Gabriel Garcia Marquez_ A Life Part 8

Thus the matter of autobiography (especially his own predicament as a uniquely famous writer) took Garcia Marquez over as he wrote a book that seemed to be about a man who was his polar opposite, and so the Patriarch slowly became him, just as Aureliano Buendia had become him in One Hundred Years of Solitude One Hundred Years of Solitude, only now he was truly plumbing the darkest depths of the human condition, reflected deep in his own soul. The Patriarch, c'est moi: fame, glamour, influence and power, on the one hand; solitude, l.u.s.t, ambition and cruelty on the other. Needless to say, it is a great autobiographical irony that the writer had in fact set out to write this book about power and celebrity in the late 1950s, many years before he himself actually experienced those phenomena. At all events, by the time he began the final a.s.sault on the topic, he too was famous and powerful, he too was solitary, he too was "him," the "other," the desired object. The literary monster he had created but was determined to satirize and expose (but whom he had possibly always envied and desired in others) was a figure of the phenomenon he himself had become.

In an interview with Juan Gossain in 1971 Garcia Marquez had linked the themes of love and power. Insisting that all his characters were in some way autobiographical, he had declared: "You know, old friend, the appet.i.te for power is the result of an incapacity for love."43 This statement could begin to trace a hidden connection between all of Garcia Marquez's novels, a thread to help his readers out of the intricate moral and psychological labyrinth created by his oeuvre. Perhaps at first, as his sense of his own potential gradually increased, he began to fantasize that he could have it all: he could gain power and be loved for it. Then came the crisis of fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when Garcia Marquez, a man of great self-control, great linguistic potency, and great psychological penetration (with above all a remarkable power of private persuasion, an extraordinary capacity for intimacy, for non-public activity) suddenly found himself at the mercy of other, often less talented beings-critics, journalists, agents, publishers, hangers-on-within the public domain. He, who had enjoyed the power of the reporter, was now himself at the mercy of reporters. He had become an image and a commodity which he could not himself entirely control. No wonder Carmen Balcells became so important to him: she became his "agent" in many more ways than simply arranging his contracts with publishers. She helped him, undoubtedly, to realize the possibility of becoming, as much as any human being can, the "master of all his power." This statement could begin to trace a hidden connection between all of Garcia Marquez's novels, a thread to help his readers out of the intricate moral and psychological labyrinth created by his oeuvre. Perhaps at first, as his sense of his own potential gradually increased, he began to fantasize that he could have it all: he could gain power and be loved for it. Then came the crisis of fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when Garcia Marquez, a man of great self-control, great linguistic potency, and great psychological penetration (with above all a remarkable power of private persuasion, an extraordinary capacity for intimacy, for non-public activity) suddenly found himself at the mercy of other, often less talented beings-critics, journalists, agents, publishers, hangers-on-within the public domain. He, who had enjoyed the power of the reporter, was now himself at the mercy of reporters. He had become an image and a commodity which he could not himself entirely control. No wonder Carmen Balcells became so important to him: she became his "agent" in many more ways than simply arranging his contracts with publishers. She helped him, undoubtedly, to realize the possibility of becoming, as much as any human being can, the "master of all his power."

So maybe then, like the dictator, he decided to take control of his public self, to become another self (which would only be partially himself, but now he would get to choose his image); instead of protesting about his predicament as he had for the past eight years, he would a.s.sume a.s.sume his famous self, his famous self, use use his fame, go past all his rivals, become a man of power and influence based not only on his public success achieved through the solitary act of writing but on his private, behind-the-scenes brilliance and power of seduction. his fame, go past all his rivals, become a man of power and influence based not only on his public success achieved through the solitary act of writing but on his private, behind-the-scenes brilliance and power of seduction.

Because the dictator, however crude he may seem in Garcia Marquez's intimate portrayal, was a political genius, for a very simple reason: "he saw the others just as they were while the others were never able to glimpse his hidden thoughts."44 Although "hermetic to himself," the Patriarch was "crystal clear in his ability to see the reality and future of others." Although "hermetic to himself," the Patriarch was "crystal clear in his ability to see the reality and future of others."45 His patience was immense and he would always win in the end, as when finally-in the case of his unreadable and apparently indispensable adviser Saenz de la Barra-"he discovered the imperceptible crack he had been seeking for so many years in that obsidian wall of fascination." His patience was immense and he would always win in the end, as when finally-in the case of his unreadable and apparently indispensable adviser Saenz de la Barra-"he discovered the imperceptible crack he had been seeking for so many years in that obsidian wall of fascination."46 Is this a picture of Garcia Marquez himself, always wanting to "win"-against all-comers, friends and family, wife and lovers, professional rivals (Asturias, Vargas Llosa), the world? And would Fidel Castro become the only man-his very own Patriarch, his grandfather figure-against whom he could not, would not dare, would not even wish, to win? Is this a picture of Garcia Marquez himself, always wanting to "win"-against all-comers, friends and family, wife and lovers, professional rivals (Asturias, Vargas Llosa), the world? And would Fidel Castro become the only man-his very own Patriarch, his grandfather figure-against whom he could not, would not dare, would not even wish, to win?

The lesson-it might be called a postmodern one-finally learned by the reader of this novel, through his or her reluctant co-existence with the Patriarch, is that life is undoubtedly impossible to understand but there are certain moral "truths," notwithstanding all our illusions and all our contemporary relativities.47 They relate not only to charity and compa.s.sion but to power, responsibility, solidarity, commitment and, finally, love. Perhaps it was the complex inter-relation between these human questions which was the lesson that Garcia Marquez himself learned in becoming famous and which he would not have learned unless he had become famous-which, indeed, for the most part, perhaps only the famous and powerful They relate not only to charity and compa.s.sion but to power, responsibility, solidarity, commitment and, finally, love. Perhaps it was the complex inter-relation between these human questions which was the lesson that Garcia Marquez himself learned in becoming famous and which he would not have learned unless he had become famous-which, indeed, for the most part, perhaps only the famous and powerful can can learn-even though most powerful figures who experience the process of learning go on, like the Patriarch himself, to become even more despicable as their power and influence increases. It raises the radical possibility that the Garcia Marquez who began to give interviews about politics and morality between, say, 1972 and 1975 was a new Garcia Marquez who had learned what the old, still relatively naive and "innocent" Garcia Marquez was truly like and had resolved to be better and to do better now that fame had shown him the truth. learn-even though most powerful figures who experience the process of learning go on, like the Patriarch himself, to become even more despicable as their power and influence increases. It raises the radical possibility that the Garcia Marquez who began to give interviews about politics and morality between, say, 1972 and 1975 was a new Garcia Marquez who had learned what the old, still relatively naive and "innocent" Garcia Marquez was truly like and had resolved to be better and to do better now that fame had shown him the truth.

