Alejo Carpentier

I have been reading (and writing on) the work of an amazing but little-known Cuban writer called Alejo Carpentier. He was active in the European modernist and surrealist movements in the 1920s and 1930s, and was appointed Ambassador to France by Fidel Castro in 1967. He coined the term 'magical realism' to describe the mixture of fantasy and realism that characterises much of modern Latin-American literature. To give an example, his short story Journey Back to the Source describes a man's life - but with time going backwards. It begins with his death and the demolition of his house, then ends with his birth. His novella Baroque Concerto is a musical extravaganza that starts in eighteenth century Mexico, where a rich burger travels to Europe. He attends a concert given by Scarlatti, Handel and Vivaldi, and ends up in La Fenice opera house listening to Louis Armstrong. These links take you to tutorials and study guides on his writing.

Neglected writers - Alejo Carpentier

Alejo Carpentier was a Cuban writer who straddled the connection between European literature and the native culture of Latin-America. He was for a long time the Cuban cultural ambassador in Paris. He was trying to place Latin-American culture into a historical context. This was done via a conscious depiction of the colonial past - as in The Kingdom of This World, and Explosion in a Cathedral (title in Spanish El Siglo de las Luces - or The Age of Enlightenment). His literary style is a wonderful combination of dazzling images and a rich language, full of the technical jargon of whatever subject he touches on - be it music, architecture, painting, history, or agriculture ... Read more >>

Alejo Carpentier - study resources