that their daughter was devoted to him. Eventually, they succumbed to his persistent Latino spirit, and the Colonel allowed him to marry his daughter as a former medical student. In order to ease tensions, the newlyweds settled in Riohacha, which was also the Colonel's hometown. (This tragicomic courtship would later inspire Gabriel Jos Garca Mrquez's novel Love in the Time of Cholera).

Early Life

Gabriel Jos Garca Mrquez was born on March 6th 1928 in Aracataca; however, his father argues

that it was actually in 1927.

Due to his parents' ongoing poverty and struggles, his grandparents assumed the responsibility of raising him, a practice that was typical during that period. Regrettably, in Aracataca, the year 1928 marked the demise of the prosperous banana industry. The town was severely affected by a strike and its harsh reprisal, resulting in the execution of over one hundred strikers in a single night, their bodies dumped into a mass grave. This sorrowful beginning would later resurface in his literary works. Known as Gabito, the young Gabriel grew up as a reserved and bashful boy, captivated by his grandfather's narratives and his grandmother's beliefs in superstitions.

Both the Colonel and Garcia Marquez resided in a house primarily inhabited by women. Garcia Marquez was apprehensive about encountering ghosts because of the beliefs held by these women. However, it was in this very house that he laid the foundation for his future literary work. The stories of the civil war, the banana massacre, his parents' courtship, the practicality displayed by the superstitious matriarch, and the constant presence of various female relatives who were either aunts, great aunts or illegitimate daughters of his grandfather all served as sources of inspiration. According to Garcia Marquez himself, all his writing was influenced by his experiences during this time spent with his grandparents. When he was eight years old and after his grandfather's death along with his grandmother's progressive loss of sight, he moved in with his parents in Sucre. It was then decided that he should receive formal education and therefore he was sent to a boarding school located in Barranquilla - a port city situated at

the mouth of Magdalena River.

During his time in school, he became well-known for his talent in creating funny poems and cartoons. Although he was shy and not interested in sports, his peers nicknamed him "the Old Man." At the age of twelve, he received a scholarship to attend Liceo Nacional, a prestigious secondary school located about 30 miles north of Bogota in Zipaquira. The week-long trip to the school only strengthened his dislike for Bogota. The busy capital city made him feel sad and oppressed, further solidifying his identity as a costeo.

During his time in school, he developed a strong interest in his studies and would often read books aloud to his fellow dormitory mates in the evening. Surprisingly, despite not having written anything significant yet, his deep passion for literature, as well as his cartoons and stories, earned him a reputation as a writer. This reputation may have served as a guiding light for his imagination. After graduating in 1946, he obediently followed his parents' wishes and enrolled in the Universidad Nacional in Bogota to study law instead of pursuing journalism. It was during this period that Garca Mrquez met his future wife.

While visiting his parents, he encountered Mercedes Barcha Pardo, a 13-year-old girl with Egyptian roots. He was captivated by her dark and mysterious nature, finding her to be the most intriguing person he had ever met. Once he finished school at Liceo Nacional, he took a short break with his parents before heading off to university. It was during this period that he proposed marriage to Mercedes.

Agreeing, but first wishing to finish primary school, she put off the engagement. Although they wouldn't

be married for another fourteen years, Mercedes promised to stay true to him.

The Hungry Years

Like many great writers attending college for a subject they despised, Garca Mrquez found that he had absolutely no interest in his studies, and he became something of a consummate slacker. He began to skip classes and neglect both his studies and himself, electing to wander around Bogot and ride the streetcars, reading poetry instead of law.

He frequented inexpensive cafes, indulged in smoking, and socialized with the typical crowd - educated socialists, impoverished artists, and aspiring journalists. But everything changed one day when he came across a modest book. It was as if the intertwined paths of destiny converged upon his hands, presenting him with a copy of Kafka's The Metamorphosis, translated by the renowned Jorge Luis Borges. This book had a deep impact on Garca Mrquez, enlightening him to the fact that literature was not bound to a linear narrative or a conventional storyline.

The effect was liberating. He thought to himself that he didn't know anyone was allowed to write things like that. If he had known, he would have started writing a long time ago. He also remarked that Kafka's "voice" had the same echoes as his grandmother's. That's how his grandmother used to tell stories, the wildest things with a completely natural tone of voice. One of the first things he set out to do was "catch up" on all the literature he had been missing.