As for love, when readers these days think about Garcia Marquez and love they are inclined to smile and think of the apparently ingenuous romantic Florentino Ariza from Love in the Time of Cholera Love in the Time of Cholera and of the wise and knowing face of Garcia Marquez himself reproduced on the covers of millions of novels. Yet his treatment of love and s.e.x, both in and of the wise and knowing face of Garcia Marquez himself reproduced on the covers of millions of novels. Yet his treatment of love and s.e.x, both in The Autumn of the Patriarch The Autumn of the Patriarch and elsewhere, is curiously brutal and disenchanted. The Patriarch's att.i.tude to women is coa.r.s.e and unimaginative in the extreme, with two exceptions: the beauty queen Manuela Sanchez, the unattainable woman he idealizes from afar but never gets to know, and at the other extreme the twelve-year-old schoolgirl Lolita figure whom he seduces when he is already senile. Still, the only woman he has ever truly loved appears to be his mother. So is the whole relations.h.i.+p with Luisa Santiaga a key to this novel? And does Manuela Sanchez represent an illusory quest for mere external glamour? And does Leticia Nazareno stand for the destiny of all wives (Mercedes is one of Leticia's other names)? And is all of it somehow the other, dark side of his suppression of his father, given that in this novel there are not even any grandfathers? Because the Patriarch regards himself as self-generated: and elsewhere, is curiously brutal and disenchanted. The Patriarch's att.i.tude to women is coa.r.s.e and unimaginative in the extreme, with two exceptions: the beauty queen Manuela Sanchez, the unattainable woman he idealizes from afar but never gets to know, and at the other extreme the twelve-year-old schoolgirl Lolita figure whom he seduces when he is already senile. Still, the only woman he has ever truly loved appears to be his mother. So is the whole relations.h.i.+p with Luisa Santiaga a key to this novel? And does Manuela Sanchez represent an illusory quest for mere external glamour? And does Leticia Nazareno stand for the destiny of all wives (Mercedes is one of Leticia's other names)? And is all of it somehow the other, dark side of his suppression of his father, given that in this novel there are not even any grandfathers? Because the Patriarch regards himself as self-generated: ... he considered no one the son of anyone but his mother, and only her. That certainty seemed valid even for him, as he knew that he was a man without a father like the most ill.u.s.trious despots of history, that the only relative known to him and perhaps the only one he had was his mother of my heart Bendicion Alvarado to whom the school texts attributed the miracle of having conceived him without recourse to any male and of having received in a dream the hermetical keys to his messianic destiny, and whom he proclaimed matriarch of the land by decree.48 The truth, it appears, both prosaic and profound, is that men want a wife to be their long-term lover but when they get one they find they wanted a mother all along whilst continuing to want other, idealized lovers. During the Patriarch's early times with Leticia Nazareno she would sit him down each day to learn to read and write; then they would spend every afternoon naked under her mosquito net, and she would wash him and dress him like a baby. Thus one half of a man is moved to suppress and rape women, considered by definition "younger" and inferior to him, and to wrest them away from other men; the other half wants to be treated like a child or baby by those same women, considered anterior or superior to him-because, once again, equality and democratic interaction are considered unrealistic or even (because unexciting) undesirable. In this book as in others Garcia Marquez hardly ever uses the word "s.e.x," which causes permanent ambiguity about the meaning of love and the relation between s.e.x and love. Evidently the only certainty that most of us can have about love is that our mother loves us, whatever our faults or crimes. Yet as we know, even this certainty was not given to Garcia Marquez himself in the early years of his life.

By the end of his life the Patriarch can hardly remember anything at all, "conversing with spectres whose voices he couldn't even decipher,"49 amidst all the signs of advanced old age, still vainly wanting s.e.x, since love is forever denied him, and so his staff bring him women from abroad, but to no avail, because best of all he still likes jumping on working-cla.s.s women, which always makes him start to sing again ("bright January moon ..."). amidst all the signs of advanced old age, still vainly wanting s.e.x, since love is forever denied him, and so his staff bring him women from abroad, but to no avail, because best of all he still likes jumping on working-cla.s.s women, which always makes him start to sing again ("bright January moon ...").50 Finally, at the very end of the novel, he remembers what his whole life has been dedicated to forgetting, "a remote childhood which for the first time was his own image s.h.i.+vering on the icy barrens and the image of his mother Bendicion Alvarado who stole the innards of a ram away from the garbage-heap buzzards for lunch." Finally, at the very end of the novel, he remembers what his whole life has been dedicated to forgetting, "a remote childhood which for the first time was his own image s.h.i.+vering on the icy barrens and the image of his mother Bendicion Alvarado who stole the innards of a ram away from the garbage-heap buzzards for lunch."51 Childhood, as Childhood, as Memories of My Melancholy Wh.o.r.es Memories of My Melancholy Wh.o.r.es will also remind us, does not necessarily excuse but it may explain. will also remind us, does not necessarily excuse but it may explain.

GARCIA M MaRQUEZ WOULD CONTINUE to tinker with the novel during the latter part of 1973 and well into 1974. to tinker with the novel during the latter part of 1973 and well into 1974.52 But the book was essentially finished and he was able to start planning the future. He had been a solitary writer locked away in solitary conflict with a solitary protagonist, yet simultaneously conducting an interminable conversation with the world about his solitude and about that most collective of matters: politics. It had been a bizarre spectacle for newspaper readers, to say the least, and Garcia Marquez only just managed to carry off the endeavour without making an international fool of himself; but carry it off he did and the experience made him a far tougher literary and political animal, and gave him a thicker skin with which to confront almost any challenge of the many which his talent and his fame would have in store for him. But the book was essentially finished and he was able to start planning the future. He had been a solitary writer locked away in solitary conflict with a solitary protagonist, yet simultaneously conducting an interminable conversation with the world about his solitude and about that most collective of matters: politics. It had been a bizarre spectacle for newspaper readers, to say the least, and Garcia Marquez only just managed to carry off the endeavour without making an international fool of himself; but carry it off he did and the experience made him a far tougher literary and political animal, and gave him a thicker skin with which to confront almost any challenge of the many which his talent and his fame would have in store for him.

