I just read the note that my friend Miguel Angel Huaman has written to a lamentable Peruvian narrative anthology, edited by Gustavo Faverón, under the title of whole blood: Peruvian stories of political violence. I still can not believe that dealing with intellectual of his stature academically-that is, seriously, work that can not withstand any criticism, even those launched from the lowest network funds, hangout valid and direct partners of that editor. With the intention of reminding Michelangelo old interests, issues and views on Peruvian literature, post a review that I wrote to his latest book Seven studies of interpretation of Peruvian Literature. A formal way to invite vultures do not waste bullets.
The last book of Miguel Angel Huaman (Lima, 1950) Seven studies of interpretation of literature Peruana (Lima, Fondo Editorial, Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences of San Marcos. 2005), constitutes, in more ways than one, a warm tribute to José Carlos Mariategui (Lima, 1895 to 1930 .) And not only by the explicit reference to the classic book Amauta Seven Interpretative Essays on Peruvian Reality (Lima, 1928), but by the prospect of stamp-culturalist neo-Marxist, which dominates his thoughts, his vindictive spirit of the Andean culture and his desire controversial.
Although the book consists of a series of studies published between 1999 and 2005 in various journals, because to the issues addressed, the critical perspective and common concerns, not without a certain unity. Even, one can see an effort to develop a kind of mapping of the problem of Peruvian literature, whose theme centers are José María Arguedas, Andean narrative of the eighties and nineties and Peruvian literary criticism.
His reading of the production of poetry, fiction and essays of José María Arguedas is vindictive and interested on building even more central position in the debate on the Peruvian Andean culture. For example, the reading of poetry develops Arguedas in the context of a reflection on the tensions between social modernization and Western-style cultural and Andean cultural resistance mechanisms. "The symbolic impact of Arguedas' poetry in our culture is undeniable," says Huaman. Especially since the ongoing modernization efforts seem to ignore the debate about the type of currency to which we aspire. Andean aesthetics, functional as it is conceptualized not as an end in itself but as a strategy that enables the emergence of additional values \u200b\u200bsuch as truth and knowledge, offers the temptation of an easy resolution of our problems. (...) The aesthetic discourse can envision a modernity from our ancient roots, a national project which takes the diversity of our social and cultural heterogeneity, nationality and identity that opposes the killing and the deferral of a portion of our population "(p. 20).
An extension of these ideas is revealed in the text "Arguedas or flight pen, where re-emphasizes the central character, and even of" unprecedented symbolic horizon, the work of Arguedas. Huaman says: "All of the above, we can say in general terms, by way of conclusion, the following: the subject of the national and nationality Arguedas articulated in writing the life and work, giving its apparent unity above differences between fiction and non - fiction, between the literary and essay, Arguedas, in that sense, formalized in a written Unpublished symbolic horizon, from which it is possible to think and live all the blood as he called them "(p. 32).
On this assurance, Arguedas as the center of the Andean culture, develop the theme of the Andean narrative, giving the same valence: "Perhaps the strengthening [of] the Andean narrative, studio and broadcast as utopian writing allows us to advance the dream of integration national and regional levels. That was the intent of this discussion: to propose the initial reading of the process of our literature as evidence of the ability that has the word literary possible to imagine a time where the integration between our countries and regions as possible "(p. 49). This observation will be expanded in the text "Tradition and modernity Peruvian cultural narrative," which states: "Contrary to those who envision a future confusing and scattered, we believe that the chances of our narrative on the three pillars of our modern literary treatment : streamlining patent on the ability of criticism from our tradition, secularization expressed in the power of verbal dialogue and individuation creation involving aesthetic dimension to the culture of tomorrow. Writers and readers of the first decades of the new millennium may participate in a thriving Peruvian literature, whose conscience and imagination is a critical factor in achieving our growth and freedom as a nation. Time will tell "(p. 89).
