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THS;

ROMULO GALLEGOS ENTERPRETER
OF VENEZUELAN LIFE

“unis for We Duane of M. A.
M%CHiGAN STATE COLLEGE
Ligia Ever Simian; De Arman
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This is to certify that the .

thesis entitled

“Rémulo Gallegos, Interpreter
of Venezuelan Life“
presented by

'Ligia.Ester De Armas

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

LA;— degree in w

Mme,

Major professor

Due June 24; 19kg

 
  
 
 
  
  
 
 
  
  
     

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EflflEOGflLflmS

INTERPRETER O? VESEZULLAH LI?E

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by
LIGIA ESTER smors DE Ari-ms

w

A TEESIS
Submitted to the Graduate School of Mich'gan State
College of Agriculture and Applied Science in
partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

EASTER OF ARTS

Deoqrtment of Foreicn Lcnouaces
.. U Q \J

1949

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TECT-ETIQUE A1313 STLIE OF GAL EL 7108' NOVELS .

COI:CLUSIOIXT O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 v 0 O O 0 O

BIEIOGPLAPEZY o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 0

PAGE

PO 313'. IORD

, a . . ,. ._
hr. Romulo Gallegos 18 known in Venezuela and abroad
not only as a statesman and educator, but also as a distin-

ive a vivid pic—

guished contempo ary novelist. His novels 1
ture of a country whose hinterland has not 3et emerged from
the ignorance which has kept it in a state of almost prisi-
tive isolation. Our author is a sifted narrator and prose
writer, for he knows how to infuse life into his 0
gnd to describe realistically ,he landscape of Venezuela,
which occupies a preponderant position in most of his books
with all its beauty, mystery, and tragedy. At the same tin
the reader is attracted L: a style which, while often ex-
pressing hot: the phraseology and the spirit of the simple
people, is a masterful example of the richest and purest

Moder;

'2?
L3

This thesis is a study of the eight novels written by
1‘ ’ ,_~. , _ -.—' ' J- _. . °
Rogulo Gallegos up to the present. It IS an attempt, in
particular, to show the scope of the interpretation of Vene-

zuelan life rcvee led in these works. Attention will be

t is hoped that the first che pter, a brief outl in

.f't

of tne ristorical and geohrainical beclrrou1r or the writ-

ings of Lionulo Galle: s, will lead to a bet;er un<e“s;anovq

'tions ijlliis

M

of the author's concern aoaat defective cond

CKAPTER I
GEOGRAPE’ ICLL A.WD ISTOP ICEL ASPECTS

Venezuela, the northernmost country of South America,
is a Hrop al region made up of four major divisions: the
Highlands of the Andes, the Haracaibo Lowlands, the Orinoco
Llanos and tr e Guiana.Hi3hlands. The Venezuelan Eli 1t3hlands,
a branch of th e Andes Lountain Ran3e, is the most densely
populated division, because the large cities are located
there. In the Haracaibo Lowland.s, which are rat ed second in
importance, there is an ext en ve fresh-w’ater lake-~Lake
Haracaibo. Great oil fields are situated in this western
area, attracting a large number of foreigners who, together
with the tremendous tealth tr ey have extracted from the soil,
have produced social and economic problems of first mas ni-
tude. The third division is a vast plain--the Orinoco
llanos--hu3e seas of 3rass that lepe down from the south
and southeastern base of the Andes toward the Orinoco River,
which gathers in hundreds of tributaries watering half of
Venezuela. This vast region has been the dwelling place of
the llaneros (Venezuelan cowboys), as well as the birthplace
of such leaders and dictators as José Antonio Paéz and Juan
Vicente Gomez. Unfortunately, much of this area still lies
unconquered by civilization. South of the Orinoco River is

the fourth and least populated region--the Guiana.Hi3hlands--

which.make up half of the total national territory.l {A
large part of the region is covered by forests of rubber
trees. The attraction and.mysteries of these forests have
inspired many writers to make them the setting of their lit-
erary productions. Among the most outstanding of these are
L§_Voragine by José Eustasio Rivera, Canaima by Rdmulo

Gallegos and the world-famous Green Mansions by Henry Hudson.

 

All these re3ions have molded the life of the Venezuelan
people and have attracted many writers who have studied the
physical, ethno3raphical, and political conditions of the
country.

The population of Venezuela is made up of four mil-
lion people. These are nostly mestizos living in the High-
lands and Lowlands. There are also Europeans, who usually
prefer the large towns and cities, such as Caracas, the cap-
ital, Maracaibo, and Valencia; Indians, who dwell in the
hinterland of the Guiana.Highlands south of the Orinoco
River or in the forest west of Lake Maracaibo; and Ne3roes,
usually to be found along the Caribbean coast in ports such
as La Guaira and.Puerto Cabello.2 Another part of the popu-
lation is made up of foreign investors. The wealth of Vene-
zuela has lured men from all over the world, especially

North American and European oil men who are often too exclu-

 

1 Preston James, Latin America (flew York, 1942), h9.

2 Ibid. , he.

sively interested in their own economic improvement.
Venezuela, like most of its sister countries, has

been prolific in the production of a literary genre--the

novel. In regard to the realistic novel of Latin-America,

Arturo Torres Rioseco states:
La novela es, indiscutiblemente, la expresion literaria
mas importante de la America del siglo 31, y los nove-
listas hispanoamericanos wodernos. occupan--por su vigor,
su originalidad y su maestria estilistica--un lu3ar
junto a sus mas distinguidos colegas del mundo moderno.
Y esta novela es fundamentalmente interesante, no por su
merito intrinsico, que es grands, sino como reflejo de
la culture de todo un continente.5

Venezuelan writers, fully acquainted with the past and pres-

ent of their country, have given their readers a truly real-

0 picture of its social, political, and economic situa-

Ho

ist
tion. The problems arising from.these various conditions
have been clearly portrayed by such authors.

One can easily notice strikin3 contrasts between the
large cosmopolitan cities and the backward rural areas in
the vast llanos. There are also contrasts in the men who
.have led Venezuela; for example, Simon Bolivar, the Libera-
tor, and Juan Vicente Gomez, the Tyrant. The former dissem-
inated democratic ideas, and the latter destroyed them.
Alon3 m ith Bolivar, brancisco deliiranda, a fore-runner of
the Independenceihovement, can be classified among the great

patriots of Venezuela. He fought in the American and French

 

3 Arturo Torres Rioseco, La,GranflLiteratura Ibero-
Americana (Buenos Aires, 1945), I55. I

 

5
Revolutions and brought back with him the spirit of freedom.
The spark of his liberal political philosophy, in spite of a
number of setbacks, has been developed into an evergrewing
flame in the hearts of his countrymen.

Simon Bolivar, who realized.fiiranda's ambitions, be-
came the most outstanding political and military leader not
only of Venezuela, but of the other four countries he liber-
ated from the yoke of Spain.4 Bolivar's democratic concepts
have been admired and followed by his countrymen. His
greatest ideal was liberty, and for it he fought tenaciously
until he freed the Latin-American countries from Spanish op-
pression. He will always live in the hearts of those Vene-
zuelans who, like their hero, believe in freedom, equality,
and peace. The political conditions of Venezuela, however,
have been far from the realization of his great dream be-
cause of the few unscrupulous rulers who have obtained po-
litical power with the backing of military forces. iMen of
letters today who are great admirers of the Liberator (the
only title he accepted) and enemies of the despotic heads of
state endured by Venezuela for almost a century have sati-
rized such dictators as Cipriano Castro and Juan Vicente
Gomez, whereas they have praised again and again the high
ideals of freedom.of the Liberator.

. c . .
Since Bolivar*s time there nas been an almost unbro-

 

4 Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Bolivia, and Ecuador.

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. e
ken series of dictators: Jose Antonio Paez, Antonio Guzman
Blanco, Cipriano Castro, and Juan Vicente Gomez. All had
their turn as masters of Venezuela. The last one, who is
commonly known as the Tyrant of the Andes, died in office on
December 16, 1955. Gomez is regarded by Venezuelans as the
worst of all the oppressors. Contrary to Bolivar's demo-
cratic ideals, these men seized the reins of government and
directed it with unscrupulous greed. They aspired to power
for personalgain, and should be held responsible for the
backwardness of their people. Although Gomez was admired by
foreigners because he got his country out of debt, he was
hated by his own countrymen, who saw in him a harsh and ty-
rannical ruler. He stifled freedom.wherever it appeared.

To the credit of a number of the dictators, it should
be acknowledged that they did.make some valuable contribu-
tions to the welfare of Venezuela. For example, Antonio
Guzman Blanco fostered the improvement and expansion of edu-
cation.. Gomez sponsored the construction of a magnificent
system of highways and initiated the exploitation of the
country's untapped oil reserves. Thanks to him, Venezuela is
the only nation in the world that has no internal or exter-
nal debt.

.During the last dictatorship, men of letters who
dared to show their sympathy for democratic ideals were

forced to seek a more liberal environment abroad. Rdmulo

Gallegos was one of these voluntary exiles. He has become

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7
the foremost novelist of Latinemnerica. Gallegos is repre-
sentative not only of his country, but also of the Latin-
American spirit. He has given his readers a picture of the
various sections that make up Venezuela--the vast rolling
plains, the mysterious jungles watered by the mighty Orinoco
River and its tributaries, the cities and regions along the
Caribbean coast, and the Andean mountains. He has given us
a kaleidoscopic picture of these regions and a deep under-
standing of the lives and problems of his own people. An
interesting characteristic of the writer is the tremendous
importance he accords to nature in all of his works. He has
also been attracted by the superstitions, customs, and folk-
lore of his country and has succeeded in fathoming the soul
of his countrymen. Undoubtedly, Gallegos is a writer of the
land. His human touch has made him popular all over the
world and has inspired love and admiration at home.

Born in Caracas, Venezuela, on August 2, 1884, our
author is the son of Romulo Gallegos Osio and Rita Freire
Gurucea 3a. Upon.completing his elementary education in the
public schools, he attended the Colegio Sucre and the Univerb
sidad Central. In 1912 he married Teotiste Arrocha Egui,
and, forced to interrupt his study of law at the university

for lack of funds, Gallegos devoted himself to teaching.5

 

5 Lowell Dunham, "Critical Introduction and Biogra-
phy," appearin3 in his edition of Romulo Galle3os, Doha Bar-
bara (F. S. Cro: ts and 00., 2nd. ed.: H w'York, 1944}, xiii.

8.

He held important and responsible ositions in the field of

’d

education for 18 years. HiS'WOrk has been remarkably suc-
cessful and fruitful. At the age of 28 he became Director
of the Colegio Federal in Barcelona (Venezuela); six years
later he accepted the same position at the Hormal School for
men in Caracas, and from.l922 to 1950 he was the Director of
the Liceo Andres :eello.‘5 thile Gallegos was engaged in the
teaching profession, he found time for creative literary
works.

0 - ’ i O 0
H1s most famous novel, Doha Barbara, was published in

 

1929. Here he portrayed the Apure Region, calling attention
to its backwardness, which he attributes to a neglectful dic-
tatorship.' Soon after, Gallegos began his political career
when he was appointed Senator of the Apure Region by Dicta-
tor Juan Vicente Gomez. No doubt Gomez wanted a man like
Gallegos to be his ally rather than his enemi. Gallegos did
not seek this position and, because it was dangerous to re-
fuse such an offer, he found an excuse to leave the country.
Sending his resignation from.New York on June 24, 1931, to
the President of the Senate, he explained that ". . . so as
not to have to express my solidarity with the decisions of

that body, I have refused to attend this year's session as

 

' . . ., o

b This school is named after Andres Be lo, a great
Venezuelan educator and writer, who lived dur ng the 19th
century.

9
well as last's."7 After that, it would have been dangerous
to return to Venezuela. Gallegos chose to live in e1 :ile
rather than to join Gomez' corrupt clan of politicians and,
after living in How York, he decided to go to Spsin. (There
he had to earn his living-by'torhin: as a sales an for the
National Cash Register Company; he found time, however, to

write two of his most popular novels, Cantaclaro and Canahgg

 

puoll had in 1954 and 1935, respectively.

When the aged Dictator Gomez died in December, 1955,
all the Venezuelan writers who had suffered spiritual 0p-
pression and penuly rejoiced. At last they felt free to use
their pens to criticize the government of the last two dic-
tators, Castro and Gomez, who had oppress ed them for tliirty-
six years. IHany who had chosen to live in e: tile returned
shortly after Gomez' death, and among them was Gallegos.

The following April, Eleazar Lopez Contreras was inaugurated
as President,and Gallegos w0 s chosen.I: Uni ter of Education.
when the latter tried to change the educational system and
do away with the schools maintained by foreign church
groups, the reactionary element forced him to resign.8 He
had held this office for just three months. He then became

the Director of tie Hovil Lg Pictures Company, "Estudios

 

7 Pano;ama, no. 14 (A.ma{ma ine published by the Divi-
sion of Intellectual Cooperation--Pan Anerican Uni on, lash-
ington, July, 1940), 13.

Ibid., 15.

lO
Avila".9 In 1957, he was elected a deputy to the National
Congress for the Federal District, where he served as a mem-
ber of the opposition until 1940. A few months later he we
appointed President of the'Hunicipal Council for the Federal
District and was also nominated candidate of the opposition
to run against General Isaiaslicdina in the presidential
election of 1941. Gallegos was defeated in this election,
vmich was not by popular vote, but by the National Legisla-
ture. The following year (1942), Gallegos founded and pre-
sided over the Democratic.Action Party} Hedina*s government
was overthrown by this party in 1945, but Gallegos refused
the presidency which was offered to him at that time. Edmu-
lo Betancourt, another outstanding member of the party, took
over the government temporarily. Then Gallegos was nomina-
ted by his party and, in December, 1947, was elected Presi-
dent by the people of Venezuela. This time Gallegos was
sure of a victory. The old system, which called for the se-
lection of the president by the two houses of Congress, had
been abolished on July 5, 1947, and had been replaced by a
new constitution, which provided for the election of the
president by direct vote of the people. This was done

through secret ballot by all adults over 17.10 The election

 

9 Grismer, Zentz and Housel, Vida y Obras de Autores
Venezolanos (Habana, 1945), 55.

 

10 Bulletin of the Pan American Union, LXHIII (Febru-

81“], 194:8}, :Io —-—

 

11
day was a red-letter day for democracy in Venezuela. For
the first time in one hundred and eighteen years of national
independence, the people of Venezuela chose their president
in a free democratic election. Gallegos was inaugurated on

February 15, 1948.11

 

11 Ibid., 70.

HAP ER II
THE VETEZUEELT LK'IDSCIEE III ‘IZE ETOV1ES OF GflLEGCS

O ’
Very important in the scheme of Pomulo Gallegos' nov-
els is the landscape of Venezuela, in the interpretation of
nhich he has given much attention to the llanos, rivers, and

forests, picturing their beauty and mwr tery throu5hout his

novels. The cities have not been 1,: nored, but thei treat-
ment ha included onlf a few'aspects of life within them.
Their part in these stories, therefore, is relatively'ninor.