In the early spring of 1973 he and Mercedes had travelled up from Barcelona to be at Tachia's wedding in Paris. She and Charles were finally married on 31 March-by then their son Juan was eight-and went to live opposite the hospital where she had miscarried in 1956; later they would move to the Rue du Bac. She would recall, "Gabriel was best man at my wedding and my sister Irene was matron of honour. Gabriel is also the G.o.dfather of my son Juan. I'd have liked Blas at the wedding too, it would have been wonderful-but he was so unreliable and unpredictable."53 There is no reason whatever to think that Garcia Marquez had any regrets about the separation from Tachia, other than the manner of it; but for a man who would be writing insistently about love, she would remain a productive point of reference, a symbol of paths not taken, of relations.h.i.+ps outside of marriage, indeed of alternatives to monogamy itself. There is no reason whatever to think that Garcia Marquez had any regrets about the separation from Tachia, other than the manner of it; but for a man who would be writing insistently about love, she would remain a productive point of reference, a symbol of paths not taken, of relations.h.i.+ps outside of marriage, indeed of alternatives to monogamy itself.

Later that year, at the very time he was in the final stages of The Autumn of the Patriarch The Autumn of the Patriarch, Garcia Marquez received another major international honour, the Neustadt Prize, awarded in a.s.sociation with the magazine Books Abroad Books Abroad of the University of Oklahoma. This was a surprising and indeed commendable decision for an American inst.i.tution to take only six months after the scandal surrounding his donation of the Gallegos Prize to MAS. of the University of Oklahoma. This was a surprising and indeed commendable decision for an American inst.i.tution to take only six months after the scandal surrounding his donation of the Gallegos Prize to MAS.54 After perfunctorily performing his duty in Oklahoma in return for the ceremonial eagle feather and cheque, Garcia Marquez flew to Los Angeles and San Francisco for a brief family holiday and then on to Mexico City, where the family were to spend the summer. So excited were they all to be back in Mexico together, among their old friends, in Rodrigo and Gonzalo's true nation home, that they bought a ramshackle country house on the outskirts of Cuernavaca, that beautiful resort town given notoriety by Malcolm Lowry's After perfunctorily performing his duty in Oklahoma in return for the ceremonial eagle feather and cheque, Garcia Marquez flew to Los Angeles and San Francisco for a brief family holiday and then on to Mexico City, where the family were to spend the summer. So excited were they all to be back in Mexico together, among their old friends, in Rodrigo and Gonzalo's true nation home, that they bought a ramshackle country house on the outskirts of Cuernavaca, that beautiful resort town given notoriety by Malcolm Lowry's Under the Volcano Under the Volcano.55 It was a bargain, with 1,100 square metres of garden, near the house of their old friends Vicente and Albita Rojo, in the direction of Las Quintas, with views of the sierra. This time, unlike his near-purchase of a country house outside Barcelona, Garcia Marquez went ahead with the deal. When he registered the property at the notary public, all the employees from adjoining offices came out to have their copies of It was a bargain, with 1,100 square metres of garden, near the house of their old friends Vicente and Albita Rojo, in the direction of Las Quintas, with views of the sierra. This time, unlike his near-purchase of a country house outside Barcelona, Garcia Marquez went ahead with the deal. When he registered the property at the notary public, all the employees from adjoining offices came out to have their copies of One Hundred Years of Solitude One Hundred Years of Solitude signed. Garcia Marquez exulted, "I'm a capitalist, I own a property!" He was forty-eight. signed. Garcia Marquez exulted, "I'm a capitalist, I own a property!" He was forty-eight.

On 9 September he left Mexico, after a stay of more than two months. Mercedes flew to Barcelona, where the boys were returning reluctantly to school. Garcia Marquez was on his way to Colombia on business. But he told the Mexican press that he was so pleased by his reception in Mexico that he would be going on to Barcelona to pack his things and get back to Mexico as quickly as possible.56 He also declared that Latin America was very short of great leaders. The only true leaders in the continent were Castro and Allende, the rest were "mere presidents of the republic." Two days later, on the first of the doom-laden September the elevenths, one of those two leaders was dead and Latin America would never be the same again. He also declared that Latin America was very short of great leaders. The only true leaders in the continent were Castro and Allende, the rest were "mere presidents of the republic." Two days later, on the first of the doom-laden September the elevenths, one of those two leaders was dead and Latin America would never be the same again.

19.

Chile and Cuba: Garcia Marquez Opts for the Revolution 19731979 ON 11 S 11 SEPTEMBER 1973, like millions of other political progressives across the world, Garcia Marquez, sitting in front of a television in Colombia, watched in horror as Chilean air force bombers attacked the government palace in Santiago. Within a few hours it was confirmed that the democratically elected President Salvador Allende was dead, whether murdered or having committed suicide no one knew. A military junta took power and began to round up what would become more than thirty thousand alleged left-wing activists over the coming weeks, many of whom would never emerge from custody alive. Pablo Neruda lay dying of cancer in his house at Isla Negra on Chile's Pacific coast. Allende's death and the destruction of his political dreams as Chile fell into the hands of a fascist regime made up the content of Neruda's last days on earth before he succ.u.mbed to the illness which had beset him for several years. 1973, like millions of other political progressives across the world, Garcia Marquez, sitting in front of a television in Colombia, watched in horror as Chilean air force bombers attacked the government palace in Santiago. Within a few hours it was confirmed that the democratically elected President Salvador Allende was dead, whether murdered or having committed suicide no one knew. A military junta took power and began to round up what would become more than thirty thousand alleged left-wing activists over the coming weeks, many of whom would never emerge from custody alive. Pablo Neruda lay dying of cancer in his house at Isla Negra on Chile's Pacific coast. Allende's death and the destruction of his political dreams as Chile fell into the hands of a fascist regime made up the content of Neruda's last days on earth before he succ.u.mbed to the illness which had beset him for several years.1 Allende's Popular Unity government had been watched by political commentators and activists around the world as an experiment to see whether a socialist society could be achieved through democratic means. Allende had nationalized copper, steel, coal, most private banks and other key sectors of the economy, yet, despite constant propaganda and subversion from the right, his government had increased its share of the vote to 44 per cent in the mid-term elections in March 1973. This only prompted the right into redoubling its efforts to undermine the regime. The CIA had been working against Allende even before his election: the United States, beleaguered in its Vietnamese quagmire and already obsessed with Cuba, was desperate that there should be no further anti-capitalist regimes in the Western hemisphere. The savage destruction of the Chilean experiment, before the eyes of the entire world, would have something of the effect on leftists that the defeat of the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War had exerted almost forty years before.

