Mario Vargas Llosa 鈥榩ut Peru on the world鈥檚 literary map鈥�
-
Howard LaFranchi Staff writer
| Lima, Peru
Mario Vargas Llosa, the Peruvian writer whose novels spoke of the human quest for freedom and won him the Nobel Prize for literature in 2010, was once a frequent visitor to Lima鈥檚 Caf茅 Haiti in the upscale Miraflores neighborhood.
So perhaps it鈥檚 little surprise that Mr. Vargas Llosa and his significance in Peru and beyond are topics circulating among Caf茅 Haiti鈥檚 breakfast crowd on April 14, a day after the great intellectual died at his Lima home.
鈥淰argas Llosa was a point of pride for all of us in Peru, every house of a certain educational level had at least one of his books, usually more,鈥� says Lemer Panduro, a retired military officer having breakfast with his wife at Caf茅 Haiti.
Why We Wrote This
Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa鈥檚 experiences with military dictatorship influenced his writings 鈥� and his politics. His fellow citizens recall him as part of a wave of Latin American literary lions in the latter half of the 20th century.
鈥淗e put Peru on the world鈥檚 literary map,鈥� he says, before adding with a twinkle in his eye: 鈥淗e put us right up there with Colombia, which of course had [Gabriel] Garc铆a M谩rquez.鈥�
Indeed Mr. Vargas Llosa was part of an apotheosis of Andean literature in the second half of the 20th century that captured the world鈥檚 imagination.
鈥淗e was our most seminal writer of the 20th century and as such he was part of a great Andean intellectual eruption that explored the links and contradictions between our national identities and an increasing globalization,鈥� says Rodolfo S谩nchez Garrafa, a sociologist聽and writer of treatises on what he calls the important intellectual challenges facing Peru today.
Like others at Caf茅 Haiti, Mr. S谩nchez Garrafa recalls Mr. Vargas Llosa鈥檚 entry into Peruvian politics in the 1980s 鈥� and deems 鈥渁 mistake鈥� the intellectual-to-politician transition.
鈥淚 distinguish between the global reception he received for his writings on universal ideas and inspirations, and the perspectives he promoted in his political ventures,鈥� he says. 鈥淗e didn鈥檛 succeed with a vision for Latin America and Peru.鈥�
Mr. Vargas Llosa nearly won Peru鈥檚 1990 presidential election before losing in a runoff to political neophyte Alberto Fujimori. A socialist early on who wrote of his admiration for Fidel Castro鈥檚 Cuban Revolution, the author of 鈥淒eath in the Andes鈥� and 鈥淐onversation in the Cathedral鈥� eventually alienated Latin America鈥檚 leftist intelligentsia as he shifted rightward and embraced capitalism as the answer to Peru鈥檚 (and Latin America鈥檚) economic and security challenges.
As a military man himself, Mr. Panduro says he remembers best the short 1963 novel 鈥淭he City and the Dogs,鈥� a tale of treachery and violence inspired by Mr. Vargas Llosa鈥檚 education at a military academy. 鈥淗e wrote of what he lived during the dictatorship,鈥� he says, 鈥渁nd what he [describes] is a loss of humanity we can all relate to.鈥�
Looking around Caf茅 Haiti, Mr. S谩nchez Garrafa laments what he says is an absence of intellectual fervor in Peru today to equal the debate that Mr. Vargas Llosa provided.
As he shares a coffee with his friend and political commentator Julio Gilberto Mu帽iz Capar贸, the sociologist pulls from his satchel a philosophical exploration the two men published last year. Titled in Spanish 鈥淵ou and Us,鈥� the book takes up big questions such as whether an 鈥淎ndean philosophy鈥� exists and how the Andean peoples relate to the Western world.
It鈥檚 the kind of big topic that, were he to stroll into his old haunt on a busy Lima street, Mr. Vargas Llosa would no doubt be eager to discuss.