His understanding of, and warm feeling for, the land
is especially noticeable in the description of the llanos.
The interest of the author in this region is not simply an
outgrowth of human- sympathy. The prominence which he gives
to this area is in reality an attempt to show by implication
th 1e ur5ent need. to bring the benefits of civilization to it.

In the llanos or plains lying ml 5the Orinoco River
and its numberless tributaries, we find vast expanses of

H
brass

Pb

eedin5 an i

:13

finite number of cattle; crocodiles along

the rivers pr -1z ed for eirv val able skins; and, in the

Ci‘
Ls‘

rainy season, lagoons covered with precious white egrets.

1*]
:x
H.
(D

sparsely settled region is semi-arid half of the year

and inundo ated b;r torrential rains the oth r Half.l In spite

 

1 Jefferson Elea Spell, Contemporary §panish American
_Ction (Chapel 21111, 19 44), 22 .

 

“Jo

ILJ

of these disadvantages, it has a tremendous appeal. The
author's artistic personification of it is that o
ful butterrible Circe which lures nen

Gallegos excels 1n describing the fascinating llano

~ I: 0 " ,’ . -9 0 9.
llle 1n Dona Barbara and Canteclaro, two 01 h1s uest produc-

 

 

0 ~' \ ’ , J. ~—
tions. In Dona barbara, for 1nstance, the story's actual

 

is shown by the author

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itself,

9.)
C)

s the l

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H.
CO
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:4-

pro tafo

 

in a number of passages. Following is one exayple:

La llanura es bella y terrible a la vez; en ella cab en

olgad:uente hernosa Vida " muerte atroz 3sta acecha
per todas partes; pero all1 nadie la tame. El llano
asusta; pero el miedo del llano no enlria el corazon; es
caliente como el gran viento de su solea da inmensidad,
cone la fiebre de sus steros '

‘ 1

The llano, a barbaric 1m nu of skis“ and horizons, is

C0

the scene of a struggle between nature and man, where the
burning sun beats down on both and where middy and yellowish
rivers, like the Arauca and the Apure, filled with croco-
diles, move along slowly to disappear into the far—away for-
est. Whis is the land of the Venezuelan cowboy, there there

\
v

are cattle round-ups, breaking3‘ o1 stalM.i ons, allirator hunts,

a)
:3
{L
O

ther typical activities of the llano.

. ’ o o o '1
Dona Barbara 15 undoubtedly a viv1d translatlon 01

 

this Latin-American pra1rie. The reader can feel the real

life 0” the ref ion that stretches between the Apure and the

 

Spell, loo. cit.

5 Gallegos, Doha Barbara (7th ed., Buenos Aires,
Sept. 1944), 69-70.

 

14

up11er Orinoco Rivers, and he lives through all the episodes
taking place in it. The llano itself, of which Dene Barbara
is the symbol, is known as "la devoradora de hombres" be-
cause of the malevolent intluence that it exerts upon its
dwellers, making them thieves, drunhards, and cold-blooded

‘ murderers.

In Cantaclaro Gallegos presents the llano lying be-

 

tween the Andes and the great Orinoco River as a limitless
and desolate region where there is sweetness, violence, and
mystery, and there superstitious beliefs pla v an important
rBle in the lives of its people. This ominous setting gives

the inhabitants the ever-present feeling of being on the

threshold of a distasteful experience. The pas aa3e quoted

1*

s illustrative of that impression:

El v sto horizonte solitario, la sabana inmensa y muda,
e1 r10 sin'corriente visible y su vuelta temerosa, come
para una subita aparicion espantable y su lejania deses-
peranzada.. . . Le infundia.miedo aquel panorama obse-
sionante que se apoderaba de la mirada, miedo supersti-
cioso de algo tremendo que de un memento a otro fuese a
suceder. . . . Un soplo de viento repentino doblegaba
los pastes ardidos; gritaban las chenchenas. . . .Luego
el silencio, qua era mas que ausencia de todo rumor, re-
plegandose hasta el horizonte, como una resaca de algo
menos que silencio, para el maretazo final del cata-
clismo.4

The llano is an illusory and solitary area covered
V'ith dry, brown area S during the summer season. It exerts a

brutifying action on its inhabitants, lonely slaves of nature

 

4 Gallegos, Cantaclaro (3rd ed., Buenos Aires, July,
1944), 107.

15
who live in broken-down huts in the midst of filth, misery,
and hunger. Ignorance makes them suffer both physically and
morally.

In both Doha Barbara and Cantaclaro the author shows

 

 

that this backward region is in urgent need of modern civi-
lization. This need is expressed in one of the last scenes
of Qantaclaro, which is portrayed as taking place near the
Arauca River. Juan.Parao, a Negro, dies because his compan-
ions are unable to call a physician in this far-away desert,
and a student, Martin Salcedo, deploring the situation,
says: "Si. Isf’se pudierat Pero estamos en pleno desierto
salvaje. iEl desiertot El enemigo contra quien primero de—
benos luchar. La causa de todos nuestros males."5

The Venezuelan llano, though a region where there is
almost primitive darkness, does not lack conditions which
are propitious for worthwhile endeavors. Its distressed
people suffer, but hope for a better future. In 991.3 13151;-
pgga, Santos Luzardo, who is apparently Gallegos' mouth-
piece, is hOpeful of'a civilized and prosperous llano.
Dreaming of the day when railroads will provide transporta-
tion in these backward regions, he says:

”Algun dia seré verdad. El progreso penetrara en la

llanura y la barbarie retrocedera vencida. Tal vez no-

sotros no alcanzaremos a verlo; pero sangre nuestra pal-
pitara en la emocion de quien lo vea."

 

5 Ibid., 265.

6 Doha Barbara, 103.

 

 

16 1

Sobre l§;Kisma Tierra presents noteworthy descrip-

 

tions of the western region of the Maracaibo lowlands, where

the deserted llanura guajirena and the rich and powerful oil

 

fields are located. .
The Guajira plain is described as an isolated, white,
nitrous region in which sickness and poverty are the prod-
ucts of the unconquered land of swamps and dunes. It is an
abandoned land.there lack of water during the hot summer
Kills the cattle, the only wealth of the poor and hungry,in-
digenous inhabitants. Around the arid monticules, infection
and pestilence spring from.the scattered dead cattle which
provide abundant carrion for the repulsive,b1ack vultures.
Not far away from this poverty-stricken region, the
'wealthy oil fields are described with all their modern
equipment: comfortable, attractive homes and offices for
the employers (who are mostly foreigners); tennis courts and
lovely, green golf courses; and high towers raised to drill
the Venezuelan subsoil in order to obtain incalculable
riches. The foreign opulence of this land of promise has
been contrasted by the author with the autochthonous poverty
of the Guajira plain. His resentment of the disparity be-
tween the two is noticeable in the words of Renota.x0ntiel:
"La estupenda suerte ajena junto al descuidado infortunio

propio, sobre la misma tierra."7

 

7 Gallegos, Sobre la Misma Tierra (Buenos Aires, may
1944), 131.

17

The forest lying south of the Orinoco River and bor-
dering on British Guiana is the exciting and fascinating
setting of Qpnaima. This virgin forest is like a temple
with millions of columns where the folia3 is so thick that
neither the wind nor the sunlight can reach the 3round. The
scenery is always the same, darn green and silent. The fol-
lowing quotation pictures its physical make-up:

.. , I
bna sola ooveda verde
clpadas Ce nus~os, tinosas

Arboles, erboles, arboles

sobre ririad as de colunna s a
de lirucqes, cubiertas de pa°asit-s y trepadoras tren—

zada y estranvuladas por be ucos tan 3rues os comotron-

cos de arboles. ’lBarre ra de arooles, nurallas de a.rbo-
les, nacizos de arboles Si3los eerennes desde la raiz
hasta los copes, fuerzas descomuna les en la absolute in-
movilidad aparente, torrents de savia corriendo en si-
lencio. Verdes abismos callados. . . . Bejucos,znardhas.
. . . IArboles. {Arbolest He aqui la selva fasci-
nante. . . .8

C.» I" H; o

Rivers such as the Caroni, the Yuruari, the Genre,
and the Cuyuni surround this mysterious region which civi-
lized man has not yet penetrated, and here its ab01i mi al
inhabitants have been abandoned to their primitive condi-

‘

tions. Although surrounded by innumerable rivers, the
Gus yana region is described as a land of "Hucho rio, agua
come para abastecer a todo el pais, y sin embargo, tierras
secas que dan tristeza."9

This territory which lures men to its abundant but

dangerous resources, such as gold, diamonds, and rubber, is

pervaded by a mysterious and.malevolent atnoSphere. It

 

8 Gallegos, Canaima (4th ed., Buenos Aires, 1941L2E33.
9 Ibid., 36.

 

18
ammkens primitive passions and bad instincts in nen, who
sooner or later succumb to its maddening influence. Rubber
and gold are usually called the blessings of the land, but
they are really its curse. Many adventurers make their way
into the Cuyuni, the Guarampin, and the Botanano forests in
search of riches, but if they are able to return from these
savage, insalubrious, and inhospitable lands, they are hun-
gry, and sick in mind and body, and sometimes and up as
debtors to their contractors. The latter, belonging to the
privileged class, receive all the benefits of the land.

Canaima, the divinity of the guaicas and.maquirita-
res,10 the frantic god, the origin of evil, is in the hearts
of wild beasts and in the hypnotic pupils of snakes. It
strikes down huge trees, one of the greatest dangers of the
forest, and it looses in the heart of man that tempest of
primitive passions that lead him to kill.

ZMarcos vargas, a native of Ciudad Bolivar, becomes a
victim.of the malignant influence of the evil spirit of Ga-
na:ima.and surrenders himself to it. Gallegos, however,
gives an impressive description of a tremendous storm taking
place in the forest during which man proves to be superior t)
nature itself. ‘Marcos Vargas, seeing the trees and leaves
trembling, feels himself superior to the forest since he

does not fear the storm::

 

10 Indian tribes of Venezuela.

 

 

19

"El agua y el viento y el rayo y la selva!

Alaridos, bramidos, ululatos, el ronco rugido, el estru-
endo revuelto. Las montafias del trueno retumbante des-

moronandose en los abismos de la noche repentina, 91 re-
lampago magnifico, la racha enloquecida, el chubasco es-
trepitoso, e1 suelo estremecido nor la ca1da del gigante
de la selva, 1a inmensa selva livida alll mismo sorbida

per la tiniebla compacts y el pequefio corazon del hombre,
serene ante las furias trenzadas."

The atmosphere of Canaima is similar to that of Jose
Eustasio Rivera's famous novel p3 Voragine and w. H. Hud-
son's Green Mansions. Each author, however, has treated the
forest in a different manner. Rivera describes the tragedy
of the caucheros who die in.slavery4 He tells of life in
the Colombian forest as it was really experienced by hhm.
Torres Rioseco classifies Ri 1vera among the romantic writers;
Gallegos he considers a classical writer because of his ex-
cellent serenity in the descriptions of the exotic atmos-
phere of Canaima.12 The scene of Hudson's novel is also the
region south of the Orinoco River, with its countless tribu-
taries, where the indigenous inhabitants have not yet expe-
rienced European influence. The two authors, however, have
offered different interpretations of the forest in question.
Hudson is the romantic poet, painting the beauty and charm

of the forest, while Gallegos, himself a product of Vene-

zuela, presents a realistic picture of it with all its gran-

 

11 W. 256.

13 Torres Rioseco, Novelistas Conteznpordheos do
America (Santiago, Chile, , .

20
deur, horror, and bewilderment.15

Great contrasts exist between the aforementioned re-
gions of Venezuela and that of the cities such as Caracas,
the capital, Maracaibo, and certain parts of Valencia and
Haracay, which have some of the characteristics of cosmopol-
itan centers.14

The city occupies a minor place in the landscape of
Gallegos' novels. Although he was reared and educated in
Caracas, and later held important positions there, he has
not been inspired by its life, and the interpretation given
in his novels of the city and its inhabitants has, so far,
been limited.

In Reinaldo §gla§, his first novel, the treatment
given to the city is probably due to the influence of Galle-
gos' own youthful days when he and other young Venezuelan
idealists edited the magazine Ea_Alborada in the hope of re-
forming with their art the evil and disorder in their coun-
try.15 Only one vieW'of the city is presented, and that
portrays the general neighborhood where the young artists

and students live and strive to better conditions in their

country.

 

15 Ibid., 120.

 

14 Preston James, pp, cit., 7U.

15ILIariano Picén Salas, Formacidn ;_Proceso g2 lg
Literatura Venezolana (Caracas, 1940),‘21 .

21
With the exception of Reinaldo, who comes from an old
and wealthy family, the rest are poor students who occupy
run-down boarding houses with p or lighting anl ventilation.
An 61 :ample of th11s the foul-smelling dwelling whereiia—
nuel Alcor, Riverito, and other studezat s live. It is an old

‘

two-story building in a ruinous state, Inside, the kitchen
and rooms are filthy,a1d th.e dar.:-green 1.alls give it a
somber appearance. Host of these city homes belong to old
Colonial Caracas and are described as antique, dilapidated
homes, with exterior walls blackened by grass and patios
surrounded by cyp: ess which evoke for the stuiez1ts the old

times of the Colonial days

Another phase of the city of Caracas is presented in

 

he satirizes the exclusive aristocratic set of Caracas. He
describes Villa Alcoy, the home of the proud aristocratic
Alcoy family, as being —:tra vagantly luxurious. It is sur-
rounded by beautiful gardens where the rich hidies drink tea

in the afternoon and by green lawns where the young people

1e their luxurious cars and unifonned chauf-

p.

play tennis, wL
feurs await them.

