More love for Hay

Having attended the Hay Festival in Cartagena for the past two years, I can decidedly say that this literary event has become an established and well-loved tradition for us. Sadly, I'll be back at university before things kick off on 29 January...and I nearly passed out when I saw who's coming this year--two writers I was hoping to see at the two prior fests I've attended: Laura Restrepo and Junot Díaz (!!!). But we've already reserved A.'s tickets so I have the consolation of knowing that at least I'll be able to experience it vicariously. The other huge event will be Fernando Vallejo--I predict a VERY lively evening for that one!

Many congratulations to the organizers of the Hay Festival in Cartagena for another spectacular line-up: Laura Restrepo, Junot Díaz, Fernando Vallejo, Alberto Manguel, Gerald Martin, Alan Pauls, Daniel Samper Pizano, Juan Gossaín, Eduardo Lago, Ricardo Silva, Salman Rushdie, and Martin Amis, among many others. May you continue for centuries to come!

On second thought

As some readers may or may not remember, Fernando Vallejo renounced his Colombian citizenship back in May. This weekend, he announced that he's changed his mind and is initiating the process of regaining what he so bitterly scorned only five months ago.

The interview is highly entertaining (he was quite himself and then some), but I found myself strangely moved by the whole thing. Sure, it could've all just been one big publicity stunt, but I think his strong feelings get the better of him. Many think he's crazy. I just think he's an artist.

A small sample:

Usted también se ha convertido en un defensor de la lengua española. ¿La ve amenazada?

Hoy la lengua española es un adefesio. Un inmenso desastre anglizado. Este idioma perdió su expresividad, su gracia, su riqueza y hoy sólo queda pudriéndose, el cadáver de lo que fue. En cuanto a los escritores, ni siquiera se han dado cuenta de que cada idioma son dos: uno escrito y otro hablado. Uno muy vasto que es el de la literatura; y otro, pobre y limitado, que es de la lengua coloquial.

¿Quiénes serían la excepción?

Hay escritores como Azorín que sí sabían del oficio. Para no alejarnos del presente, un escritor como Fernando del Paso y entre nosotros William Ospina, cuyo libro 'Ursúa', está escrito en el más rico idioma literario. Los demás no saben escribir. Tienen un lenguaje paupérrimo respecto al vocabulario y paupérrimo respecto a la sintaxis. Y lo que es peor: no tienen nada que contar. Son alfeñiques que quieren levantar pesas.

¿Pierdo el tiempo si le pregunto qué le gusta?

(Ríe). Me gusta la música, me gusta Mozart, Debussy, Maller, José Alfredo Jiménez, Chavela Vargas, los tangos, los boleros... Me gusta y me hace inmensamente feliz ver que un perro vaya con su dueño alegremente por las calles y me hace inmensamente infeliz ver un perro abandonado.

Por último, ¿qué opina de Hugo Chávez, el presidente venezolano, ahora mediador del conflicto?

Está muy alzado. Hay que darle una buena paliza en las nalgas.

Bitterness

Author Fernando Vallejo, most famous for his novel La Virgen de los Sicarios (Our Lady of the Assassins, on which Barbet Schroeder's film is based), has emphatically renounced his Colombian citizenship:

"Colombia shut its doors to me so I that I couldn't make a decent living that wasn't in the government or politics, which I despise, and made me sleep in the street, covered with newspapers and alongside the homeless of 7th Street and the abandoned dogs."

Since then, "I consider my brothers to be" the dogs, the writer immediately pointed out, who said that he does not feel Colombian.

He became a Mexican citizen last week, where he's lived since 1971.

I refuse to judge him, as I cannot fathom the effects of such a life, but I find the whole portrayal of the situation (and Vallejo's hatred) to be unbearably sad.