He started reading voraciously and devouring every book he could find. Surprisingly, his first story, "The Third Resignation," got published in 1946 by the Liberal Bogot newspaper El Espectador. The editor even praised

him as "the new genius of Colombian literature!" This success sparked Garcia Marquez's creativity, leading him to write ten more stories for the newspaper in the following years. Since he came from a Liberal family, the assassination of Gaitn in 1948 had a profound impact on Garcia Marquez. He even participated in the riots of el Bogotazo, which resulted in partially burning down his own living quarters. As a result, the Universidad Nacional closed, and he decided to move to the more peaceful North. He transferred to the Universidad de Cartagena, where he pursued law half-heartedly while also writing a daily column for El Universal, a Cartagena newspaper.

In 1950, he made the decision to give up on his pursuit of a legal career and instead focus on writing. This led him to move to Barranquilla. During the following years, he became involved with a literary group known as el grupo de Barranquilla. It was through this association that he discovered the works of Hemingway, Joyce, Woolf, and most importantly, Faulkner. Additionally, he delved into studying the classics and found great inspiration in the Oedipus Rex cycle by Sophocles. Faulkner and Sophocles would go on to greatly influence him during the late 1940s and early 1950s. He was captivated by Faulkner's ability to transform his own childhood experiences into a mythical past, creating a fictional town and county to showcase his prose. In Faulkner's mythical Yoknapatawpha, Garca Mrquez discovered the foundation for Macondo. Furthermore, elements from Sophocles' Oedipus Rex and Antigone provided him with ideas for constructing a narrative centered around society and the abuses of power.

Garca Mrquez became dissatisfied with his earlier stories because he

felt they were too disconnected from his own experiences. He viewed them as mere intellectual creations that had nothing to do with his reality. Under Faulkner's guidance, he learned that a writer should write about things that are intimately significant to them. For years, Garca Mrquez struggled to find his muse and what he truly wanted to express. These thoughts took shape when he accompanied his mother to his grandfather's house in Aracataca. As they prepared the house for sale, they discovered it was in a deteriorated state. However, the "haunted house" triggered an overwhelming flood of memories for him. The entire town appeared lifeless, preserved in a timeless state.

He had already been working on a story based on his experiences, a novel called La casa, but he believed it still needed improvement. However, he had achieved one of his goals - capturing the sense of place. Inspired by his trip, he wrote his first novella, Leaf Storm, upon returning to Barranquilla. With an adapted plot from Antigone and set in a mythical town named "Macondo," which was also the name of a banana plantation near Aracataca that he used to explore as a child, the book was completed energetically. Unfortunately, it was rejected by the first publisher he sent it to in 1952. Filled with self-doubt and criticism, he stashed it away in a drawer. While Garca Mrquez was in Eastern Europe in 1955, his friends found the novella in Bogot and sent it to a publisher.

Despite his rejection and near poverty, the protagonist was content. Residing in a brothel, he enjoyed the company of friends and a stable writing job at El Heraldo.

During evenings, he would work on his fiction and engage in conversations with his companions while smoking and sipping coffee. However, in 1953, a sudden restlessness overcame him. Abandoning his job, he packed up and embarked on a journey to sell encyclopedias in La Guajira with a friend. During his travels, he brainstormed story concepts and eventually formalized his relationship with Mercedes Barcha.

In 1954, he returned to Bogota and joined the staff of El Espectador as a writer, focusing on writing stories and film reviews. During this period, he dabbled in socialism, evaded detection by the dictator Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, and contemplated his role as a writer amidst the turmoil of la violencia. In 1955, an incident occurred that would redirect his attention towards literature and ultimately lead to his temporary exile from Colombia. That same year, the Caldas, a small Colombian destroyer, encountered rough seas while returning to Cartagena. Numerous sailors were swept overboard and perished, with the exception of one extraordinary individual, Luis Alejandro Velasco. Velasco miraculously survived for ten days at sea by clinging to a life raft. Upon being washed ashore, he quickly gained national recognition as a hero.

Utilized as government propaganda, Velasco engaged in various activities including delivering speeches and promoting watches and shoes. Eventually, he made the decision to disclose the truth - that the Caldas ship was carrying illicit cargo and its crew members were lost due to negligence and incompetence rather than a storm. Velasco approached the offices of El Espectador with his account, and after some hesitation, they agreed to publish it. He narrated his story to Garcia Marquez, who served as a ghostwriter and

reworked it into his own prose. The serialized tale, titled "The Truth About My Adventure" by Luis Alejandro Velasco, garnered significant attention for its revelations.