At eight o'clock that evening Garcia Marquez wrote a telegram to the members of the new Chilean junta: "Bogota, September 11, 1973. Generals Augusto Pinochet, Gustavo Leigh, Cesar Mendez Danyau and Admiral Jose Toribio Merino, Members of the Military Junta: You are the material authors of the death of President Allende and the Chilean people will never allow themselves to be governed by a gang of criminals in the pay of North American imperialism. Gabriel Garcia Marquez."2 At the time he wrote this message Allende's fate was still unknown but Garcia Marquez later said that he knew Allende well enough to be sure he would never leave the palace alive; and the military must have known it too. Although some said that sending this telegram was a gesture more appropriate to a university student than a great writer, it turned out to be the first political action carried out by a new Garcia Marquez, one who was already looking for a new role but whose politics had now been brutally focused and radically hardened by the violent end to Allende's historic experiment. He later told an interviewer, "The Chilean coup was a catastrophe for me." At the time he wrote this message Allende's fate was still unknown but Garcia Marquez later said that he knew Allende well enough to be sure he would never leave the palace alive; and the military must have known it too. Although some said that sending this telegram was a gesture more appropriate to a university student than a great writer, it turned out to be the first political action carried out by a new Garcia Marquez, one who was already looking for a new role but whose politics had now been brutally focused and radically hardened by the violent end to Allende's historic experiment. He later told an interviewer, "The Chilean coup was a catastrophe for me."

The Padilla Affair had turned out, predictably, to be the great dividing of the waters in Latin American Cold War history, and not just for intellectuals, artists and writers. Garcia Marquez, despite the criticisms of his friends-ranging from "opportunism" to "naivety"-had remained the most politically consistent of the major Latin American authors. The Soviet Union was not the socialism he wanted but from the Latin American standpoint he considered it essential as a bulwark against U.S. hegemony and imperialism. This was not, in his eyes, "fellow travelling" but a rational appraisal of reality. Cuba, though also problematical, was more progressive than the USSR and had to be supported by all serious anti-imperialist Latin Americans, who should nonetheless do what they could to moderate any repressive, undemocratic or dictatorial aspects of the regime.3 He chose what seemed to him to be the path of peace and justice for the peoples of the world: international socialism, broadly defined. He chose what seemed to him to be the path of peace and justice for the peoples of the world: international socialism, broadly defined.4 He had undoubtedly wanted the Chilean experiment to succeed but had never believed that it would be allowed to do so. In answer to a question from a New York journalist in 1971, he had said: My ambition is for all Latin America to become socialist, but nowadays people are seduced by the idea of peaceful and const.i.tutional socialism. This seems all very well for electoral purposes, but I believe it to be completely utopian. Chile is heading toward violent and dramatic events. If the Popular Front goes ahead-with intelligence and great tact, with reasonably firm and swift steps-a moment will come when they will encounter a wall of serious opposition. The United States is not interfering at present, but it won't always stand by with folded arms. It won't really accept that Chile is a socialist country. It won't allow that, and don't let's be under any illusions on that point. It's not that I see [violence] as a solution, but I think that a moment will come when that wall of opposition can only be surmounted by violence. Unfortunately, I believe that to be inevitable. I think what is happening in Chile is very good as reform, but not as revolution.5 Few observers had seen the future as clearly as this. Garcia Marquez realized that he was now living at a critical juncture in world history. Over the next few years, despite his deep-rooted political pessimism, he would make a series of statements about political commitment which were perhaps best summed up in a 1978 interview: "The sense of solidarity, which is the same as what Catholics call the Communion of Saints, has a very straightforward meaning for me. It means that in every one of our acts each one of us is responsible for the whole of humanity. When a person discovers this it's because his political consciousness has reached its highest level. Modesty apart, that is my case. For me there is no act in my life which is not a political act."6 He looked for a way to take action. He was more convinced than ever that the Cuban road was the only feasible route to Latin America's political and economic independence-that is, its dignity. But he was distanced, yet again, from Cuba. In the circ.u.mstances he decided that the route back lay, in the first instance, through Colombia. He had been involved in discussions for some time with young Colombian intellectuals, particularly Enrique Santos Calderon of the El Tiempo El Tiempo dynasty, dynasty,7 whom he had recently got to know, Daniel Samper whom he had known for a decade, and later Antonio Caballero, the son of the liberal upper-cla.s.s novelist Eduardo Caballero Calderon, with a view to creating a new form of journalism in Colombia-specifically by founding a left-wing magazine. whom he had recently got to know, Daniel Samper whom he had known for a decade, and later Antonio Caballero, the son of the liberal upper-cla.s.s novelist Eduardo Caballero Calderon, with a view to creating a new form of journalism in Colombia-specifically by founding a left-wing magazine.8 Garcia Marquez had come to the conclusion that the only way for his deeply conservative country to reform itself was by what he would jokingly call the "seduction" and "perversion" of the younger generation from the old ruling families. Garcia Marquez had come to the conclusion that the only way for his deeply conservative country to reform itself was by what he would jokingly call the "seduction" and "perversion" of the younger generation from the old ruling families.9 Other key partic.i.p.ants were the nation's best-known chronicler of the Other key partic.i.p.ants were the nation's best-known chronicler of the Violencia Violencia, the internationally respected sociologist Orlando Fals Borda, and a left-wing entrepreneur called Jose Vicente Katarain, who would later become Garcia Marquez's publisher in Colombia. The new magazine would be called Alternativa Alternativa, its point of departure was "the increasing monopoly of information suffered by Colombian society at the hands of the same interests which control the national economy and national politics," and its purpose was to show "the other Colombia that never appears in the pages of the big press nor on the screens of a television service more closely subordinated each day to official control."10 The first number would appear in February 1974. The magazine would last six turbulent years and Garcia Marquez, who would spend relatively little time in Colombia despite his best intentions, would nevertheless be a regular contributor and would make himself permanently avail-able for consultations and advice. He and the other leading partic.i.p.ants invested large amounts of their own money in this inherently risky business. In the meantime he announced that he would be moving back to Latin America and, more sensationally, that he would be writing no more novels: from now on, and until the military junta led by General Pinochet in Chile fell from power, he was "on strike" as far as literature was concerned and would be devoting himself full time to politics. The first number would appear in February 1974. The magazine would last six turbulent years and Garcia Marquez, who would spend relatively little time in Colombia despite his best intentions, would nevertheless be a regular contributor and would make himself permanently avail-able for consultations and advice. He and the other leading partic.i.p.ants invested large amounts of their own money in this inherently risky business. In the meantime he announced that he would be moving back to Latin America and, more sensationally, that he would be writing no more novels: from now on, and until the military junta led by General Pinochet in Chile fell from power, he was "on strike" as far as literature was concerned and would be devoting himself full time to politics.

In December, as if to underline his new resolutions, Garcia Marquez accepted an invitation to become a member of the prestigious Second Russell Tribunal investigating and judging international war crimes. More significant perhaps than it might seem at first sight, this invitation was the first clear sign that he was going to achieve international acceptance in places and at levels unknown to most other Latin American writers and that despite his controversial commitment to Cuba he was going to have a relatively free hand to partic.i.p.ate in political activity wherever and whenever he chose.