D01 Rémulo also describes some of itsi mt-cl ss
stores, showing the Palisian infllence in the urban life.
Therese is a $3311, decorated, Parisian-style store Wri 5h pup-

pets, expensive scents, bibelots, and other objects of the

sort. It is here that the rich Alcoys buy their perfwies

22

.oken b the aristocratic girls, who often

a.

‘4

U1

French is also
travel to the "city of light,” bringing back its culture.
_his can be noticed not only in the use of the language but
also in their dresses, coiffures, and excessive make-up.
The reader may notice that the author has restricted
his descriptions of city life to a few aspects in Reinaldo
Solar and.La|Trepadora. This weakness, however, has been
counterbalanced by his masterful descriptions and interpre-
tations of he autochthonous regions of Venezuela, where he

feels civilization should conquer the barbarian which still

exists there.

CHAPTER III
RAG IAI. PRO BLEMS

The various peoples composing the Venezuelan popula-
tion may be classified as Whites of pure European extraction,
mestizos of mixed European and Indian extraction, native In-
dians, and the descendants of imported Negroes. The fre-
quent intermingling of Negroes with Whites and Indians has
given origin to the mulatto and the zambo,1 respectively.

Rémulo Gallegos has given special attention to this
racial variety in Venezuelan life by trying to analyze the
serious social and economic problems which it has created.
Throughout his eight novels it is clear at first glance that
equality of races, either economic or social, has not been
achieved.2 Gallegos, who is very much against racial preju-
dice and injustice toward the mastizo, Indian, and Negro, is
eager to find a prompt solution, in order that there may be
peace, tolerance, and justice in his country.

Opposing the idea that the white population, which is
a minority, should be the ruling class, he has devoted much
space in his literary works to showing the attitude of supe—
riority assumed by these people, together'with their treat-

ment of the less cultured non-white population. Gallegos

 

1 Zanbo: a person havoing Indian and Negro blood.

2 Spell, on. cit., 274.

—*

24

has given the llanero, Iegro, and Indian of Venezuela a
place of importance in his literary creations which have won
world—wide recognition. He has brought to his readers a
picture of the personal problems of these mistreated people.
It must be acknowledged, however, that while Gallegos has
idealized and praised the non-white population, he has not
been fair to the Caucasian race, which he has often sati-
rized and ridiculed in individual cases.

The white population of Venezuela, composed of for-
eigners or people of Spanish descent, is represented
throughout the novels by such families and outstanding indi-

viduals as the Alcoys and the Casals in.;a Trepadora, the

 

Vellorinis in Canaima, the Solars in Reinaldo Solar, Doctor
Payara in gantaclaro, and Demetrio hontiel in Sobre la Misna
Tierra.

All these people occupy a high social position since
they either belong to families of illustrious ancestry as do
the Solars, Casals, and Alcoys--the latter's grandmother on
the paternal side was nothing less than an English Duchess--
or are rich foreigners like the Vellorinis. Because of
their rank in society, most of them are pedantic and con-
ceited personages who live in luxurious homes and lead friv-
olous lives.

Some of these families have a good cultural back-

ground, for they have travelled to Europe and the United

tates and have brought back with them foreign Cultures.

 

25
‘mong them we may also find intellectuals like Reinaldo So-
lar, who tries unsuccessfully to reform the political condi-
tions of his country, and doctors like Payara and Luzardo,
whose education makes them realize the urgent necessity of
bringing the fruits of modern technology to the llanos.

The white population is not only a part of the so-
cially and culturally elite, but also of the well-to-do
class. The Vellorinis, Corsicans established in Guayana for
over thirty years and owners of the most powerful commercial
house in Upata, are examples of white foreigners who acquire
a fortune in Venezuela and become affiliated with the lead-
ing social class. On the other hand, Jaimito del Casal rep-
resents the white Venezuelan, a weakling aristocrat who comp
mits suicide because he is a business failure and has caused
the loss of his large family estate.

According to the Venezuelan literary'critic Rafael
Angarita Arvelo, the white population in Gallegos' novels is
definitely singled out as the privileged class that op-
presses the poor by taking advantage of their social and in-
tellectual inferiority.5 The mestizo, belonging to this lat-
ter class, is also a product of two different races and cul-
tures. Although his kind is in the majority, it has been
among the groups oppressed.

The outstanding mestizo characters in these novels are

 

3 Angarita Arvelo, Historia y Critica d2 la Hovela

 

 

Venezolana (Berlin, 1938), 137.

 

26
usually presented as the illegitimate children of opulent
white landowners and their humble Indian servants, who are
held in low esteem by the white families. Because of this
unjust situation, the mestizo is impelled by a tremendous
force to rise above his surroundings in order to vindicate
himself and prove his mettle.4

Hilario Guanipa in L§_Trepadora, the son of the rich
landowner, don Jaime del Casal, and a poor Indian woman, is
a typical example of the mestizo and his struggles. Galle-
gos describes him as a handsome, arrogant, and brave young
man, who is not only a great lover but a good and generous
friend. On account of his humble birth, he is not accepted
by his father's family. As a result, he determines to as-
sert himself in order to become socially and economically
acceptable. He reveals his pride by refusing to bear his
rightful name coming from his father, while retaining his
mother's common name of Guanipa. His ambition for power and
wealth is increased when he falls in love with beautiful Ade-
laida Salcedo, whom he considers above him from a moral, so-
cial, and cultural point of view. Hilario is determined to
reach his goal in life. To demonstrate his final success,
the reward of his ambition, he buys the coffee plantation at
Cantarrana from.his ruined relatives-~at a price higher than

its real value--and marries the woman who is superior to hhn

 

4 Panorama, No. 14. (July, 1940) , 12.

 

27

in every respect. 0

On the one hand, he represents the mestizo who is led
by his primitive emotions because of a lack of culture and
education, and, on the other hand, he exhibits generosity,
intelligence, and nobility of heart,and is capable of fol—
lowing the proper path of life.

Gallegos' recognition of the mestizo's rights is ind-
cated by the rise of the less favored through acquisition of

property in L3 Trepadora.5

 

Sobre lg,Mfisma Tierra offers another good ex—mple of

 

the mestizo in Remota Eontiel, he daughter of a Guajira Il-
dian and the white Venezuelan smuggler and gmnbler, Demetr io
Hontiel. She represents the cultured mostizo who has been
educated in the United States. Full of idealis 21 and nobi li-
ty, Remota refuses a.marriage offer in order to devote all

7 o 0

nor time and attention to the Venezuelan Gu

C.)

ira Indians,

toward who m1 she feels a respons ioilitv because s-e conside;s

U

herself one of them.

Gallegos tries to elevate the mestizo in the presen-

. ’ . ~. 0 . 1
310138. . . . SG GIlCOIl'CI‘O 811 10 310,703? C10 81 mlsma C01"; 01 propo-

sito, sin alcr"uras hi vein”- nelas, de reparar los danos

f' o 1 ' v ’1 J-‘ '-
causados por su padre."0 Unlike her EZ’AIEG lather sne sac-

 

5 Spell, 92. cit., 218.

6 Sobre i3 nisma 'fierra, 214.

 

rifices her life for the people who were sacrificed by her
“atler and tries to construct a better future for than.
T f0 other characters of importance are representative

of the mestiz in Venezuela: Vietoria Guanipa in a Trena-

 

hora, who will be discussed in detail later on because of

(I)

her s: -DOlel in the literary works of Gallegos,

9 wllo is considered by most crit 'ics his best

Doha Barbara,
character. With the presentation of Dona Barbara a, Gallo
does not try lo elevate the good qualities of the race, but
realistically presents the primftivea nd barbaric mes t3;_in
contrast to the educated Doctor Luzardo.

The situation of the aoor igin l inhabitants of Latin-
America has often been the concern of our men of letters,
who realize the urgent necessity of transforming their primp
itive customs and superstitions in order that they may also

I .
benefit from our scientific progress. Romulo Gallegos 13 ~
extremely interested in the betterment of the Venezuelan In-
dian and has devoted two of his novels, Canaima and Sobre la

Misma Tierra, to a presentation of their customs and the con-

 

ditions under which they live. He does 'llis by co:;1tra stin

fl
‘0

them with the so-called privileged classes of his country.

 

7 Leo Ulrich, "Sobre la.Kisma Tierl a," Revista Nacioa
nal fig Culture, No. 50(Caracas, Venezuela, Kayo-Junio, 1945),
I55.

 

8 See below, pp. 56-58.

9 See below, pp. 58-63.

29

The Indian is described in Canaina as having a kind

and quiet mien. He is aware of the humiliation and defeat
his race has suffered and, while willingly submitting to the

civilized man, he fears exploitation. ".bmen still use their
native outfits of a han herchief and a shawl, and men wear
very short pants, shirts and hats, but no shoes. *amilies
usually live together and, like the Chinese, they are very
closely united. What belongs to one belon ngs to all, and
they have a high sense of hospitality. Their backwardness
is obvious in the way they live and eat. They all drink
from.one jug and eat with their hands from one main dish
while seated on the floor. One of their most common super-
stitious practices is not to look each other in the face
while they speak, but to gaze toward the ground, since to do

otherwise would bring them death. They are not Christians,

but have their gods of good and evil. Canaima is the god of

~

evil and Cajuna the good god:

Canaina. El mali5no, la sombria divinidad de los
5uaicas y maquiritares, el dies frenetico, principio
del mal y causa de todos los m.ales que le dispute el
mundo a Cajufih.el bueno. Lo der oniaco sin forma deter-
minada y capaz de adopter cualcuiera apariencia, viejo

Ahriman redivivo en America.
Not only are poverty, tuberculosis, insects, and
snakes the enemies of the Indians, but so also are the own-

ers of the rubber and sugar plantations, who exploit and

tyrannize them. They are forced to work day and night, and

 

100mmtm,lma

 

 

 

50
are paid only half of what any other worker would receive.
Such are the conditions under which they live, for exatple,
on Adrian Gadea's property in Sobre laQMisma Tierra.ll

The Venezuelan Government pays little attention to
the Guajira region where the Indians live, according to
Gallegos. Surrounded by swamps, the Indian does not have
clean water to drink and is obliged to walk miles from.his
hone in order to obtain a shall amount of water, which even
then is usually dirty. The state does not provide any hos-
pitals or schools for these people, following the policy of
leaving them in a semi-barbaric condition. In order to as-
suage their hunger, they eat small lizards and teasel pulp.

Among the Guajiros, however, one can find wealthy in-
dividuals. These are owners of large ranches who have
raised themselves above their level and have become partly
civilized. Chuachuaima represents this type. He is re-
spected by the entire region because he is rich, and, taking
advantage of his economic position, he tries to marry the
prettiest and youngest Indian girl of the Guajira, althougl
he already supports other wives and children. In exchange
for a pretty girl, the family usually receives from the rich
husband-to-be a great herd of cattle and other valuable
gifts.

Although Gallegos presents various types of individ-

 

11 r. 226.

 

Bl
uals in order to give a representative picture of the races
in Venezuela, he tends to attribute ideal characteristics to
the Indian and 1“‘egro races. In Reinaldo Solar, for example,
he introduces a.minor Indian character, Guaicapuro Pefia, per-
haps with no other purpose in mind than to extol him as a
representative of his race:

Era CTuaicapuro Pena, un indiazo membrudo, de negras
patillas que le bajaban hasta las comisuras de la boca,
confundidas con el bigote. Un sombrero de "pelo de
guama," de anchas alas, 1e cubria de sombra el rostro
bien parecido, en el cual Reinaldo descubrio las mismas
facciones de A.erica y la.misma expresion sensual. Es
un bello ejemplar de la raza--penso, mientra s soportaba
la mirada buida del hombre temible, satisfecho de 51
mismo al comprobar que en sus musculos no habia un es-
tremecimiento de miedo.

The Negro even becomes an important character in Ga-

llegos' novels,.especially in Pobre Negro. Tu hing to his-

 

torical events for the first tine, he describes the struggles
and hardships the Negro went through as a slave during the
emancipation period in the middle of the nineteenth century.

Dunham refers to Pobre Negro as aggreat novel that points

 

toward an acceptance and solution of the country's racial
problems.13

From the time they were brought by the Spanish colo-
nizers to labor on the coffee and cacao plantations of Vene-

zuela, the Negroes have been the victims of injustice.14

 

12 Gallegos, Reinaldo Solar (Buenos Aires, Dec.194lfififli

15 Lowell Dunham, "Pobre heiro," Books Abroad, XII
(1938), 56.

 

14 Erna Ferguson, Venezuela (New'YOrk, 1939), 10-

 

 

52

n

They planted cane under the miip 01 their overseers in the
valleys of Aragua and Tuy, cacao, alone the Barlovento and
Maya coasts, and excavated the mines at Buria and Area, be-

sides serving the e1r rmasters as domestics and nursing their

The'Negroes are as superstitious as the native In-
dians. They misuse the Spanish language and include a vo-
cabulary of their own. Like the Indians, they enjoy sensual
dancing accompanied by the mysterious rhythm of drum beats,
which is a recompense for their hard labor.

Gallegos describes the Hegro in Pobre Hes gro as a

 

playful and frolicsome person. His well-proportioned body

is strong and capable of hard work.15 With the character_

Juan Ceremoto he illustrates the fact that the Hegroes usu-

ally are faithful to their masters. This rep1 esentative of

‘P

'his race is killed because of his loyalty to Pedro.1iguel,
and dies without realizing the grea t hopes in life which he
had placed in his master:

Y Juan Ceremoto, no era un hombre, sine el pobr e ne—
gro, que es todo un pueblo, abandona ado por el de espal-
das a1 golpe artero, . . . Juan Coromoto . . . pare01a
un regro feliz.. . . Sohrellevo su carga, at*aveso sus
penas y tuvo sus gozos, sin duda; pero . . . no hab1a
existido realmente sine en aouel ade :1an de los brazos
atras, como para salirle a1 encuentro con todo el pecho
a la gran esperanza de su vida. Pero Juan Coronoto se
desplom no de su caballo de guerra sin verhirealiz ada.