The Government was very displeased and removed Velasco from the Navy. Concerned that Pinilla might directly persecute Garca Mrquez, his editors sent him to Italy to cover the imminent death of Pope Pius XII. However, when the pope unexpectedly survived, this assignment became useless. Instead, Garca Mrquez arranged to travel around Europe as a correspondent. After studying film in Rome for a period, he embarked on a tour of communist bloc countries. Eventually, his friends were able to get Leaf Storm published in Bogot the same year. Garca Mrquez journeyed through Geneva, Rome, Poland, and Hungary before settling in Paris. Unfortunately, he found himself unemployed as the Pinilla government closed down the presses of El Espectador. In the Latin Quarter, he survived on credit, the generosity of his landlady, and by collecting bottle deposits for money.

There, he typed out eleven drafts of No One Writes to the Colonel and part of Este pueblo de mierda, influenced by the writings of Hemingway. Later, he finished Colonel and travelled to London. Instead of returning to Colombia, he went to Venezuela, where most Colombian refugees sought refuge. In Venezuela, he completed Este pueblo de mierda, which directly confronts la violencia. Despite developing his own distinctive style, he remained dissatisfied.

His early stories lacked emotion and were too abstract. Leaf Storm heavily borrowed from Faulkner, while No One Writes to the Colonel and In Evil Hour deviated too far from his desired goal, the image he had been developing for years. He knew that his ultimate

work would be set in the mythical town of Macondo, but he had not yet found the appropriate tone to tell his story; he had yet to discover his true voice. In Venezuela, he joined forces with Plinio Apuleyo Mendoza, an old friend who now worked as an editor for Elite, a newsweekly in Caracas. Throughout 1957, the two traveled to communist countries in Europe, seeking solutions for Colombia's issues and writing articles for various Latin American publications. Although they found some value in socialism, Garcia Marquez felt disheartened as he realized that communism could be just as terrible as la violencia. After a short stint in London, Garcia Marquez returned to Venezuela, where Mendoza now worked for Momento, and offered his old friend another job.

Then, in 1958, he daringly returned to Colombia and married Mercedes Bacha in Barranquilla after she had been waiting for him for four years. They then went back to Caracas, which was also facing difficulties. Momento, the newspaper he worked for, published articles criticizing the United States and tyrants, but under political pressure, it changed to a pro-USA standpoint after Nixon's disastrous visit in May. Garca Mrquez and Mendoza, angered by the paper's surrender, resigned. Shortly after leaving Momento, Garca Mrquez and his wife traveled to Havana to report on the Castro revolution.

Garca Mrquez was inspired by the revolution and helped establish a Bogot branch of Castro's news agency, Prensa Latina. This led to a long-lasting friendship between Garca Mrquez and Castro. In 1959, his first son, Rodrigo, was born and the family relocated to New York City. Garca Mrquez supervised the North American branch of Prensa Latina while facing

death threats from angry Americans and growing disillusionment with the ideological divisions in Cuba's communist party. He resigned from his position later that year and moved his family to Mexico City. During this time, he traveled through the South on a pilgrimage reminiscent of Faulkner's writing. However, his re-entry into the United States was denied until 1971. In Mexico City, Garca Mrquez wrote film subtitles, worked on screenplays, and was able to publish some of his own work.

Rescued from moth-eaten oblivion by his friends, No One Writes to the Colonel was published in 1961. In 1962, Big Mama's Funeral was also published, coinciding with the birth of his second son, Gonzalo. At the urging of his friends, he decided to participate in the Colombian Esso literary contest in Bogot. He revised Este pueblo de mierda and changed its title to La mala hora, or In Evil Hour. He submitted it and it emerged as the winner.

The sponsors of the prize sent the book to Madrid for publication, but to his immense disappointment, it was a travesty when it greeted the world in 1962. The Spanish publisher had purged the book of all Latin American slang and objectionable material while bowdlerizing it beyond recognition. The characters now spoke precise, dictionary Spanish. Devastated, Garca Mrquez was forced to disown it. It would take almost five years before the book could be published again, restored to his satisfaction.

During the following years, there was a deep sense of disappointment, resulting in a lack of significant accomplishments. The only notable achievement was a collaborative film script with Carlos Fuentes. Despite efforts from friends to uplift him, he started feeling like

a failure. None of his books had achieved sales exceeding 700 copies, and he had never received any royalties. Most importantly, the narrative of Macondo consistently evaded him.