Andean culture, historical rationality, ethics and utopia are terms related Huamán more of an opportunity to support, rather than a thesis that requires a demonstration at the analytical level, an intellectual position, full of ideology, historical sense and ethics. This dimension of his thinking is revealed in such texts as "literature as a social institution", which states: "For all of the foregoing it is evident that the literature as a social institution in Peru maintains forms of social interaction that do not match modern culture. Not surprisingly, our artistic and literary activity is still at the level of social formation, ie, the workshop, the group, movement, exposure, etc. If our democracy and capitalism are belated and emerging, it seems logical that our process that expresses cultural anachronism. Also not surprising that our educational activities literary is in crisis and under the criteria of the nineteenth century (biographism, impressionism, essentialism, etc..) and that the cognitive activity of literary research recently constituted as a community engage in advocacy for science and try to banish old prejudices academic practice oligarchic and corporate attitudes ( pp. 102-103).
An extension of these ideas is revealed in the text "Arguedas or flight pen, where re-emphasizes the central character, and even of" unprecedented symbolic horizon, the work of Arguedas. Huaman says: "All of the above, we can say in general terms, by way of conclusion, the following: the subject of the national and nationality Arguedas articulated in writing the life and work, giving its apparent unity above differences between fiction and non - fiction, between the literary and essay, Arguedas, in that sense, formalized in a written Unpublished symbolic horizon, from which it is possible to think and live all the blood as he called them "(p. 32). On this assurance, Arguedas as the center of the Andean culture, develop the theme of the Andean narrative, giving the same valence: "Perhaps the strengthening [of] the Andean narrative, studio and broadcast as utopian writing allows us to advance the dream of integration national and regional levels. That was the intent of this discussion: to propose the initial reading of the process of our literature as evidence of the ability that has the word literary possible to imagine a time where the integration between our countries and regions as possible "(p. 49). This observation will be expanded in the text "Tradition and modernity Peruvian cultural narrative," which states: "Contrary to those who envision a future confusing and scattered, we believe that the chances of our narrative on the three pillars of our modern literary treatment : streamlining patent on the ability of criticism from our tradition, secularization expressed in the power of verbal dialogue and individuation creation involving aesthetic dimension to the culture of tomorrow. Writers and readers of the first decades of the new millennium may participate in a thriving Peruvian literature, whose conscience and imagination is a critical factor in achieving our growth and freedom as a nation. Time will tell "(p. 89).
Andean culture, historical rationality, ethics and utopia are terms related Huamán more of an opportunity to support, rather than a thesis that requires a demonstration at the analytical level, an intellectual position, full of ideology, historical sense and ethics. This dimension of his thinking is revealed in such texts as "literature as a social institution", which states: "For all of the foregoing it is evident that the literature as a social institution in Peru maintains forms of social interaction that do not match modern culture. Not surprisingly, our artistic and literary activity is still at the level of social formation, ie, the workshop, the group, movement, exposure, etc. If our democracy and capitalism are belated and emerging, it seems logical that our process that expresses cultural anachronism. Also not surprising that our educational activities literary is in crisis and under the criteria of the nineteenth century (biographism, impressionism, essentialism, etc..) and that the cognitive activity of literary research recently constituted as a community engage in advocacy for science and try to banish old prejudices academic practice oligarchic and corporate attitudes ( pp. 102-103).
But where is this more apparent intellectual position in the last article, "Against the 'critical' and scare '` ninguneo tradition. " Start by determining the meaning of "criticism of fright:" Design for both the name scare some critical discursive practice that, under the obvious prestige that literary studies have been able to add categories and concepts from the sciences of language, semiotics and epistemology assumes possession of the truth and the scientific method in the field of humanities. Qualify in a negative and insulting to assume otherwise interpretative work and excess proclaimed in possession of the only truth "(pp. 116-117). And by "ninguneo tradition:" If this belief retrograde [the tradition of ninguneo] could verbalize their own attitude would do well, "nobody but me (ie the user of this position IP) knows something about this or any other issue, I am the greatest, a genius and others are none, ie nothing, garbage, zero. Therefore, anyone without my permission or consultation can dare my IP address, and if it does is a sucker, my appointment worse if not insurmountable books or articles "(p. 126). After customize these behaviors "critical" in the figures of Enrique Ballon Aguirre and Birger Angvik, critics of the "shock" and "ninguneo" respectively, concludes with the following paragraph: "Many are impressed with foreign surnames or compound and 'no' to those who are mere names Peruanitos native. Is on the basis of this imposition postcolonial national academic production fails institutionally strengthened, and are marginalized and silenced. A national study should not be or feel compelled to write in English if you want to participate in any instance in the cultural debate, or looking for financial support. Therefore, the main responsible for this situation, rather than encourage the dialogue must practice "(p. 136).