 

l5 Gallegos, Pobre Hegro (Caracas, Feb., 1957), 18.

 

16 Ibid., 372-75.

 

o
I
C
O
.
.
.
u
< o
I ‘ I
Q R O a
.
.
~

. .

Q '- '

m~vv-“ '-' _ ._#

35
Gallegos also portra1s the evil nature of some of the

O
I

Negroes. He meet Cholo P- arina, a bodyguard and instrument
of a white politician, and 1A‘Iliig'iapanare, another base crea-
ture, whose barbaris:1 and cruelty leads him to kill his mas-
ters and seduce young white girls. Ee hates the white race

and is the lea er of a group of black bandits who murder and

pillage during the revolution recorded in Pohre Iegro.

 

Cholo Parima is described in Canaima as a gigantic
and cunning zanbo with a scarred and defonied face-~a proof
of his crhn 1es. After beina saved f1 w01 the local authorities
by a corrupt politici1u, n’guel nrdavin, he enters into the
services of the latter. 11th his name changed to Pantoja,
he commits a series of crimes for the official, but is fi-

-1£arcos Vargas

I?!
Q)
f—J
I...
«1
' I
Ho
<3
0
:3
C?
O
13
(D
O
"b
ti’
[—1.
(D
O
1‘
fl
”i
,_>
O
p
H
O
'_J
:3
CD
{1
3"
O

avenaes the death of -is bro ther , one of Pa1ima's victims.

In Cantaclaro Galle.os presentsa :1other loyal Eegro,

 

Jua- Parao, w:.ose phil sochical ideals are as great as those
of a tell-educated person. He realizes that because of his
race h cannot be a leader or a worthy cause, and so places

his hopes in Conta claro, who is sympathetic toward him and

has all the qua -li' tie of a good leader.

Iaving Juan P rco in u1nd, Gallegos intro‘uces a
beautiful description of tlw ericzuela 11 hefro at the end of

Cantaclaro. Here he shows his great desire to see this race

 

q

win 1roper recognition and enjoy tolerant rertnenc.

54

Eegro bueno, pobre ne3ro de mi pueblo venezolano, que
su=iste ser sufrido y rebelde al nisno ticnpo. La trai;
civn de una injusticia te lanzo a cuatrero, fuiste ladron
y voliente y "carici' ste tu idea, tu gran idea one no t

abia dentro del espiritu rudo :7 obscure. ‘Una voz de tu
sangre, reli ion de tn raza osraaica, te hizo lue 0 se-
guir a un hombre en quien viste un jeie. IPobre pueblo
n10 cue sienpre andas buscandolo' Y guerreaste con el,
exponiendo tu Vida oar 1a que fuese de el la fana del tri-
unio y para el tr Mb jaste. ldQuien.canta el herois o ne-
3ro de sunision y la clara virtud de tu lea lta d y el
drana doloroso de tu Cb lto al hel'.1bre c_uesienp1e te tr
icio1ara o te abar donara? ‘Quien eXpr es ara, sin humi-
llarte, cl ideal-~tu gran ideal--cu.e persetg -uiste cuando
buscabas un jefe? Ee3zro bueno, he re sufrido y rebelde.
Pueblo mic que lo llevas en tu sangre cono una verguensa,
y en tu pecho como una to1m1enta..Hasta cua nda ests ras
nnriendo a los pies de tu jefe?l7

Gallegos' solution of Venezuela's racial problem is
eX pressed bv youn3 Cecilio Alcorta in Pobre He3ro:

"Euestro negro es una raza en narcha, pero no un fo-
rastero de paso por nuestro suelo y siznal hicieron los
que lo trasplantaron del prepio, peer hacenos nos culti-
vandolo 001:10 una plants ya nuestra. Aqui se reproluce,
todavia con m1 a1na intacta pero también se mezcla y es
a31 como el cuerpo de la nacion va di3iriendolo; mas hay
q_ue incorporarlo taxnbien a1 alma nacional, dandole parte
en el patrimonio comun de la cultura. Ademfis no ten-
drenos los blancos alb o que a3radecerle al negro? Ellos
nos cultivan la tierra y nos eXplotan la mina; ellas nos
sazonan la comida, nos dan leche de sus pechos cuando a
los de nuestras nadres les falta, nos sirven y nos cui-
dan anorosanente y de niflos nos duernen con el cuento in-

genuo por donde enpieza la formacion de nuestra alna."

Throughout his novels Galle3os tries to find an end to
Venezuela's racial problem through the intermarriage of
In a. ’ .
hites, Negroes, and Indians. In Dona Barbara, we find that

Santos Luzardo, a member of the upper class, marriesihari-

 

l7 Cantaclaro, 268.

18 Pobre Negro, 164-65.

 

 

55
sela, the daughter of the mestiza, Doha Barbara. In Canaima,
jarcos Vargas, attracted by the mgrst erious life of the for-
est, finally mair ries an Indian girl, whose offsprihg is the

fusion of two races and civilizations. Also in Sobre 1a

 

m1 na Tierra there is pointed out the blending of the fihi te

 

nd the Indian in Renota.xontiel who is an asset to the lat—
ter people. In Lg'Trepadora, two cases are given: that of

lario and the ari s uOCT at Adelaida Salcedo, and

79‘.

the mestizo n1
the marriage of their daughter Victoria to Kicolas del Ca-

sal, the grandson of the landowner andziristocrat don uaime
del Cas al. The intermarriage of Indians and mestizos with
hhites is commonly accepted in Latin-America today. Galle-

gos, however, has gone one step further in Pobre hegro

 

where he unravels the 1negro race problem byh lav in: Pedro mi-

9)

guel, a mulatto, marry Luisana Alcorta a.white girl of

'e° lthv fa “ily.

 

 

CHAPTER IV
SO C IAL PRO BLHIS

In a country where the government has been .n from
the beginning of its independence by ignorant and harsh dic-
tators, where all or nearly all forms of material wealth are
in the hands of the privileged few, where industry has hard-
ly begun to develop, and wher the peasants in the distant
villages lack proper food and potable water, the resultant
social problems are certa'n to be severe and difficult to
solve. These probl as have been one of the main concerns of
Venezuelan writers, especially Rdnulo Gallegos, whose ap-
proach to then is somewhat similar to that of sociologists.

host of the landowners in the various novels are mem-
bers of the aristocracy or upper-class group, descendants of

he colonial society that established the feudal system in
Latin-America. They are called "patricians" since they know
or believe they know th history of their family tree for
more than a century.1 Some are described by Gallegos as conw
ceited and proud individuals with no initiative or responsi-
bility in life. The traditional honor and pride of these
patrician fanilies are brought out in the presentation of

the Casals, Solars, Alcortas, and Vellorinis, all belonging

 

_ o .. . .
1 dose Senprum, "Una novela Criolla--EJ HJ§JpQ 3913; n
gpltura Venezolana, E0. 14 (Caracas, Junie-1920), 180.

 

57
to the select aristocracy of Venezuela. Considering them-
selves superior to others because of their social, racial,
and economic backgrounds, they have abused and Oppressed the
lower classes, not only materially but morally.

Don Jaime del Casal is a perfect example of the aris-
tocratic landowner who is an honorable and highly respected
person. In contradiction to the noble principles for which
he is well known, he seduces an Indian servant who gives
birth to a child. Since she belongs to a lower class, he is
not allowed to marry her. His illegitimate offspring, Hi-
lario Guanipa, suffers the consequences of this when he is
old enough to notice the barriers between him and the fami-
ly of the large and elegant home.

Gallegos not only pictures the pompous life of the
aristocrats, but shows how their power in some instances has
declined. Able and tenacious mestizos, such as Hilario Gua-
nipa in La Trepadgra and Yaguarim Gonzalez in Reinaldo Solar,
have taken over estates because of their owners‘ lack of
ability and initiative in the management of a large hacienda.
These families, however, do not believe in selling their
properties, for they consider this degrading to their social
and economic status. Following is Jahaito del Casal's opin-
ion in this respect:

"Hesotros no,p demos deshacernos de Cantarrana, que

es algo que esta 1ntimamente ligado con nuestro apellido
desde los tiempos de la Colonia. ‘Una familia que ocupa

nuestro range social y que tiene las tradiciones de la
nuestra, necesita tener una posesion agricola. Eso,

58

per que’no decirlo?, eso forma parte substancial de la
nobleza."2

Reinaldo del Solar represents another patricio and
landowner who believes that because of his position he can
nistreat women of inferior birth. He seduces a robust,
young country girl who is to be mariied to one of his
friends. When his friend Ortigales asks him whether he in-
tends to marry her, he replies: “No hombre'. {Quién piensa
en eso? fAmor libre, como el viento due sopla por aqui'."3

Pobre Hegro, too, offers a case in which the A_corta

 

family, of an honorable and illustrious ancestry, disowns
Pedro miguel, the son of an Alcorta and a Hegro slave. The
characterization of Pedro Miguel will be discussed Later on
in detail, because he represents one of the most important
symbols introduced by Gallegos.4

The author presents other types of landowners who are
far from being aristocrats but who have attained vast amounts
of property through dishonesty and bribery. Dona Barbara,
Adrian Gadea and Hermenegildo Guaviare are in this group.

’ o q ‘ fl ' J-
Dofla Barbara, a wicned but beautiful mest1za who has ac-

f‘

cuired lands through killing, stealing, and attracting men

with her seductive charm, does not hesitate to bribe the le-

 

up».
r n
If.)
-4
N

3 Gallegos, La,Trepadora (2nd ed., Buenos Aires,
1944), 72.

 

5 Reinaldo Solar, 79.

 

4 See below, pp. 69-70.

59
cal authorities and politicians in order to have the law of
the plains replaced by "la.Ley de Doha Barbara."

Adrian Gadea, the brutal owner of'Hotilonia, a large

0 ’ a
hac1enda near Santa Barbara, 18 another type of landowner

existing in Venezuela. He has not onlya

C

farm, but also it: xense cace o and cane plantations to add to
his riches. His prosperity means the sacrifice of hundreds
of Guajira India ns who are exposed to fatal malaria, venam-
ous snakes, and the brutal whip which Gadea himself uses on
them. This arduous work causes long illness in the starved
larsh and

slaves, who sooner or ater perish because of tne

cruel treatment they have received.

 

In El Forastero Her1enegildo Guaviare is not only a
landowner but a despotic politician tho brings about dis-
tressing cond.itions among his geople. Besides being a

dan :erou s revolwiionarv and killer, he etea_s val uccle prep-
erties, seduces apnen, and changes the course of the river
for his own benefit, to the utter disree
brings to his people. Leo Ulrich, a Venezuelan literarr
critic, describes Guaviare as the brutal and primitive ty-

. .fifi 0’ a .. o o
te, General : dimenion, is the ClVl-

$33

-is associ

or. The latter begins his political

r)
(8"

lized tyrant and -ul 0
career as Guaviare's puppet, eliminates his boss from the

govern31ent affairs of the town, and finally, after killing

s
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. a

 

 

 

[b
O

r
a 0 '3
him, usurps his place.

Some of the politicians in Gallegos' novels force hon?
st and hardworking landowners to sell their property to thei
at a very low price. In case of refusal, they are liable to

o | o o —-1 -1 . I
be killed or at best imprisoned. In Ll horastero, Parmenion

 

fl .5

o;1ers to return the river to its original course when.Har—
cos Rogers, a virtuous citizen who is interested only in the
welfare of his town, lets him have his hacienda in return.

Another land-grabbing politician and Jefe Civil is

 

General Dionisio Buitrago in Cantaclaro. He has already

 

taken possession of an hacienda by imprisoning its owners,
the industrious Bejaranos, and is contemplating the possibil-
ity of obtaining El Aposento, the large property of the Co-
ronado family. Then a revolution breaks out and Buitrago is
killed by a poor peasant, Juan e1 Veguero, whom he also ru-
ined a few years before by appropriating the little land he
owned.

80, too, ena'ma presents good examples of the Vene-
zuelan politician. Coronel Apolonio Alcaravén, the {333
Civil of El Callao is a humorous and well-liked administra-
tor, but at the same time he knows how to procure monetary
profits for himself whenever he sees the opportunity. For

instance, needing money to pay for an expensive horse, he

 

O 0’ 9" O
5 Leo Ulrich, "La Invenc1on en la novela," RCVista
Hacienal g2 Cultura, Ho. 40 (Septienbre y Octubre de I945,
Caracasi, 99.

.
a .
.
.
. .
O
I D
. .
9 u
.
. 7 .
x . .
. . - .
.
; - .
.
.
I r
- __ - . -

 

 

 

41
has sixty negro miners arrested for boisterous conduct on
the streets. They either have to go to jail or pay a fine.
After the negroes agree to pay the fine, Alcaravan pays his
debt. On another occasion, he meets a poorly dressed man
from a distant town. Perceiving him to be as much a rogue
as he himself, he preposes that the stranger pretend to be a
priest in the village and then share the alms with him. r‘he
profit, of course, is great, for during Holy week the pious
peeple contribute large sums to the church.

In Canaima the Ardavines, or "the tigers of the Yu-
ruari" as they are commonly called, are other interesting
characters representing the politician of Venezuela. Ifiguel
Ardavin, a poor soldier and a political trickster, has be-
come the cacioue of the YUruari region. His cousin Jose
Francisco, a cowardly but verv impulsive individual, takes
advantage of his political position to perform all these
acts typical of a wastrel. higuel, on the other hand, ap-
pears to be an honest citizen, when he is really a hypocrite
who commits crimes by the hand of a Negro servant who doubles
as a bodyguard. He is also planning to overthrow the govern-
ment, but fails and ends in prison because of the betrayal
of his cousin Jose Francisco. Referring to the Ardavines as
representatives of the corrupt political cacieues of Venezu-
ela,ifianuel Ladera, a respected business man, is made to
say: "La eterna calamidad de los caciques politicos, que

son el azote de esta tierra, pues no hay empresa productive

42
que no la quieran para si solos."6

Gallegos has transfonned the humble and forgotten
peasants of Venezuela into some of the most interesting per-
sonalities of his novels by recounting the story of their
lives on the vast plains and coffee plantations, and in re-
mote villages and wild forests. He has broug-t‘his readers
in contact with their joys and problems and has presented
them as victims of the social, political, and economic con-
ditions of the country.