Success

And then it happened: his epiphany. On January 1965 he and his family were driving to the Acapulco for a vacation, when the inspiration struck him: he had found his tone. For the first time in twenty years, a stroke of lightning clearly illuminated Macondo. He would later write: "All of a sudden -- I don't know why -- I had this illumination on how to write the book.

. . . I had the first chapter of One Hundred Years of Solitude so well-formed in my mind that I could easily dictate it to a typist. As for the tone of the book, it was inspired by my grandmother's storytelling style. She would recount supernatural and fantastical tales with such ease and naturalness.

What stood out the most was the expression on her face; it remained unchanged as she shared her stories, much to everyone's surprise. In my previous writing attempts, I struggled to convey the story without having faith in it.

I realized that I needed to have faith in myself and convey them just as my grandmother had, with a serious expression on my face. Without wasting any time, he turned the car around and drove back home. Once there, he assigned Mercedes to take care of the family while he sequestered himself in his room to write. And write he did, without fail, for a period of eighteen months. During this intense writing period, he consumed up to six packs of cigarettes each day. In order to

support the family financially, they sold the car and pawned nearly all of their household appliances. This enabled Mercedes to provide for the family's needs and ensure that he always had an abundant supply of paper and cigarettes.

His smoke-filled room became known as "the Cave of the Mafia" by his friends, and eventually the entire community started to assist him, recognizing that he was creating a masterpiece. People offered credit, loaned appliances, and forgave debts. After nearly a year of work, Garca Mrquez sent the first three chapters to Carlos Fuentes, who publicly proclaimed: "I have just read eighty pages from a master." As the end of the still unnamed novel drew near, anticipation grew and success was in the air. As final touches, he included himself, his wife, and his friends as characters in the story. Eventually, he discovered the title on the last page: Cien aos de solidad. Finally emerging from the Cave, he held thirteen hundred pages in his hands, exhausted and nearly poisoned from nicotine, in debt for over ten thousand dollars, and possibly on the verge of a mental and physical breakdown. Despite all this, he felt happy -- euphoric.

He pawned additional household items to afford postage, and mailed it to the publisher in Buenos Aires. One Hundred Years of Solitude was released in June 1967, and the entire print run of 8000 copies sold out within a week. Subsequently, the novel consistently sold out every week as new printings were released, resulting in half a million copies sold within three years. It was also translated into more than 24 languages and received four international awards. Finally, at the age

of 39, Gabriel Garcia Marquez achieved success and global recognition.

Out of nowhere, fame descended upon him, inundating his existence with fan mail, accolades, interviews, and public appearances. It became evident that his life had undergone a drastic transformation. In 1969, his novel triumphed and secured the esteemed Chianchiano Prize in Italy, also earning the title of the Best Foreign Book in France. The year after, it was published in English and distinguished as one of the top twelve books of that year in the United States. Subsequently, he received recognition through the Rmulo Gallegos Prize and the Neustadt Prize in 1971, and a Peruvian writer named Mario Vargas Llosa even dedicated a book to his life and literary pursuits.

Despite all the attention he received, Garca Mrquez decided to return to writing in order to counteract this exposure. He chose to write about a dictator and moved his family to Barcelona, Spain, which was still under the rule of Francisco Franco. While there, he worked tirelessly on his next project, a piece that would capture the essence of a dictator with a combination of features: the smooth hands of Stalin and the self-centered will of a typical Latin American tyrant. Meanwhile, in 1972, Innocent Erndira and Other Stories was published, followed by a collection of his journalistic work from the late fifties titled Cuando era feliz e indocumentado, or "When I Was Happy and Uninformed," in 1973. The publication of Autumn of the Patriarch in 1975 marked a significant departure from the prose style of One Hundred Years of Solitude. This book was characterized by its winding narrative and complex sentences, initially disappointing

critics who were perhaps expecting another Macondo.

Opinion about this novel has changed over time, but many now view it as a minor masterpiece of prose due to its portrayal of shifting realities.

Later Life

Living under a dictatorship and writing a novel about a tyrant took an emotional toll on Garca Mrquez. At the novel's end, he resolved not to write any more fiction until Pinochet, the American-supported dictator of Chile, stepped down. However, he eventually abandoned this decision. As a well-known writer, he became more aware of his political influence and used his increased power and financial security to engage in political activism. He returned to Mexico City, purchased a new house, and intensively campaigned to shape global politics.

Following his consistent actions in recent years, he maintained his practice of channeling a portion of his finances into both political and social initiatives. Through his written works and financial contributions, he expressed his endorsement for progressive movements in Colombia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Argentina.