The first number of Alternativa Alternativa in February 1974 sold 10,000 copies in twenty-four hours. The police in Bogota confiscated several hundred copies but this would be the only case of direct censors.h.i.+p in the magazine's history (though there would be "indirect censors.h.i.+p" through bomb attacks, court interventions, economic blockades and a sabotage of distribution, all of which would eventually bring about its demise). Later it would have persistent financial problems but the response in the early months was extraordinary. Before long it was selling 40,000 copies, an unheard-of figure for a left-wing publication in Colombia. The first number had a slogan about consciousness raising-"To Dare to Think Is to Begin to Fight"-and an editorial, "A Letter to the Reader," which stated that the new magazine's aim was to "fight the distortion of national reality in the bourgeois press" and to "counter disinformation" (a theme which had been famously exemplified by the aftermath of the banana ma.s.sacre in in February 1974 sold 10,000 copies in twenty-four hours. The police in Bogota confiscated several hundred copies but this would be the only case of direct censors.h.i.+p in the magazine's history (though there would be "indirect censors.h.i.+p" through bomb attacks, court interventions, economic blockades and a sabotage of distribution, all of which would eventually bring about its demise). Later it would have persistent financial problems but the response in the early months was extraordinary. Before long it was selling 40,000 copies, an unheard-of figure for a left-wing publication in Colombia. The first number had a slogan about consciousness raising-"To Dare to Think Is to Begin to Fight"-and an editorial, "A Letter to the Reader," which stated that the new magazine's aim was to "fight the distortion of national reality in the bourgeois press" and to "counter disinformation" (a theme which had been famously exemplified by the aftermath of the banana ma.s.sacre in One Hundred Years of Solitude One Hundred Years of Solitude).

The magazine, which appeared twice a month, included the first of two articles by Garcia Marquez under the headline "Chile, the Coup and the Gringos."11 It was his first incursion into openly political journalism since he had become famous and it achieved worldwide distribution (published in the USA and UK in March) and immediate cla.s.sic status. Garcia Marquez lamented what he construed as Salvador Allende's misguided end: It was his first incursion into openly political journalism since he had become famous and it achieved worldwide distribution (published in the USA and UK in March) and immediate cla.s.sic status. Garcia Marquez lamented what he construed as Salvador Allende's misguided end: He would have been sixty-four years old next July. His greatest virtue was following through, but fate could only grant him that rare and tragic greatness of dying in armed defence of the anachronistic b.o.o.by of bourgeois law, defending a Supreme Court of Justice which had repudiated him but would legitimize his murderers, defending a miserable Congress which had declared him illegitimate but which was to bend complacently before the will of the usurpers, defending the freedom of opposition parties which had sold their souls to fascism, defending the whole moth-eaten paraphernalia of a s.h.i.+tty system which he had proposed abolis.h.i.+ng, but without a shot being fired. The drama took place in Chile, to the greater woe of the Chileans, but it will pa.s.s into history as something that has happened to us all, children of this age, and it will remain in our lives for ever.12 It was the same tone of contempt with which Garcia Marquez had been speaking about the Colombian parliamentary system since the mid-1950s, best exemplified in "Big Mama's Funeral." As for Salvador Allende, he had become a Garcia Marquez character, one more martyr in the ghastly pantheon of Latin America's failed heroes; many others were to follow and many optimistic but fearful politicians would become friends of Garcia Marquez in the coming years in a perhaps desperate or superst.i.tious effort to avoid such a destiny.

Just as Garcia Marquez almost fled from Mexico once One Hundred Years of Solitude One Hundred Years of Solitude had been published and he had managed to pay off his debts, he now prepared to leave Barcelona after the completion of had been published and he had managed to pay off his debts, he now prepared to leave Barcelona after the completion of The Autumn of the Patriarch The Autumn of the Patriarch and the preparation of his and the preparation of his Collected Stories. Collected Stories.13 He had always had a half-hearted, somewhat distracted and occasionally patronizing att.i.tude to Spain and now his mind was on other matters and other places. The next year would involve a gradual adjustment of both his place of residence and his attention from Europe to Latin America and from literature to politics. Meanwhile Mario Vargas Llosa, who had arrived in Barcelona after him, was leaving before him. On 12 June 1974 Carmen Balcells hosted a farewell party for Vargas Llosa, who was going back to Peru. He had always had a half-hearted, somewhat distracted and occasionally patronizing att.i.tude to Spain and now his mind was on other matters and other places. The next year would involve a gradual adjustment of both his place of residence and his attention from Europe to Latin America and from literature to politics. Meanwhile Mario Vargas Llosa, who had arrived in Barcelona after him, was leaving before him. On 12 June 1974 Carmen Balcells hosted a farewell party for Vargas Llosa, who was going back to Peru.14 Most of the Latin American writers in residence during that period were there, including Jose Donoso and Jorge Edwards, as well as the Catalans Jose Maria Castellet, Carlos Barral, Juan Ma.r.s.e, Juan and Luis Goytisolo, Manuel Vazquez Montalban, and many others. This, surely, with Vargas Llosa leaving and Garcia Marquez preparing his own departure, was the ceremony which marked the end of the Boom in all its European splendour. Most of the Latin American writers in residence during that period were there, including Jose Donoso and Jorge Edwards, as well as the Catalans Jose Maria Castellet, Carlos Barral, Juan Ma.r.s.e, Juan and Luis Goytisolo, Manuel Vazquez Montalban, and many others. This, surely, with Vargas Llosa leaving and Garcia Marquez preparing his own departure, was the ceremony which marked the end of the Boom in all its European splendour.15 Vargas Llosa set sail for Lima with his wife and family, leaving their many friends in Barcelona bereft, though Carmen Balcells would continued to provide a point of focus. Vargas Llosa set sail for Lima with his wife and family, leaving their many friends in Barcelona bereft, though Carmen Balcells would continued to provide a point of focus.

At the end of the summer Garcia Marquez and Mercedes themselves took an extraordinary decision. They left the boys in Barcelona, in the tender care of their friends the Feduchis, Carmen Balcells, and the woman who cooked and cleaned the house, to travel, somewhat surprisingly, to London. Garcia Marquez had decided it was time at last to attend to what he considered the only great failure of his life-his inability to learn English. He and Mercedes had suggested to Rodrigo and Gonzalo that they might consider two years in London. The boys flatly refused but were astonished, and resentful, when their parents announced that they at least would be going and left the two teenagers behind.16 The couple stayed for a time in the Kensington Hilton, a hotel they knew well, and enrolled in an intensive course in the Callan School of English on Oxford Street, which guaranteed excellent results in a quarter of the normal time with its "infallible" methods. The couple stayed for a time in the Kensington Hilton, a hotel they knew well, and enrolled in an intensive course in the Callan School of English on Oxford Street, which guaranteed excellent results in a quarter of the normal time with its "infallible" methods.