Most of the Venezuelan peasants are classified as
mestizos; however, a great number of Indians and Hegroes
whose conditions were described in the previous chapter may
also belong to this groui.

The human dweller of the plains, the llanero, has en-
riched the:meaning of much of Gallegos' literary production.
Although he is a victim of his country's injustice and is ex-
posed to hardships and a dangerous existence, he is a loyal
and sincere friend to his master, and retains his good h -
mor. The llanero is a born singer; to him singing is a kind
of psychological lubricant which he needs in order to ex-
press his joys as well as his sorrows, and for every occa-
sion he sings an appropriate copla.l7 He is daring and en-

joys adventure, but at the same time he is ignorant and su-

 

6 Canaima, 32.

7 Dillwyn F. Ratcliff, Venezuelan Prose Fiction (NeW'
York, 1953), 252.

 

43
perstitious. A perfect description of a typical llanero as
.given by the author follows:

Y'vi6 que el hombre de la llanura era, ante la vida,
ind6mito y sufridor, indolente e infatigable; en la lu-
cha, impulsive y astute; ante el superior, indiscipli—
nado y leal; con el amigo, receloso y abnegado; con la
mujer, voluptuoso y aspero; consigo mismo sensual y se-
brie. En sus conversaciones, malicioso e ingenuo, in-
crédulo y supersticioso; en todo case alegre y melanc6-
lice, positivista y fantaseador. Humildeb a pie y sober-
bio a caballo. Todo a la vez y sin estorbarse, come
estan los defectos y las virtudes en las almas nuevas.

Among the llaneros there are, on the one hand, such

evil and corrupt men as the peons of Defia Barbara's ranch,

who are murderers and robbers, and on the other hand, some

good and faithful workers. One of the latter on Santos Lu-
zarde's estate, the cowboy Pajarote, reveals his loyalty to
'isznaster Santos when he says:

”El llanero no es pe6n sine en el trabajo. Aqui, en
la hora y punto en que estamos no habemos un amo y un

pe6n, sine un hombre que es usted y otro hombre que
quiere demostrarle que esta dispuesto a dar la vida per

la suya.”9
In Cantaclaro Juan el Veguero, the poor peasant who
had been ruined by an unjust politician, is presented in his
depressing environment. On a solitary, broken-down ranch,
where the land is so dry that he cannot get water near at
hand or grow any food, he leads a miserable existence with
his starved wife. The couple, living in this desert, sur-

rounded by filth and bedbugs, has lost all their children

 

8 Doha Barbara, 207.

 

(3

lb

[—10

d., 260.

 

44
because of poverty and ignorance. Juan, who because of his
own experience believes that work is not worthwhile (for
while the poor work, the rich benefit from it), accepts his
distressing situation by saying:

"Hasta los sales del monte

tienen su separaci6n:

unos sirven para lena

y otros para hacer carb6n. "10

Perhaps Gallegos has not been air toward the foreign

population in his novels, as he has viewed them either as
opportunists who come to get rich in Venezuela, attracted by
its valuable resources, or as fugitives who have escaped

justice by burying themselves in the forests and llanos of

 

. 0 ~ ’ . a.
Latin-America. Dona Barbara, Canaima, and Sobre la Misma

 

 

Tierra offer a number of er. nples.

 

I
L".

ibara

1:)
tr!

Kr. William Danger, in Deh , is described as

 

’1

a great mass or muscles under a reddish skin, with blue eyes
and blonde hair. He has come fro:1 Alaska, probably as a fu-
gitive. "his.nan typifies the attitude of Hort 1 American
superiority, considering himself better than the native be-
cause of his Hordic ancestry. Upon his arrival at the llazo
the natives hope and expect that he will be a re.5 eneia tin
influence in their community. But such is not the case, for
‘Kr. Danger has come to the llano to role it its resources in
order to acquire a fortune. All he does is hunt alligators,

tigers, and all types of animals whose valuable s

 

10 an aclaro, 37.

”—— no-N

45

exported in great Q ant i ties to bring him a fabulous income.
In a short time he constructs a comfortable home 31; is the
owner of a hzrge farm where he has biwei ht numerous cattle
stolen from neighboring landowners. His friendship with

' ’ 1 0 j q o 1 o
Doha Barbara, the caCica oi the llano has helped him ootain

[

stolen lands. Charla cs Fe rce, an American critic, speaking
of these two persons in r ference to the corrupt dictator-
ship of G6mez says: "For the most ideally minded, Der -a Bdr-
bara's activities and those of tlie unscrupulous empire-
building American named Danger, represent the corruption of
the Venezuelan gove nment. "11 His igr ”or ance about Latin-

.'

American honor is obvious when he tries to buy.marisela from

her father by gettm a the latter drunk with his whisky. As

1.2

a crude joke he obliges the drunken father Lorenzo to sign a
paper acknowledginc the sale of his dau.hter for fiv ve bottles
of hard liquor. "Per la presente declare que he vendido al

Sr. Guillermo Danger mi hija.Harisela per cinco botellas de

wiskey."12

In Canaima we have the foreigner of the cim Vello-
rini, vho has become rich from the rubber extrac ted from the
forest by his native slaves. Considering hi elf superior

to Venezuelans, he does not wis1 to accept than as his sons-

in-law. Iir. Davenport is pie: ented as a wealthy liorth Amer-

 

11 Charles A Pearce, "The Venezuelan Plain.," The How
Republic (Oct. 28, 1931), 304.

O 7", I. :—
l~ Doha nerrc*c, 200.

 

icai who has been a director of a mining enterprise in r1
Callao, and who now is the owner of a well equipped farm

called nl Varadero. He is humorous and very aenerous to his

k

political friends when he entertains with extravaaant coun-

\.

try parties. another type of foreigner who has been at-

p:

tractea by the exotic tropical life iinr. Reel. he is an
Englishman afflicted with tuberculosis, who lives a se-

cluded life in the Venezuelan wild country. Count Giaffaro,

{D
.3

highly cultured iflQiVidUel vie is suSpected of being a run-
away prisoner from French Guiana, because of the flour-de-
lis branded on his back, typifies the foreigner who tries to
hide out in Venezuela. Obsessed by its mystery, he remains
in the Guarampin Forest until death.

Although Gallegos in Sabre laljiana TieJra shows his

 

l¢

resentment toward the opulence of the foreign oil ien n

\-J

Ijaracaibo, he idealizes Alejandro Heinar, a German who mar-
ries a Venezuelan and who insists that he not be considered

V17

a foreigner but a real Venezuelan. ieimar is especially em-
phatic when he says: °". . . El mas zulianisimo dc todos los
Venezolanos."13 Kr; Hardman, en oil-well driller, typifies
the tolerant and just horth American worker who believes in
treating the Venezuelan on an equal basis. I quote his re-

marks to Remota Iontiel, wno is interested in learning

whether or not the Venezuelan oil worker doing the sane

 

l3 Sobre laLHisna Tierra, 71.

 

amount of work is paid just as much as an American.
. ' . I .
"Yb soy tambien un oerero y encontrare Sienpre muy
justas les ~spiraciones del traba.ador ven zolano a
igualdad de tre taniento en iaualded de circunst: ncias,
porque yo no concibo la vida sine bojo el imperio de
una estricta justicia social, y en este sentido lie 011-
plido tambien mi ceoer hacia mi compaflero de es te
mls,"lé
Gallegos has also included among the problems of Ve-
nezuela those occasioned by the interference of the armed
forces in the po cal affairs of the country. This
meddling is very evident in Reinaldo Solar, Cantaclaro, and

especially in fobre Ime ro.15 In them the professional sol-

 

dier, as well as the citizen who temporarily becomes one

during revolutionary periods, 18 regarded as detrimental to
the well-being of Venezuelans. fie describes the soldiers as
killers and thieves and their leaders as unscrupulous and
merciless. In the pursuit of their objective--power—-they
brook no opposition, and no method is too lOW'if it promises
success.16

Several of the characters created by Gallegos become
military leaders in opposition to the government. In addi-
tion to the harm brought upon the nation by participants on

both sides, the e1 “feet of the cruel warfare on the individuaL

leaders is strongly emphasized. In Reinaldo Solar, for ex-

 

14 Ibid., 138.

15 See below, p..70.

16 For good examples see Ouarta Jornada, Part I in
Pobre Negrg.

[—10
0']
CD
[.1

ample, the protagonist's reaction to internecine war
most fatal.

’"Cerca de un ano hacia cue andaba en acuella revolu-
cion que ensangrento al pais en mil esce ramuzas inutilea
en.muchas de las cuales estuvo e1, adq_uiriendo una si-
niestra erperiencia.

"Sentiase def initivamente rendido, con un hervidero
de germanes in nsanos en el cuerpo, con una voragine de
brutal an 'Lalidad desata da dentro del alma. Habia ma-
tado, habla robado, habia perseguido con safia y casti-
gado con crueldad, habia sentido, en todo su horror, el

saltivdel ancestro bestial dentro de su ser reverti-
do."

On the basis of the contents of his novels, accusa-

tions have been hurled at Gallegos as a godless anticler-

c.18 Superficially, this might appear to be justifiable,
but careful reflection concerning his descripfi1ons of the
few clerics involved in those novels and the parts that thee;
churchmen are made to play does not necessarily lead one to
the conclusion that he is an enemy of the Catholic church

in Venezuela.

LEDTrepadora taken alone could easily make one be-

 

lieve that Gallegos is conte11ptuou s of priests. In it the
Spanish parish priest of the small town near Cantarrana is a
short, hairy man of fifty, not too clean. He is more inter-
ested in his maize fields and cattle ranch than in the spir—
itual welfare of his parishioners. He prefers rcvelry and

huntin: parties to the singing of mass:

 

17 Reinaldo Solar, 241.

18 "Romulo Gallegos Biography," Current Biography,
Vbl. 9, No. 5 (May, 1948), 52.

.
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49
. . . murmurabase due no eran tales ahijados, sino hi-
jos suyos, aquellos muchachos de los campos que lo lla-
maban padrino y le pedian la bendicion juntando las ma-
nos e hincando una rodilla en tierra.19
0n the other hand the author gives us an example of a

parish priest in‘El Forastero in a light which is not unfa-

 

vorable. In fact, one might even say that the cleric is
described with some praise and respect. Father R nén Here-
no is characterized as a friendly, honest, generous, and
dutiful priest whose principal desire is to minister to the
needs of his people and to help them achieve spiritual hap-
piness. Sincere in faith, he is confi1M1ed in his Christian

.0

rit o1 truth and justice ought

c!-
t)"
"d ‘
Ho

conviction th 1at only e s
to reign on earth so that it would be spiritually 1abitable.
A third clergy 1an introduced by Gallegos in his nov-

0 q "_ '_ v o ; '3 T o o 0
els appears 1n Poore negro. he 13 Rosendo med1av1lla of n10

 

Chico. The author describes him as a "pr iest of souls,"

awkward but witty, and popular amon3 his neL 3hbors. The

good clergyman is exemplary in h1s private conduct and has

the zeal of an evangelist. his interests extend beyond his

t, O 1 O

pious vocation. He belongs to he eliberal party, wh1cn 13

q

opposed to the oligarcnic administration, and is very active
in politics. As a stimulant to the me n in the small town,

he brings together the interested adherents of both partisan

camps in his parish home for discussion and debate, wLich,

abetted by strong potions of coffee, last well into the

 

19 La'Trepadora, 19.

 

night.

'T-J

atherliediavilla's activities involve him.so deeply

in politics that he is eventually led to take active part in

Ho

0 o 1 u n —, 0 6
the Federal Revolution aga1nst the government.“0 hhlS 1

.Cb

nally is the cause of his utter ruin. As the result 01 a
serious head wound Father Hediavilla becomes insane.

Romulo Gallegos should not be thought of as an enemy
of the church or its representatives, simply because the
clergymen whom.he portrays are usually individuals who do
not confine themselves to their vocation. he generalization
by the author which may strictly be considered anti-clerical
has been noted by this writer. Gallegos, through the ex-
amples a1ven in his novels, seeks to point out by way of im-
plication that priests should restrict their work to the du-
ties imposed by their vows. Therein lies one problem pre-

sented by the author.

 

0 ,1 . .. ,, . .—
eO :he Feuera Jar 01 Venezuela took place in 1808.

CI In 233 V
- GIL-'1 1111337128 £1233 DIET} SKIBOLIS..-

The princiw; 31 characters in? omulo Galle 3os' novels

are the "tools" nployed by the author to analyze the prob-
lems of the people of Venezuela. For each situation, he has
created an ind- ivic ual 1.?bo i:1 a very real sense symbolizes a
great difficulty which has to be overcom- in order to carry
to fruition t1 1e plans er -visa3 ed by leaders like tlie auth01.
A number of characters represent questions of national im-
port. Six of them are particularly interesting.

Emmulo Gallegos has drawn in his first novel, 3g}:

naldo Solar, a character who is representative of the incen-

 

o 0.1.;

stent youth of Venezuela. He is ambitious, ideaLis t1c,

103-

and patriotic, but also impractical, impatient at three, and
a 3ain listless. Reinaldo tries to find his future; he t1 ie
to accomplish somet Mi13 worthwhile, but is in too much of a
hurry to let time work for him, forgetting or, perhaps, i3-
noring the fact that very little of value is ever achieved
in a day. Instee d he jumps from one venture to anetlier,
never stay i113 lith one of the along enou-h to see it through
to its completion or even to the pointx nlere success may be
anticipated. Ee is halve, gullible, and easily won over by
parasites. Ins te.nces which or camp, pli y these defects and at

once present this character as a symbol of the failure of

Venezuelan youth to become a wholesome and promising factor

in the country are related in the succeedin3 parrrraans.

