An altar for the dead to honor these three Latin writers

In November 2, we celebrate the life of these three Latin American writers

In the Day of the Dead, Mexico and other countries around the world are filled with altars of bright colors with which Mexicans honor their dead. There are also those who are dedicated to important figures of art in all its manifestations.

Leer en español: Un altar de muertos para honrar a estas tres escritoras latinas
In these offerings, we can find the portraits of the person that died, to remember and honor who he/she was in life. In addition to cempansúchiles (flower of the dead) and candles to guide their spirit on the way, Mexicans use salt so that their body does not become corrupted and they use water to relieve thirst and food to relieve hunger.

The Economic Culture Fund of Mexico in Colombia invited the inhabitants of the capital of the coffee country to the inauguration of their altar of dead, which took place on October 31. This offering honors three Latin American writers: the Mexicans Juan José Arreola and Sergio Pitol, and the Colombian Roberto Burgos Cantor.

Also read: We celebrate Day of the Dead with offerings, festivals, and food

This is the Instagram post that inspired this article.

In the framework of this traditional date, LatinAmerican Post decided to create its own "altar for the dead" dedicated to three important female figures of Latin American literature. With this article, we also celebrate the life of these writers, years after their death.

Hebe Uhart

At one time, the writer Rodolfo Fogwill said that Hebe Uhart was "the greatest Argentine contemporary storyteller". For her that did not mean anything, but she is certainly one of those writers that we should all read. Born in 1936, Uhart published more than 20 works, from novels and short stories, to chronicles.

She was considered a writer of the minimum, the simple, the everyday, the domestic. "But from simplicity to simplicity one penetrates IGNORE INTO depths and labyrinths where one can only advance if one participates in the magic of that new world", said Haroldo Conti. Like many other writers, Uhart's narrative was nourished by experience, by what she saw.

Also read: Latam BookLook: "In the Beginning Was the Sea" by Tomás González

Her first work was God, San Pedro and the souls, book of stories published in 1962. Then others came, like The people of the pink house (1970), The light of a new day (1983) and From the sky to house (2003). Before her death in October 2018, Uhart wrote several chronicles. Her last work published this year was Animals.

Elena Garro

Considered by many one of the greatest Mexican writers, Elena Garro was one of those pioneering voices of what we call magical realism. However, for a long time, her work was overshadowed by another great literature of that time: her husband, Octavio Paz.

Her narrative flows within the terrain of the fantastic, the surreal, the intimate. Her writing is considered feminine, not feminist, although for Margarita León she "believed in the writer without sex, and her models are classic writers like Honoré Balzac or Fiodor Dostoyevski".

She died in 1998, but her legacy transcends in this region. Among her publications, there are plays like A Solid Home and Dogs; stories like La semana de colores and La culpa es de los tlaxcaltecas; as well as her first novel Los recuerdos del porvenir.

María Luisa Bombal

This Chilean writer born in 1910, considered by many the precursor of magical realism, is also considered "as one of the first exponents of the contemporary Latin American novel," according to Chilean Memory. Bombal was one of those female voices ahead of her time, who left a great legacy after her death in 1980.

Her narrative focused mainly on three themes: the female figure, life and death, and love. Her first text was The Last Fog, published in 1934, which talks about a tragic love relationship. This work was followed by The Shrouded, with which Bombal explored the subject of death and takes us IGNORE INTO that feminine inner world, something very common in her narrative.

All her works are of great sensitivity and insight, where the figure of the woman takes a very relevant role. In fact, explains the same medium, she was one of the "first criticisms of the role of women in that era." Bombal did not publish more novels, but she is the author of several stories and poetic chronicles.

LatinAmerican Post | Diana Rojas Leal
Translated from “Un altar de muertos para honrar a estas tres escritoras latinas”

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