Learning English-which did not go well-was not Garcia Marquez's only preoccupation. It was in London, curiously, that the first steps were taken to reintegrate him into the Cuban Revolution. Since the 1971 Padilla Affair he had been even more ostracized than before but in London he contacted Lisandro Otero, a writer whose confrontation with Heberto Padilla had led indirectly to the first phase of the affair in 1968. Otero knew Regis Debray and Debray agreed to act as an intermediary between Garcia Marquez and Cuban Foreign Minister Carlos Rafael Rodriguez. He told Rodriguez that the revolution was making a big mistake in leaving a figure of Garcia Marquez's significance in "political limbo." Rodriguez agreed and the Cuban amba.s.sador to London invited Garcia Marquez to lunch and informed him: "Carlos Rafael wants me to tell you that it's time for you to go back to Cuba."17 Early in his stay in London Garcia Marquez had been discovered in his hotel by several Latin American journalists from the pro-U.S. weekly Vision. Vision. He sidestepped most of their questions but gave an interesting insight into his impression of London: He sidestepped most of their questions but gave an interesting insight into his impression of London: London is the most interesting city in the world: the vast and melancholy metropolis of the last colonial empire in liquidation. Twenty years ago, when I came here for the first time, it was still possible to find, amidst the fog, those Englishmen with bowler hats and striped trousers who looked so much like Bogotanos of the time. Now they've taken refuge in their mansions in the suburbs, alone in their sad gardens, with their last dogs, their last dahlias, defeated by the irresistible pressure of the human tide coming in from the lost empire. Oxford Street looks like a street in Panama, Curacao, or Vera Cruz, with intrepid Hindus sitting at the doors of their shops full of silks and ivory, with splendid black women dressed in bright colours selling avocadoes and conjurors who make the ball disappear from beneath the cup before the eyes of the public. Instead of fog there's a hot sun which smells of guavas and sleeping crocodiles. You go in for a beer in a bar, like a cantina in La Guaira, and a bomb goes off under your seat. You hear Spanish, Portuguese, j.a.panese, and Greek being spoken all around you. Of all the people I've met in London, the only one who spoke impeccable English in an Oxford accent was the Swedish finance minister. So don't be surprised at finding me here: at Piccadilly Circus I feel as if I'm in the Portal of the Sweets in Cartagena.18 Few observers had foreseen London's future ident.i.ty as "world city" quite so early and with such clarity. Asked if any regime in Latin America would ever have unarmed police like the British ones, Garcia Marquez retorted that there already was one: Cuba. And the big news in Latin America, he went on, was the consolidation of the Cuban Revolution-hostile observers at the time believed such "consolidation" was in fact "Stalinization"-without which none of the current progressive developments in the continent would have been possible-nor, he added, the literary Boom itself. Finally, he reiterated that he would not be writing any more fiction until the Chilean resistance had overthrown the Chilean dictators.h.i.+p, whose members were paid by the Pentagon. There was a clear sense in this hostile interview that Garcia Marquez was burning boats and raising the flag of his socialist commitment. Why? Because he was sure that he was on his way back to Cuba.

When he was not attending his English lessons in London, he tinkered with the definitive version of The Autumn of the Patriarch The Autumn of the Patriarch and played with different ideas for radical film scripts. He and Mercedes were visited by his youngest brother Eligio and his wife Myriam, who had moved to Paris in September, and Eligio and his famous brother Gabito became closer despite the twenty-year gap between them. Eligio and Myriam would spend Christmas 1974 in Barcelona with Gabito, Mercedes and their two sons. and played with different ideas for radical film scripts. He and Mercedes were visited by his youngest brother Eligio and his wife Myriam, who had moved to Paris in September, and Eligio and his famous brother Gabito became closer despite the twenty-year gap between them. Eligio and Myriam would spend Christmas 1974 in Barcelona with Gabito, Mercedes and their two sons.

In September 1974 political problems had arisen within the Alternativa Alternativa editorial board and Orlando Fals Borda's faction left the magazine. Enrique Santos Calderon later told me, "We intended to be pluralist but people divided very quickly into different groups. Gabo suffered acutely with all the troubles, he finds internal tensions between his friends very difficult to deal with. Each furtive return he made caused him anguish but they also politicized him, woke him up to the reality of armed struggle and made him an idol of the left." editorial board and Orlando Fals Borda's faction left the magazine. Enrique Santos Calderon later told me, "We intended to be pluralist but people divided very quickly into different groups. Gabo suffered acutely with all the troubles, he finds internal tensions between his friends very difficult to deal with. Each furtive return he made caused him anguish but they also politicized him, woke him up to the reality of armed struggle and made him an idol of the left."19 In December Garcia Marquez interviewed CIA renegade Philip Agee, whose revelations about the organization's activities in Latin America would shortly be causing a sensation worldwide. In December Garcia Marquez interviewed CIA renegade Philip Agee, whose revelations about the organization's activities in Latin America would shortly be causing a sensation worldwide.20 By now no one was refusing a meeting with Garcia Marquez. In the 1974 elections in Colombia, after the formal ending of the National Front pact, Liberal Alfonso Lopez Michelsen had come to power with 63.8 per cent of votes cast, though over 50 per cent of the electorate failed to vote. Despite his doubts about Lopez Michelsen's politics, Garcia Marquez was happy to have him as president, given their distant kins.h.i.+p through the Cotes family link in Padilla, his own prior relations.h.i.+p when he took Lopez Michelsen's law course at the university in Bogota and the possibilities of working with a man who was certainly not a reactionary. By now no one was refusing a meeting with Garcia Marquez. In the 1974 elections in Colombia, after the formal ending of the National Front pact, Liberal Alfonso Lopez Michelsen had come to power with 63.8 per cent of votes cast, though over 50 per cent of the electorate failed to vote. Despite his doubts about Lopez Michelsen's politics, Garcia Marquez was happy to have him as president, given their distant kins.h.i.+p through the Cotes family link in Padilla, his own prior relations.h.i.+p when he took Lopez Michelsen's law course at the university in Bogota and the possibilities of working with a man who was certainly not a reactionary.21 The Autumn of the Patriarch was published at last, in March 1975, in Barcelona. The Latin American press had been full of rumours that the novel's publication was imminent right up to the day that it-the most eagerly awaited book in Latin American history-hit the bookshops. It was launched by his Spanish publisher, Plaza y Janes, with a print run of a staggering 500,000 copies in hardback. In June Plaza y Janes would publish his was published at last, in March 1975, in Barcelona. The Latin American press had been full of rumours that the novel's publication was imminent right up to the day that it-the most eagerly awaited book in Latin American history-hit the bookshops. It was launched by his Spanish publisher, Plaza y Janes, with a print run of a staggering 500,000 copies in hardback. In June Plaza y Janes would publish his Collected Stories Collected Stories and Garcia Marquez would have settled his accounts, for the time being, with his literary readers. Despite, or perhaps more accurately because of, the high expectations, the reviews were disconcertingly mixed and many of them were downright hostile. and Garcia Marquez would have settled his accounts, for the time being, with his literary readers. Despite, or perhaps more accurately because of, the high expectations, the reviews were disconcertingly mixed and many of them were downright hostile.22 Some critics liked the book for its extraordinary poetry and ironic rhetoric which both exalt and parody Latin America's darkest fantasies at one and the same time; others disliked it for a whole battery of reasons ranging from its alleged vulgarities to its incessant hyperboles, from its lack of punctuation to its apparently problematical political stance. These divergences were particularly marked at the time the book was published but the radical disagreement has continued down the years. Some critics liked the book for its extraordinary poetry and ironic rhetoric which both exalt and parody Latin America's darkest fantasies at one and the same time; others disliked it for a whole battery of reasons ranging from its alleged vulgarities to its incessant hyperboles, from its lack of punctuation to its apparently problematical political stance. These divergences were particularly marked at the time the book was published but the radical disagreement has continued down the years.