Reins ldo' s first undectahinc is a novel he entitles

Raza. It is a work he attempts as a result of the

('1

 

o -- ’
1luence of ideas borr rowed from such 1L riters as senan,

Eb

ozsche, Rousseau, Tolstoi, and Darwin. he eventually
ends the novel, but for some unexplained reason it remains
unpublished. Obsessed by the ideals Which he has incorpora-
ted in his book and not content with theirr1ere fictional
existence, Reinaldo decides to put then into practice on his
plantation. He begins by converting the sugar cane and corn
acreage to wheat. He agrees that it is more noble to plant
the latter, because alcohol which is er tractta ble from.cane
is a scourge to society, while from wheat a.more useful food,
bread, is produced. The replacement of corn is justified by
him with the argument that the cultivation of wheat would
bring with it the improvement of the race, beca11se it is a
fact proved by modern social studies that peoples who are
fed wheat are more capable of developing a culture than those
who are nurtured on corn:

Per otra’parte, . . . considerandolo desde el punto
de vista practice y eor1parandolo ahora con el del maiz,
e1 cultivo del trigo traeria el mejoramiento de la raza,
porque es un heeho comprobado per 103? lodernos estudios
sociales cue los pueblos cue se alimentan con trigo son

mas capaees de cultura que los que se alimentan con
nalz.

On reading Lo§_3nig1msdel_Universo by Haeckel, Rei-

 

l Reinaldo Solar, p. 61.

 

53
naldo becomes a "preacher" of a.Konistic religion. He advo-
cates a return to nature and to the simple, noble, and pure
habits of living. In his enthusiasn he commer ces the con-
struction of a church for the converts to the "new" faith.
Soon, however, he nests and falls in love xvith an extre :aely
attractive country girl, America, and promptly forgets both
the naturalistic religion and the wheat-growing schane. But
America cannot hold his attention for very long, either.
Deserting the girl, as well as his country inheritance, he
moves to Caracas. There he joins a group of student artists
and writers who make it a habit to meet regularly to discuss
the.regeneration of Venezuela through the creation of a na-
tional art comprising all its fields. During one of those
gatherings, Reinaldo Solar reveals the spirit which moves
him.and, incidentally, his own generation:

"Ya es hora de que pensenos seriamente en explorar
esa alma ignorada y hermetica de nuestra raza para ex-
primirle la belleza autentica: la.de su absoluta deso-
lacion. Exploremos nuestro yermo espiritual, mostrando,
desnuda y verdadera, el alma abolida de nuestra raza;
sembremos nues tro dolor, la incurable melancolla de
nuestra incapacidad, para cosechar nuestro arte.”2

Again like so many venezuelans he seeks the satisfac-

tion of his great desirefor adventure and personal recogni-
tion in Spain. Gallegos presents him as a typical Venezuelan.

Es amor a la aventura, al gran esfuerzo de un memento

por incapacidad p ara el pedueno de todos los dlas. Rei-
naldo Solar caracteriza perfectanente este can so na-

 

3 Ibid., 113.

54
cional.3
Following his return from Spain, Reinaldo learns from

a friend tha t a revolution is afoot. Thi comes as a shock

U)

to h"n. In a mood of despair over the unhappy events which
are about to take place in the country, he analyzes the com-
mon debilities of his compatriots which, without realizing
it, he himself characterizes:

"Este mal es incurable. Esta en la sangre. Somos
incapaces para la obra paciente y silenciosa. Queremos
hacerlo todo de un golpe; por eso nos seduce la forma
violenta de la revolucion armada. La incurable pereza
nacional nos impulse al esfuerzo violento, capaz del
her01smo, pero rapido, momentaneo. Despues nos echamos
a dormir, olvidados de todo. [Todo o nada' Pueblo de
aventureros que sabe arries gar la vida, pero que es ab-
solutamente incapaz de consagrerla a una empres a teso-
nera. Al fin nos ouedaremos sin nada. "4

Another example of the debility which Re e1n aldo repre-

C)

sents is his futile part in the organization of

League. On his suggestion and with his assistance an "0r-

. ’ o o o a a o q
zac1on C1v111Sta" 1s Iormed 1n Caracas. Its memoers are

011

Ho

01)

pledged to aid in the improvement of the political and social
conditions of Venezuela. His only wish is to rnrizfor a prur-
perous and healthy nation. But Reinaldo, the prime mover

and leader of this experiment, fails again. The orraniza-
tion slips out of his hands and into those of 1rofessional
politicians. As he did before, when the wheat project came

.1
Y

to nothing, Reinaldo turns to a la.y for solace. On confid-

 

ing to her the aimlessness of his life, "he symbolizes a na-

tio 1 thich has not yet found 1ts proper cours e, and which

.5.)
travels in every direction."5

"Ahora, al cabo de tontos afios gsscados infitiluente
en buscar Ii canino, me encuentro otra vez en la encru-
cijada, (en la perenne oncrucijad.a de la incert1dumhre
deznizziszot iEsto as h rrrole, aurozt :dS arse a si
mismo‘toda la vida, por todos los caniinos, U to encon-
'trarse. Ser una sombra que no sabe quion laj1*0"eet a.
IUna vez cue no srhe ouien la 1ronu10ia1'0

Also symbolic of Venezuelan yalth is Reinaldo' s own

contradiction of his previously sta tel views. Like his

young countrynen seeking easy and quick uccess, he joins,

’1 W

a moment or d.eep C_es pon e11cy after losing all his use ltn,

Ho
:3

a neW'revolutionary movetent aja'net the government. In so
doinv he suffers those nnvs1col and more 1 ills nhich beset
so many of the youn: men of the country‘when they take part
in blood: revolts. he is left with only the memory of shat-
tered dreams then, brol- en in body, he dies in the gzrip of

Gallegos appears to feel that the dominant ethnologi-
cal qroup in Venezuela, the gggtizgd which is still sub-

merged, relatively speahirr will prove to be one of the

Victoria Guanina, in a Trenadorap_wh is 01 ested by

Galle os to repres this:.m1:ed. blood, symboliz s the au-

 

b Dunham, on. cit. (Introduction), xv.

6 Reinaldo Solar, 00-.

56
thor's hope and confidence in the future solution of Venezu-
ela's racial and so ial problems. She is the psycholo: ical

mixture of Hilario Guanipa, a meS'izo, and Adelaida Salcedo

 

a'white aristocrat. I_ila rio himself is a product 01
races, the white and Iidian. His spirit is as noole and

generous as his father’s, on he one “and, a1d on the other,
he Ias inherited the rude feelin3s anL the wild indiviwual-

0 Q n ‘ o r 0 J— O __ q, q o o
ism 01 the Guaniias.’ V1ctor1a's mother Adelalda, a n1ece

the r1 i_ch aristocrats of Caracas are accustomed. She has a
sensitive soul and is a lover of classical music. Victoria
has inherited characteristics of both parents. She has the
fighting spirit, strong individualism, and overbearing dis-
position of her fathe e1 and the hindnes s and tenderness of
her .other.8 As Victoria 3r Is older, however, Adelaida re—
alizes tha her daughter has more of the Guanipa character-
istics:
Pero comenz6 a apuntar la mug 'er y Adelaida vi6 one
5610 iba sacando el cc fir cter del padre: la miaaa inpe-
tuosidad, la vehemencia en el prop6sito, la obstiliaci6n
en logmr rlo y un t mperamento ardiente, una m1n3re apa-
sionada, pabulo facil de la llama sensual cue ya le bri-
llaba en los 0305.9
'ictoria leads a perrectl1r contented and quiet life

on the coffee plantation at Cantarrana. She 13 the happy

 

7 FelipeI; siassiani, "De El Ultim Solar a
co ‘

La Trepadorafl'
Revista I~Iacional de Cultura, 170. 13 (Cara v

. 1959), 185.

 

8 Ibid., 129.

9 La_Trepadora, 115.

 

child of a dotin3 and3 3 nerous 111ther tho anticipates all
her wishes; she is the darlin3 of an adorin3 mother; she is
populara on3 the children of the s: all community. At the
a3e of si1zteen, however, she hears that her proud and aris-
tocratic cousins in Caracas, the Alcoys, are leach 1n3 society
girls, livin3 in a beautiful ma nsion, perhaps the most luxu-
rious in Caracas. This new world, replete with seductive
pleasures and excit in 3 aiv ventures, 1or the first time awak-
ens in her a tenptin3 desire to break out of her sheltered
and circumscribed sphere and seeh the ostentatious prestige
of social prominence enjoyed by11er cousins in the ole ss-
conscious city of Caracas. Obsessed by this desire, she is
finally permitted to visit her grandmother in Caracas.

As a nestiza, however, she is sli3 J1ted by“ the aristo-
cratic class of Caracas, includin3 her own relatives, but
impelled by an overpowering wish to prove her equality, she
determines to marry one of their set. Opposed by this prej-
udiced and snobbish caste, She erperiences bitter humilia-
tions. Unbowed, Victoria does everythin3 1mi in her power
to obtain social acceptance and happiness. This she achieves
when she wins the love of Nicolas del Casal and obtains the
final victory which he Guanip shad sou3ht lor three 3ener-
ations.

Victoria represents the stru33l1n3 mestizo who’al-

though conscious of his social and racial back3round, is de-

termined to obtain social recO3ni' ion, presti3e, and happi-

 

58

ness. She is des ribed as "a strange mixture of rebellion
and arrogance, tenderness and emotionalism."9aAs her name
implies, Victoria represents the Latin-American nestizo try-
ing to find his level in a society hostile to his kind; she
symbolizes the victory--the attainment of equality in soci-
ety-~of the mestizo over the white aristocrat as Gallegos
would have it. Here the author reveals, by implication, his
faith in the future of Venezuela:

Los brazos de Modesta estrechando a Jaime fueron lo
primeros brotes de aquella trepadora silvestre que ven1a
enroscahdose en torno al viejo arbol de la.familia ilus-
tre, brotes que ya eran gajos vigorosos cuando sus bra-
zos se apoderaron de Adehaida, gajos que ya florecian en
el amor de Victoria triunfante. Lo mejor de la sangre
one corria por sus venas lo tomo por asalto modesta do,
Jaime del Casal; con el resto de aquella, con la porcion
impetuosa, savia de la trepadora, se alimentaron su am-
bicion y su amor: e1 zarpazo sobre Cantarrana y la pre-
sa hecha en mnjer mas noble de aquella familia; pero aun
faltaba el hombre y ésta habia sido la conquista de Vic-
toriao

Dofia Barbara probably,r the best known of Gallegos'

(1'

ch81 acters stands out not because of her part in the ,lo ,

I

but because she symbolizes the barbarity of the virgin.Latin-
American land. Like the plains, she has qualities akin to
the savage, is beautiful and terrible at the same tine.
Her origin is lost in the dramatic mystery of the un-
vilized regions of Venezuela. "Deznas alla del GnnaViéhe,
de mas alla del Cinacuro, de mas allad Mel ieta' De allé vi-

no la tragica guaricha."ll Born most 3. robably of a white ad-

.-

 

11 Dona Barbara, 26-27.

59
venturer and an Indian woman, she develops into a beautiful
mestiza. At the age of fifteen while travelling on a small
boat, she met her initial misfortune when several river pi-
rates, in order to fulfill their immoral designs on her,
murdered the youth who was her first love. Because of this
experience, she becomes a hater of men and does everything
within her power to destroy them in revenge for the wrong
done her.

Doha Barbara "is more a s11bol of the irresistible
power of natural forces than a real person, vividly as she
is drawn."12 She personifies nature when Gallegos par"

lels her characteristics with those of the Orinoco and Guai-

El Orinoco es un rio de ondas leonadas; el Guainia
las arrastra negras. En el corazon de la selva a.guas
de aquel se reunen con las de éste; mas por largo trecho
Lcorren sin mezclarse, conservando cada cual su peculiar
coloracion. A51, en el alma de la mestiza tardaron vari-
os afios en confundirse la hirviente sensualidad y el te-
nebroso aborrecnniento al varon.

Lorenzo Barquero, a landowner who abandons his law
career because of her, is the woman's first victim. After
skillfully appropriating the lands of the Barquero family,
Doha Barbara refuses to marry Lorenzo and, abandoning him

and their infant daughter, marisela, she launch es into a

 

-- . l -, . a ,
13 harriet de Onis, lne Gol L"den land, an anthology of
Latin American Folklore in Li te ra ure chw'fork, 1948), 280.

 

 

13 Dofia Barbara, 52.

 

60

s of the

.L1

llanos in this woman Vfl , havin3 learned m1e secrets of

witchcraft from the Indians Wltfl whom she had lived during

or by civin3 thaa a oever13- made of special Indian herbs.
". . . Todos le revelaron sus secretes, y a vuelta de poco
la mas groseras y ext ravrraatc" supersticiones "eina1an on
C 3. 8.1.7. :18.
superntt ural peters she has a Socio, re3arded oy the towns-
people as the devil himselr, who often reveals coming events

of 1n1o1‘: ce to her.

Ella se creia :ealmente osis tida de OuClCluo sabre-
__turales y a menudo hablaba de un "Socio" cue la h.abia
librado de la mnerte, una noche, erce1dientolo la vela
para rue se €03“‘€l Lara a ticzzpo one pe:1e”1'1:1"1 en su 31:1-
oi3a cion un leon pagado para aseslnarla y rue desde
entoz1ces, se le aparecia a acon ejcrle lo cue deoieia
hacer en las situzciones lificiles o a revel rlo los
acontecimiento os lejanos o futuros que le inteiesara co-
'.100 1. Seaun ella, era el pzmo io mila3roso Uazareno de

Achacuas; pero lo llamaba simplemente y con la mayor na-
turalidac: "el Socio" y deraqui se origino la leyenda
de su pacto con el dia blo.10
She also typifies the strong superSt it ious element in
the llano when, after failing to cLaJ1 Doctor Santos Luzardo

into snowlssion, she attemp as to humble him through witch-

craft. Tyin3 around her waist a cord equal to Luzardo's

14

t—l
C7
Ho
{1.
C]
PD
.