This last paragraph closes an arc of reflection in which we discuss, from a specific time-space Peruvian literature since the mid-twentieth century, issues that cross the cultural history of Peru since the colony: Indians - English, Creole - Andean national - international, native culture - Western culture, modern - postmodern, etc. Indeed, overall, studies show an attachment to these foundational themes of the critical tradition of Peru. Also, through such canonical authors and topics as José María Arguedas and the Andes, Huaman part of these discussions, taking the position now marked by José Carlos Mariategui, Antonio Cornejo Polar and Alberto Flores Galindo. Perhaps more of a critic, whether the "shock" or "ninguneo", or even the "innocence" bordering on the "stupidity" [1] , to judge the book as repetitive and outdated. Again, be evidence of their complex and lack of historical sense, as the effect of the studies is quite the opposite. On the one hand, to update an existing agenda issues such as poverty in Peru. In this process, reflections such as: "The 'Indians' (...) is removed, little by little, from its roots, the 'colonialism'. And this momentum comes not only from the mountains. Valdelomar, Falcon, Creole, coastal, count (...) among the first to have turned their eyes to the race "(The process of Peruvian literature, Mariátegui, José Carlos. pp. 350. In: Seven Essays interpretation of Peruvian reality. Lima, Amauta Library, 1989), "The most valuable indigenismo offers a revelation of the indigenous world and its particular issues, but at the same time, it offers itself as a reproduction of the relations between this world and the rest of national society, and self-image as a core of conflicts throughout the Peruvian social system. In this sense we can say that the indigenous people, as production process, is today the most illuminating and astute transmutation (sic) to specifically literary terms of the disintegrated nature of Peruvian society "('The problem Peruvian national literature ', Cornejo Polar, Antonio. In: About Latin American literature and criticism. Caracas, UCV, 1982), acquired new meanings and even constitute horizons to reflect issues of global and regional impact, and cultural globalization, postmodernity, the narrative of the nineties, and other topics.
On the other hand, gives density to the intellectual position from which Huamán announces his speech: "The intellectual attitude that I have tried to describe in these lines I do not think that is unique to our academic and intellectual community, but I think round more frequently in those as we teachers have an ethical responsibility to guide young people. Essentially therefore have been, am and will always be against the 'critical' shock and outright rejection of the intellectual tradition of 'ninguneo `we believe answers a wider cultural matrix, rooted in our society: the culture of mentoring or clientage that both the intellectual and the political and social means and defenses cults closed caudillismo interests of sects, clans, groups or panacas irreconcilable because they are assumed to be the owners not only of truth but of the country, detriment of the free and critical "(135-136).
In fact, the set of studies shows that position, consistent with a sector of the national literary criticism, the most lucid and has improved inputs, not falter in their mission, almost monastic, to exercise critical literature an ethical act, conscious of its time and space, sunken, as I said Mikhail Bakhtin, in concrete social life.
[1] sorry I mean a Marcel Velázquez Castro article called "Seven Mariátegui errors", which shows how easily a novice critical judgments can fall into such innocence, already bordering on stupidity.
Photos: [1] Miguel Angel Huaman lectured, [2] Home of the book under review, [3] José María Arguedas, [4] José Carlos Mariategui, [5] Carlos Garcia Miranda, Gisela González, Miguel Angel Huaman, Miguel Maguiño, Marco Mondoñedo. Home of Michelangelo.