Nevertheless it was The Autumn of the Patriarch The Autumn of the Patriarch that finally con-firmed Garcia Marquez as a professional author, the book that showed he could write another big novel after that finally con-firmed Garcia Marquez as a professional author, the book that showed he could write another big novel after One Hundred Years of Solitude One Hundred Years of Solitude. Even those who disliked it did not attempt to deny that it had been written, manifestly, by a great writer. Although One Hundred Years of Solitude One Hundred Years of Solitude evidently proclaims a vast and unmistakable continental dimension, it is still a recognizably Colombian book. evidently proclaims a vast and unmistakable continental dimension, it is still a recognizably Colombian book. The Autumn of the Patriarch The Autumn of the Patriarch, on the contrary, is a Latin American book, written with that symbolic readers.h.i.+p in mind, with almost no significant Colombian dimension, not least because Colombia never had the sort of patriarch it portrays: formally, it was a "democratic" nation through most of the twentieth century.

In a sense it is The Autumn of the Patriarch The Autumn of the Patriarch and not and not One Hundred Years of Solitude One Hundred Years of Solitude which stands as the decisive oeuvre of Garcia Marquez's career as a writer, because, contrary to first impressions, it encapsulates all his other works. Whether or not it is considered his "best" novel, as Garcia Marquez himself has frequently a.s.serted, it is not difficult to see why he thinks it his most "important" one, especially if we add to its compendiousness two further considerations already mentioned: the insistence that the portrait of the Patriarch is a portrait of himself and the fact that he wrote the book to "prove himself" as an author after the stupefying success of which stands as the decisive oeuvre of Garcia Marquez's career as a writer, because, contrary to first impressions, it encapsulates all his other works. Whether or not it is considered his "best" novel, as Garcia Marquez himself has frequently a.s.serted, it is not difficult to see why he thinks it his most "important" one, especially if we add to its compendiousness two further considerations already mentioned: the insistence that the portrait of the Patriarch is a portrait of himself and the fact that he wrote the book to "prove himself" as an author after the stupefying success of One Hundred Years of Solitude One Hundred Years of Solitude. It might be said, then, that while One Hundred Years of Solitude One Hundred Years of Solitude is undoubtedly the axis of his life (and the most important book as far as the wider world, and perhaps posterity, are concerned), is undoubtedly the axis of his life (and the most important book as far as the wider world, and perhaps posterity, are concerned), The Autumn of the Patriarch The Autumn of the Patriarch is the pivot of his work: after this, ironically enough, the all-consuming nature of his literary obsession with power would be at an end-at the very moment that power became the central theme of his life. When he had declared that he would not write another novel until Pinochet fell, it was for two very good reasons: firstly, and above all, he was determined to make contact with Latin America's own living patriarch, Fidel Castro; but secondly, for the time being, he had nothing really important left to write-because, it can now be seen, the first half of his career as a writer did not end with the ecstasy of is the pivot of his work: after this, ironically enough, the all-consuming nature of his literary obsession with power would be at an end-at the very moment that power became the central theme of his life. When he had declared that he would not write another novel until Pinochet fell, it was for two very good reasons: firstly, and above all, he was determined to make contact with Latin America's own living patriarch, Fidel Castro; but secondly, for the time being, he had nothing really important left to write-because, it can now be seen, the first half of his career as a writer did not end with the ecstasy of One Hundred Years of Solitude One Hundred Years of Solitude but with the agony of but with the agony of The Autumn of the Patriarch The Autumn of the Patriarch. As far as literature was concerned, he was not at all sure where to go next. So he concentrated on Castro.

That spring he was in London again with Lisandro Otero, who recalled: "Garcia Marquez and I were dining with Matta in the House of Brahimi, the Algerian amba.s.sador, when a servant came to the table with an urgent message for Gabo. He went to the phone. It was Carmen Balcells, who had just arrived from Barcelona with the first copies of The Autumn of the Patriarch The Autumn of the Patriarch. As soon as we finished dinner we went to her hotel. She gave Gabo the five copies that had come off the press that very afternoon. He immediately took a pen and dedicated them to Fidel and Raul Castro, Carlos Rafael Rodriguez, Raul Roa and me. I felt that with that gesture he was trying to declare his commitment, in the most unequivocal fas.h.i.+on, to the Cuban Revolution."23 a.s.suming his overtures to Castro were successful, his new strategy would require a complex and subtle self-presentation. He would support both socialism and liberal democracy at one and the same time, through his very own but secret "popular front." At the beginning of June 1975 he flew into Lisbon on Russell Tribunal business-the business of human rights and democracy. But the Portuguese Revolution had broken out in April 1974-a revolution in Europe: perhaps everything was possible!-and it had been carried through in the first instance by soldiers. Its implications for Africa-and Cuba-would be far-reaching, as they would be for Garcia Marquez himself. He met Prime Minister Vasco Goncalves and the poet Jose Gomes Ferreira, among others, and would soon publish three major articles in Alternativa Alternativa on the course of events in Portugal after the revolution. on the course of events in Portugal after the revolution.24 His support for the Portuguese Revolution, for the Peruvian military revolution then in full swing, and the heavily militarized Cuban regime, showed a surprising openness to martial involvements. He said in Lisbon that the Peruvians expropriating newspapers was no different from the expropriation of oil, which he also supported; he personally did not believe in bourgeois freedom of the press, which was "in the last a.n.a.lysis, freedom only for the bourgeoisie." His support for the Portuguese Revolution, for the Peruvian military revolution then in full swing, and the heavily militarized Cuban regime, showed a surprising openness to martial involvements. He said in Lisbon that the Peruvians expropriating newspapers was no different from the expropriation of oil, which he also supported; he personally did not believe in bourgeois freedom of the press, which was "in the last a.n.a.lysis, freedom only for the bourgeoisie."25 This infuriated Mario Vargas Llosa, by then back in Peru. This infuriated Mario Vargas Llosa, by then back in Peru.