 

H

(.71
H
OJ
H o
p.
0
Ca
fl
0

 

61
height, she repeats: "Con dos te niro, con tres te ato: con
el Padre, con el Hijo y con el Espiritu Santo. SHonbre! cue
vo te vea.nés hunilde ante mi que Cristo ante Pilatos."l6

Freiiting from the fear which her reputation inspires
in the superstitious plainsmen and from the power of her
stolen wealth, Doha Barbara in a short tnne becomes one of
the richest landowners of the llanos. This savage and beau-
tiful woman permits no obstacle to bar her pat: and employs
any metLod which will gain ner objective. Besides being a
briber and seducer she is also a cold-blooded nurderess.
When she has no further use for her paramours, she either
has then killed by one of her bodyguards or murders then
herself, as in the case of Coronel Apolinar, a politician

who has helped her obtain legal papers for her stolen prop-

CD

rties with the expectation of getting his share of the

. * - ’ o q o
p01ls. dhen Dofia Barbara no longer needs his legal adv1ce

m

a-d has spent all his money on her farm, she suddenly causes

}-

him to disappear. After getting him drunn, she pretends
that she is going to bury a horse according to the supersti-
tious tradition of the llano. Then the merciless caciea
stabs the intoxicated Apolinar in the back, so that he falls
in the same ditch in which the animal has been placed and is

buried with it. *a devoradora g3 hombres, as she is called

III—

 

by Lorenzo Barquero, like the llano, never forgives. In a

 

16 Ibid., 211.

 

62
conversation with his cousin Santos, Lorenzo brings out the
-~ ’ 1
resemblance between Uofia Barbara and the llano:

o ’ no
"Esta tierra no perdona. Tu tamoien has oido ya la
llamada de la devoradora de hombres. ’Ya te vere caer
entre sus brazos, Cuando los abra, tu no seras sino una
pil rafa . . . Hiiralaz Espejismo por donde quiera
alli se ve uno; alla otro. La llanura esta llena de es-
jismos."17
o- ’ _
Line the llano, Dofia Barbara has her calm moods. in
a fleeting instant of self-pity the wretched woman admits to
the young nan that her past would have been different if she
had found a person of his caliber during early womanhood.

Santos, however, feels only contempt for "la devoradora" and

also identifies her with the llano:
~ ’ o 0
"La voz de Dona Barbara, flauta del demonic androgino
que alentaba en ella, grave rumor de selva y agudo la-
mento de llanura, tenia un matiz singular, hechizo de
los hombres que la Oian; . . . aouella alma . . . mez-
cla de lo agradable y de lo atroz, interesante, sin du-
de, como lo son todas las monstruosidades de la natura-
leza.”18

.. a- ’ . .. .

When it becomes clear to Dona Baroara that sne cannot
subdue Santos, she loses interest in life. Deserted by her
peons and friendless, she determines to turn her back upon
the scene of her failure. Kounting her horse, she disappears
into the wilds of the river region, whence she came origi-

nally. In so doing she fulfills a philosopiy which she has

 

17 Ibid., 89.

 

18 Ibid., 149.

63
often expressed: "all thin3s return to their place of ori-
gin."19 At this point, her withdrawal or death is symbolic
of barbarism, w: ch retrocedes when faced with ciVilization.

"The psycholo3ical study the author makes of Doha
Barbara is genuine literature. She is not a pleasant
creature but she at least earns the sympathy of the
reader as she finally succumbs not to her opponent or to
circumstances, but to herself. Her character has all
the inevitableness of He mlet's ."20

Santos Luzardo, an educated young aristocrat and

owner of the large neighboring ranch, is one of the most out-
standing characters created by Gallegos. He symbolizes the

'9 J.

flab triumphs over barbar-
21

O

ivilizin influence in the llano t
ism. Santos constitutes a solution, a position, a thesis.
He is the only man who is not bentto Dona Barbara's will.
When he returns to his estate, he learns that the notorious
Dona Barbara and her friend Mr. Danger have stolen his
cattle and part of his land, and have corrupted his employ-
ees. He attempts to settle his disputes with Dona Barbara
according to law, but becomes disgusted and gives up hen he
realizes the utter dishonesty of the courts. Still deter-
mined, however, to regain what rightfully belongs to him,
but by pacific procedure, he resolves to continue his ef-

forts.

 

19 Ibid., 290.

g ’ n o
20 "Dona Barbara," Boston Even1nngranscriit (August

21 Juan.Marinello, "Tres Novelas Ejemplares," Litera-
tura Hispano-Americana Ufiexico, 1957), 143-63.

 

64
he begins by fencing his p1 oper ty to prevent further
loss of cattle. In the llano, where might still prevails
over right, the habit of appropriating neighbors' cattle
vhen found on one's estate is a common occurrence. Santos
believes that if every proprietor would provide his ranch
with fences, it would not only fostera 71101 e nei 3;hoorly
feeling among the ranchers, but also stimulate and improve
the breeding of better animals:
"Todo esto per1udica el fo11ento de la cria porcue
destruye el estir:1ulo, y todo eso desapa receria con la

ooli5acion cue las leyes de llano les impusieran a los
propietarios de cercar sus hates."22

discharges his untrustworthy overseer Balbino Paiba, another
of Dona Barbara’s victims, and saunrng personal charge of
the ranch, he introduces pr05ressive methods in agriculture
and animal husbandry.

Another improvement envisioned by Santos, but one

‘ O

whicn is impossible of immediate execution, 13 the elimina-

tion of illiteracy and. ignorance among the people of the

llano. Marisela, tl1e rorsaken child or the ambitious Done

{—1.
[—10
O
:9
cl‘
H.
O
:3
O
to
D‘
(D
(D
521
:25
O
C
:11
O
C
CL
(D
p;
d
(D
0
d
H
CD
0

Barbara, is the person
Santos sets an example that points to the
solution of their problen by progressing rapidly with her
education. From an a most primitive state, Karisela is

transformed into a well mannered and poised young lady, ca-

 

Dofia Barbara, 102.

 

65

pable of independent thou3ht and of assuming the responsi-
bility of a home. Santos realizes the radical change which

has occurred within her then she attempts to comfort him

a

after slaying
is succes
murder:

Era una luz

del. -arisela, la claridad de la intuicion en
gencia desoastada por él, 1a centella de la

minando el jui
a1 animo ato1m
la suya no pod
sino descubrir
bondad de su t
also

he rep

to put

l
thorities who are bribed by 305 a Barbara

wishes and cover h

)

onest offi

6

 

wh i ch

sful in convinci

an end to the existin5 corruption

cials and Dona

she'could not prevent. Her argument

.1...
DJ 0.1.

the

him that he i not 5uil

en el alma
la inteli-
bondad ilu-
cio para llevar la palaora tranquilizadora
entado, la obra—-su verdadera obra, porque

’ o s ’
cue el m1smo nabia encendido

ia ser e: :terninar el mal a san5re y fuego,
, aeui y alla, las fuentes ocultas de la

N
C»?

ierra y de su 5ente . . .

resents a regenerating force when he tries

of the local au-

satisfy her

er crimes. In his fight against the dis-
Barbara, his civilizin5 efforts

are thwarted, however, and Luzardo is forced to see“ justice
without the aid of the la”. ith revolver in hand, he
tarts by obliging three Doha Bar oara's hirelin5s , one of
whom he wounds, to burn down a hut (La Casa deliiacm lillal)
that has served as a dividin5 line bet*een their properties.
The witch has been moving this nut back and forth pith the
purpose of 1nc ea sin3 her own posseSS1ens.
Slinfcd by the dream of eliminating barbari 1, Luzar—
do is once more21ade a victrn of the violence that rei,ns in
25 1111 102.

 

,._.1

ef'ense Dona

66

ara's ‘odva

U

1:
barb

for his own bru-

tal behavior, thich reall” sas the re :.ult of the circum-
stances he has hai to face. Later when he is convinced that
it use not his bullet on that of his faithful neon, Faja-
rote, who k led he an, Santos recovers his spirit o1 nope
aid romress, and continues his endeavors to bring some en-
li5ntennent into the llano.
tor ulo Gallegos presents the co :1ilict of the barbaric

and civilizint “o1ces of the Venezuelan plains in tn se two

w - -~ - 1", ~ . —1 -
symbolic c1cra0ters: Dona narberc 51a 8:;tes LUZCELO. She
lctter obviously represents justice, ‘odorn cultuie, and the

5:11111 11 11
Lurou1a, no ence,

ta: ed bemjty 1.'.-'Zé-..ich exist in the llano itself, is oro bl;r
the test creation of aalle5os' pen. Lo other haracter pro-
duced by a Spanish-American can stand beside her in strength,
bre eadth, r final "oratory.04

The adventurous as well as intere""1ne 711G of the
Venezuelan plainsnen 1s vivilly nortraycd in Cantaelaro.

Florentine Coronado, whose nickname nrovid

.—

 

novels, symbolizes each and every lle ncro
is the typical nomadic ninstsel The ”“150”
ilace sineing LFUMOV1 ed couplets nu pose

 

 

J- '1
Uni-A.

es e tle o; the

_‘

Venezuela . lie

from
sses natural

£1

 

n .n .W _ ’ . ..-,. . . r
e4 "1 na Deroar., Bee on JvCfllfig Transc: pt (Au5ust
2“, 1951), 1.

67

ab 1

.1.
U

H-
Ho

1 to compos e ver ses, using the lenrua e che racteristic

-
U

V

ML peeple of the plains. Cantaclaro enjoys his s ngs and

O
f.

I*

s at his best when, in the contests which are cus to:1ary in

O O O or—
the reg1on, he is pitted a; in st rival s1ngers.“o These

9)

lines are illustrative of his compositions

"Desde el llano adentro vengo
1ollendo este can utar.

Cartaclni Ig1e han llanaco

Quicn s atreve a replicar?"26

Cantaclaro, like the people he represents, is a lover

.0
.L

0 adventure. Superstitions an incuisitive concerning mys-

teries which attract his atteLtion, he is also daring, cou-
rageous, loyal, tolerant, understanding, generous, and kind-
ly. At the sane this, he is fond of intoxicating beverages
and has a mischievous weakness for women, albeit his amours
are not of long duration. This couplet sums up the min-
strel's philosophy restrain" the lat ter:

"Boy te cuiero y b.oy te olvido
pa recordartezmanana,

Cue si me quedo contigo

Yo pierdo y tu nada gs nas. ”87

Ano cher defective ouality of Cantaclaro's character

.1

is his lack of ambition ano absence of concern for the fu-

 

25 It has been said'thet without doubt he is "the
best lyrical here" that Galleros he s created. Leo Ulrich,
"La Invencion en la hovele" Qevista hacional de Cultura, Lo.
58 ( Caracas, kayo-Junie, 1945), 113. ——'_.

 

26 Cantaclar 9.

 

27 Ibid., 10.

68
ture. Living only from day to day he spends freely and oftel
wastefully for idle pleasures whatever he happens to earn.
"Deje1e se quir cantandito mis canciones y enam.orando a his
indias."28 Finally, \Ihen Cs1ntaclaro realizes that some-
thing should be done to help improve life in Venezuela, he
also fi.ds the s as outlet arrives at the srne method of

n's practical disease that cc-

0
D
d'
,0.)
H.
t5
H.
L’j
}
{J
O
C.
H
O
c+
O
C
,.3
CD
{3
(J
C L
[—10
O

ours to somai'r of Gallegos' frustrated characters: revolu-
tion. his resolve to contribute actively to the country's
welfare is firm:
"ISe acabo Contacla ro' Y se acabaron los anorcitos y
o o o _. ’ .
los Viages s1n rumbo.. . . hav que hacer algo mas serio,
Florentine. . . .Hay q_ue hacer also para que en esta
tierra un Juan e1 veguero no tenaa tres hi 1'03 y una Inu-
jer v se 1e mueran todos, de hanore, J de fiebres y de
brujos . . . 'Y de jefes civiles, como el cue arruino a
Juan e1 veguero . . . HaJ que hacer a130, hlorenti
no 0 O O 29
The e: :istence of a large mulatto population in Vene-
zuela side by side with a dominant and, on the whole, preJu-
diced white group still poses a serious and challenging
problem for all its people. This has not gone by unnoticed.
Among others Gallegos, deeply conscious of the threat pre-
sented by it and.e1:treme1y anxious to contribute to its dis-
sipation and eventual elimination, has forcefully brought us

face to face with its breathing reality in the well-known

novel Pobre Segre.

 

aclaro, 156.

 

69

In the chief character of this moving story, Pedro
:iguel, is centered the crux of the situation in which the
mulatto finds himself. The author has drawn him as a repre-
sentative of all his kind. Belonging to neither the white
nor the Uegro groups and confronted with the necessity of
finding "his place," he is embittered by his mixed blood.
Ignorant and depressed, he experiences great difficulty in
finding a way out. As he says, "Yo no soy un hombre, sino
un arrebato de todo un pueblo, que se esta arrojando en bra-
zos de la.nuerte, por no encontrar e1 canino de su vida."30

Pedro Miguel is the son of the negro slave Negro‘halo
and the white aristocrat Ana Julia Alcorta, daughter of the
owners of a large hacienda. He is described as having a
swarthy compl rion, slightly rough but expressive features,
dark curly hair, and beautiful black eyes. He is quiet and
reserved and.at the same time is ca1able of a deep anger to
which he gives vent with a blind violence born of frustra—
tion, disappointment, and confusion.

Pedro Miguel is not savage at heart. He can be loyal,
kind, generous, and selfless, but the environment into which

he has been thrust by nature does not receive him with a

I
I

smiling welcome. From birth he is a. outcast. Since his

own blood-relations disown him, he is laced in a foster

l

tude to—

[—1-

hone. Tlis act is regresentative o: the white att

 

00 Pobre Negro, 529.

 

 

70
ward the mulattos. They are not good enough. They are ex-
cluded, ostracized, and "outlawed." These people are
thought of as beings of a lower category, who should be sub-
missive and obedient to the wishes of their betters. But
Pedro Miguel, like his mulatto brethren, is not satisfied
with the status to W1ich he has been relegated by the group
in control of government, society, and the economy of the
country. IEe hates the white man and does not bother to hide
his feelings. It might a nest be said that he hates himself
for being caught in a mob not of his making and from which
there is no escape.

The protagonist not only symbolizes the social and
economic conditions of the white and Negro mirto, but is the
personification of a race question as well. he is not the
end product. The combination of the two races in him is not
a final solution, and his union with a Caucasian is a sug-
gestion, as it were, by the author for the possible healing
of a "sore" on the soul of Venezuela. It represents a first

step toward what Gallegos considers a desirable goal.

CHAPTER‘VI

IDEALISLI - REALISZE - COSTEERISIO - FOE-11.023

 

A reading of Gallegos' iovels reveals that each one
of them is written with a strong central theme which forms
the core of ene<xfthe author's ideals. They represent his
a most religious desire to promote the social, political,
and economic welfare of his fath rland.