Garcia Marquez headed for the Caribbean by way of Mexico City. On his arrival in the Mexican capital he prayed to the Lord that he would never be awarded the n.o.bel Prize and although, as it later turned out, the Lord was not listening, Excelsior conveniently was and the possibility of Garcia Marquez attaining such future glory was planted in many thousands of minds.26 As for wealth, on 17 June Excelsior reported that between them As for wealth, on 17 June Excelsior reported that between them One Hundred Years of Solitude One Hundred Years of Solitude and and The Autumn of the Patriarch The Autumn of the Patriarch had made Garcia Marquez a very rich man. had made Garcia Marquez a very rich man.27 Evidently he could afford his self-imposed literary vacation and he could afford to take risks with his popularity in pursuit of his political vocation. Evidently he could afford his self-imposed literary vacation and he could afford to take risks with his popularity in pursuit of his political vocation.

Back in the Caribbean he went in search of answers to the questions that now obsessed him. Cuba's government was run by revolutionary guerrillas who had turned themselves, and indeed the whole of the Cuban people, into soldiers. Allende had been overthrown by a reactionary military. Now, in Portugal, Europe's longest-lived dictators.h.i.+p had also been overturned by the army. Were revolutionary soldiers-arise General Simon Bolivar!-the answer to Latin America's problems? He travelled to Central America to find out. There he interviewed a tempestuous, swashbuckling figure second only to Fidel Castro in his attractiveness to Garcia Marquez, General Omar Torrijos, the populist dictator of Panama since 1968, another of those characters who argued that dictators.h.i.+p for and of but not by the people was sometimes necessary given the neo-colonial condition of contemporary Latin America.28 Garcia Marquez and Torrijos would become bosom buddies, almost blood brothers. (It was Torrijos who, after sitting down and reading Garcia Marquez and Torrijos would become bosom buddies, almost blood brothers. (It was Torrijos who, after sitting down and reading The Autumn of the Patriarch The Autumn of the Patriarch, would look up at Garcia Marquez and say, "It's true, it's us, that's what we're like.") Torrijos, a quite different personality to Castro (whose "popular" performances were strictly-some would say cynically-ch.o.r.eographed), had begun a historic campaign to recover the Panama Ca.n.a.l for Panama and he explained to Garcia Marquez his negotiations with the USA for a new Ca.n.a.l Treaty and the conditions he would and would not accept. As Garcia Marquez himself pointed out, it was to say the least inconvenient for the USA to have a military rebel appear in the country where the U.S.-run School of the Americas, "in which the soldiers of the continent learn to combat the insurgency of their peoples," was located. Torrijos told his new friend that he was prepared to go to "the ultimate consequences" to get the ca.n.a.l back and to eradicate colonialism from his country.

Garcia Marquez was particularly interested in Panama. Not only was it once a part of Colombia, before U.S. imperialism encouraged its secession; it was also the country where his own grandfather, Nicolas Marquez, had travelled as a young man and had pursued one of his most important love affairs. Torrijos was a man who could easily have been born in Barranquilla-indeed, in many respects he was reminiscent, even in looks and manner, of Garcia Marquez's dead friend Alvaro Cepeda. Quite quickly the two men would come to build a friends.h.i.+p based on a deep emotional attraction which evidently turned over time into a kind of love affair. And Garcia Marquez was not alone: even the ice-cool English writer Graham Greene developed a close and affectionate relations.h.i.+p with the Panamanian leader and eventually wrote a surprisingly unguarded book about the process of "getting to know the general."

BUT COMPARED TO Fidel Castro, already by then one of the great political personalities of the twentieth century, even Torrijos was a minor figure. It is easy to imagine how fascinating the thought of getting to know Castro must have been for a man as obsessed from an early age with the theme of power as Garcia Marquez. In Fidel Castro, already by then one of the great political personalities of the twentieth century, even Torrijos was a minor figure. It is easy to imagine how fascinating the thought of getting to know Castro must have been for a man as obsessed from an early age with the theme of power as Garcia Marquez. In The Autumn of the Patriarch The Autumn of the Patriarch some parallels are unmistakable. The novel, which appeared three months before Garcia Marquez's first visit to Cuba in fourteen years, described a dictator obsessed with rural activities, especially cattle breeding, yet who had "smooth maiden hands with the ring of power." Both details point to Fidel. Some references may be coincidental, others are unmistakable: "he built the largest baseball stadium in the Caribbean and imparted to our team the motto of victory and death." some parallels are unmistakable. The novel, which appeared three months before Garcia Marquez's first visit to Cuba in fourteen years, described a dictator obsessed with rural activities, especially cattle breeding, yet who had "smooth maiden hands with the ring of power." Both details point to Fidel. Some references may be coincidental, others are unmistakable: "he built the largest baseball stadium in the Caribbean and imparted to our team the motto of victory and death."

Similarly the Patriarch arbitrarily changes dates and times and even suppresses Sundays, just as Fidel Castro himself would eventually abolish Christmas and then, years later, resurrect it. And just like Fidel, Garcia Marquez's dictator, during his early years of messianic power, turns up unexpectedly all over the country and personally inspects public works or sets them in motion, and this gives him an enduring popularity so that the people would not blame him for their misfortunes: "every time they learned of a new act of barbarism they would sigh inside, if only the general knew." Eventually, after the Americans take the sea away-which could be interpreted as the almost fifty-year "blockade," heroically resisted by the Cuban people-the Patriarch reflects, "I had to bear the weight of this punishment alone ... no one knows better ... that it's better to be left without the sea than to allow a landing of marines." The brutal irony is that the portrait has increasingly fitted Castro more than twenty-five years after the novel was written; he too, with the embargo, had the "sea" taken away from him, and he too presided over a regime which decayed before the eyes of