In Reinaldo Solar, for example, Galleges' ,urpese is

 

to make the Venezuelan youth conscious of Reinalde's failure
in the intellectual and political life of Venezuela so that

they may profit from.his erperiences. In creating Reinaldo,
Gallegos was not interested in the individual himself as the
protagonist of his novel, but as a representative of the Ve-
nezuelan young manhood which does not tane advantage of its

‘intellectual ability and training in order to promote the

.1

future well-being of its country. Instead they wander from

g

ctivity to another, expending their en

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m

and apparently are unable to extricate thanselves fren.the
internal and external conflicts in which tnev are involved.
Their resolutions are made in vain, ;or, because of their

lack of will power and perseverance, they seldom appea: to

reach their logical conclusions.

Ca
F].
O
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(.71
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heinalde's patrie perhaps that of Galle-
gos. Although the author is conscious of the political cor-

' .L. ‘

ruptien which permeates the country, he still believes there

. .1. .: 4-: -., ..-. .1. ., :1, - .__ ° 4..-
are some good and honest citizens Lioso talent and oatriotlc

.. " J-J— - 1‘ . fl - ---...-. .. - . —. -
zeal can 1ahe a better Venezuela lo: lunare Qenera.lons. an

lish a Civil Association. Ly its creation h hopes to

found an ormanizotion to vhi n able one Vl”tTOUS citizens

may belon: and T1086 sole purpose is common labor for the

.--.. . ”Or,
cannon U011?

(D
o

'7 s 5' a r‘ .Q N ' («"1 ‘1: H .
Sundaiia una’asoCiaeion su1 belerls, espeCie de
hernandal nee-mistica, cuvo lcmi- seria "Iaeer.?atria,"
lolnadu or honores de buena voluntad d_e todos los oii-

"I
_ o.

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) 5‘11““

‘3
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cios, turn

_ 3 ran; s y aiu-eules, cue e - viesen
di- pues tea a car
1 11 _

stu
. st- c~- 11, - . :~v~“q- ~»o1-
IJUO uCiLCi .J-f) CLCbGl .._ LL41. U.L.. LC--..U|;._.....
'tesonezrtnnrte, c lOZ'-t?O del
nrivada, ' r as ni bas

\)

Po
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.L-:., "n-
U.’ L]- lgest; Ll..—

I
J

{a o {J
o :-
Hora
Os

f... J

?.
radio de sn a - s - .s _ t ,
tardas codiCi s, a fin de ._ue toias los fori s de la vi-
' 1108. neciona- iuesen fecu nclas, utiles, sanas, y

Gallegos, defender of the nestizo, deionscraues in a

{-71 1A 0 r. o J- “153 ‘1 o . ’ ‘. 4‘ A ‘ o N.
ire4adora his oes1re b0 link a solution lo: the all,

 

this national grou.. newness-.,tive or his answer to the

problen is the marriage of Nicolas del Casal and Victoria
Guanipa, t. IQ of the principal characters in th revel. The

ticularlv the neatizo, reoareless or their or gin. Qne unlal

 

in W'dloek r these voun" nee pie is a triinr h 0: social jus-

 

 

 

75
In Dona Barbara the nuzlerou s efforts made by the

orin: the adva ages of mod-

\J

young doctor Santos Luzardo to
ern civilization and technology to the ll 10s represent the
author's hope of raising those regions to as level of the
urban centers. he " euplifies the ideal an
fonn so dear to Gallegos.2

In the story, Gallegos describes the conflict between

the p imitive and brute culture of the prairies as personi-

*‘3

ed

1...].

Ho
H.

n its chief character, Dona Barbara, CUL the modern re-
f01m element represented by Doctor Luz ardo. rs the plot un-
folds and comes to its logical conclusion, the reader may ob-
serve with satisfaction the mastery of civilization over

barbarian. This new influence in the llano may he essecial-

 

ly noticed in the change which comes over1.arisela as she do—
velops from a primitive and ragged creature to a well-

nannered and poised young lady. . similar tranSiornation is
evident in the improvements effected on Santos' ranch by his

own exemplary actions and his victory over t11e Wicked and

hard Dofia Barbara. Gallegos shows us here how bachwardness

H°

and evil can be replaced by progress and just ce.

The author's idealistic hope for the advent of twen ti-

0
c+
O

eth-century civilization in this region and his desir-

‘5')
1

s evident at the

*‘S
1‘“
l 4'
cl-
[—1.

carry the reader along in the sane s.

1w
Ho

conclusion: "ILlanura vene olanat Prop 0 a

’

I . J. o 1 q o o _g_
20 cono lo fue para la nazana, tierra ae horizon es abiertos

cl-

 

3 Dunhan, pp, cit., Introduction, xvi.

74

donde una raza buena aha sufre v esnera . . .
: 9 J ..

w-
I

Pobre 1e ro also presents for our consideration an'

 

ideal of a social nature--the asshnilation of races. it is
not prolosed as the impractical answer of a starry-eyed vi-
sionary, but as a long-run and necessary solution to a prob-
lem which through continuous adjustment may contricute to the
progress of Venezuela. The prejudice of today is contrasted
with the victory of racial tolerance and equality in the re-
mance of Pedroiuiguel, an illegitimate negro, and Luisana, a
member of a high-ranking white family. The social and eco-
nomic gap bridged is a great one, and on the surface the
marriage appears to be impractical. This disregard of logic,
however, may be excused on the ground that it is simply a
technique designed to impress the reader. The union of
these characters, whose origin is vastly different and un-
equal, is symbolic of the union Gallegos appears to believe
is essential if his country is to solve what he deems to be
its most important problem. ‘
Gallegos' idea of true democracy is displayed in the
example of the younger generat tion as it is pictured in g;

Forastero. A group of students, among them Elie Eonagas,

 

,. o c . . y_. ., . .
nartin Campos, and Anibal rereira, in a patriotic aeSire to
eliminate corruption in the politics of their community and
to improve the lot of the poor qu under;rivile , ed inhabit-

ants, revolt against the dislionest and ent renched political

 

'7

a Dona Barbara, 29

O3

 

75
gangsters. These young men, imbued by the author with those
martyr-like qualities which make them willing to accept the
adverse consequences of their acts rather than to submit, un-
fortunately end up in prison. There is no victorv here. It
is an appeal to youth to awaken to their responsibility and
to put their energy to work for their birthright.

Another instanceo th scall to youth is the story

of Renota.Kontiel in Sobr ela Mi aha Tierra. It is the tale

 

 

u.

of a young lady who gives up the comforts and pleasures of
modern life and takes up a primitive existence in a back
country of Venezuela, the Guajira region, for the sole pur-
pose of assisting backward Indians who are badly in need of
aid. She assumes the burden, not as an escape from her for-
mer life, but as a pat triotic and selfles s du y toward her
countrymen. She hopes that her ei fort s will contribute to
the gradual improvement of these heretofore neglected
people.

Through Remote, Gallegos exemplifies the spirit and

direction which should govern the new generations OI

J

zuelans. He .oints the way and if the goal envisioned ap-

‘

pears too remote, it may be overlooked as an excess of en-
thusiasn motivated by the most sincere hope for his countryks

future.

Although Galle; es works are the interpretations of

l s idealistic approach to the problems of the people 01 his

‘ J-

H-

country, he presents a de~ree of realism not only in

the landscape, the customs, and the problems but also in t1e
creation of his characters who are representatives of the va-
rious social and racial groups of Venezuela. His Characters
are a sampling of the qualities of the people when he treats
in his work . They may be considered as symbolic as Gfiiral-
des' Don Segundo Sombra and Cervantes' Don Quijo 5e, bec use
they describe a people and.embody characteristics which will
probably outlive many: generations.

In every novel, Gallegos has penned realistic descrip-
tions of the Venezuelan 5eograp ., including actual names of

ities, towns, forests and rivers, as well as historical

0

acts such as the eiancipation of slaves durin5 the middle

:5

f the nineteenth century and the discovery of Venezuelan

0

oil during the second decade of this century.

The descriptive realism of the land can be appreci-
ated in the followin3 pass age of Caneina where the author
pictures the beginning of a tempest in the Guaranpin forest

not from a lyrical but from an objective point of view.

Lo f1undio todo y de golpe el estallido de un rayo,
simultaneos el relanpa o des lunar mute y el trueno ensor-
decedor. Vacilaron las innumerables columnas, crujieron
las verdes cupulas, se arrenolinaron las lividas tinie-

n.

blas, se unieron arriba los bordes del huracan o.esnele-
nando la fronda intrincada y la vertifginos a espiral pe-
netro en el boscue, levanto una tronba de hoje s secas,
5iro en derredor del homore, desnudo, siloando, aullando,
ululando y luego se roripio en cien pecuenos renolinos
que se dispers aron en todas las direcciones. Y se des-

5ajo el chubasco f1:'c-1f;oroso.‘1L

 

 

77
The realistic p1 icture of a dilapidated ranch in the
deserted llano is presented as the home of a poor sick nan
who is a victim of the political corruption of Venezuela.

Era una choz a despaterrada, en parte caney, en parte
vivienda con aori3o de techo de palma y Ujaredes de bar-
ro. Bejo el cobertizo aoierto al viento sabanero, que
aouella terde no corria: un chincl1orro mu 3riento, ne-
3ras les cabuyeras de chinches repletas de la san ;re sin
substancia one 18 chupaoan al dueflb de aouella yacija;

. . . Detras del rancho, tres cruces de nadcra sembUadas
entre el monte, un topochal en torno a una charca , un
rastrojo de yucas raqUiticas. Y la sabana por todas
partes desierta, innensa y' Uelancolica bajo la luz es-
pesa con que se desangraba el sol degollado por el hori-
zonte, entre la bruma de la hmnareda.

Juan, Whose home the old ranch is, is described as an

d anenic indivixual whose bare feet are a nest

:11
Q

e

P.
('1'

831610

a

eas. Also his hair is packed with lice and is

.-

Pb
'4

of jigger
covered by an old, dirty hat. He is in such a dep101o ole
condition that there is no spark of in elli3ence in his fa-
cial expression. In Juan we h We a vivid exanple 01 the 13-

norant and forgotten peasant.

In Pobre Hegro Galle3os refers to the reality of the

 

’\

11s' 01 M10 al figures and lacts as

_,a

past by using the names of

(’6‘

L
0
.0

-e chapter "La Furia." Kanes

Ho

well as geographical nrnes n
like Araure, Guanare, Santa Ines, Ezequiel Zamora, whom he
compares to "El caudillo Boves," are inserted into his treat-
ment of the civil war which occurred in the middle of the

nineteenth century over the issue of $ederalism.

 

 

- o . ... 0’ q-— ~3 I v -
6 Leo Ulr1ch, WLa 1nvenc1on en la :ovela," RCV1SUa Ja-
gfional de Cultu1a, lo. 59, aracas (Jul"— —LU ust, 19é85,35.

78

Representative descriptions 01 this cruel conflict
appear in the novel, picturing the brutality of the soldiers
who satiate til elnselves with the prnnitive d_esires of rilling,
'looting, and raping. The soldiers' behavior is illustrated
in Commanderifioyano, a federalis twho, together with a num-
ber of his men, enters the grocery store of a young wa r wid-
ow. Accompanied by her twelve-year—old son,ixanuelito, she
waits on the soldiers, servi1g them free drinks. But
content with this they violate the poor woman in the pres-
ence of her tearful boyu Eorrified by the crime, the child
takes his life by hanging.

Doha B5. rbara, one of Gallegos' most realistic novels,

 

J.

offers true descriptions not only of 1e llano iUS elf and
its activities and customs, but also of its characters, in-
cluding Lorenzo Barquero, Dona Bar rbara, and Santos Luzardo,
xfllo have alreafi: bccn introduced in preceding chapters. It
should be noted that this Earquero, one 01 Dofia B5r ara's
victhns, is also known as "El Lspectro de la BCrCuer na. "7

irst hidden in his food

w

He is the pr- " of alcohol 1C.1ich, at

- q“ ’ ‘ - 0 1 O O ’1‘.
by Dona barbara, gradually cla1ns him as an alconolic. 11-
nally, when she has dcspoiled him of all his wealth and Le

is of no more use to her, tie cspairinf; harquero almost lit-

Ho

f?”

":1

U)

erally drowns h s 1? with liquor n order to escape his

past. Gallegos describes him thus:

 

’7 Dofi'a 331.1"

 

79

Swaainente flaco y.macilento, una verdadera ruins 1i-
siolo:ica,ten1a los cs bellos arises y todo cl aspecto
de un viejo, aunque apenas pasaba de los cuarenta. Las
manos, largas y des cc rnadas, le tenblaban conti1uanente
y en el fondo de las pupilas verdinegras le brillaba un
fulgor de locura. Doblegaba la cabeza cual si llevase
un yugo a la cerviz; sus facciones, os1 cone lo actitud
de todo su etierpo, revel aban un pro:€undo des1adejaniento
de la voluntad v tenia la boca de1. onnada por el rictus
de las borraeheras somerias

Hany'conments have already been made concerning the

$39

ctivities of the llano as described by Gallegos, for e:-
~riple, his accounts of dangerous crocodile hunts, horse
breaking, rodeos,and song contests. Kothing more, perhaps,

need be saide bout them. There is, however, an excellent

0 1 ° . 1 ’
and realistic description at the conclus1on of Doha Barbara

 

nhicl merits some attention. It portrays the vain efiort
of a calf to escape the cruel coils of a large swamp snake.

The struggle occu11s as Done B5m1o ra, on her departure from
the plains, reaches the edge of a marsh, where she suddenly
reins in her horse. Before her is the horrifying spectacle
of a calf vita its under lip hold by a powerful water snake,
the areater 1art on whose zody'renains submerged in the
rurhy waters. Lith its hooves sunk in the liquid -a1th, its

- ~11 —’ 4- -r-1 .
eyes unite 1rom

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neck contracted by

strong contraction of r the snake

t
berins to stretch and brin s its rooust body OUb of the water

J

,

and the calf retreats, fiGAt n: to br ah the hold on her low-

 

 

BO

er lip. But then the rent ile again cons tricts its body

sli htly, and the victim, already fatigued, gives in and al-
lows itself to be dragged by the victor into the S\!8::13.AS
the helpless animal sinks, it bellows horribly until the pn-
trid water silences its pitiful death cries. The terrorized
birds fly and scream without ceasing. Doha Bérbara raiains
unmoved. The birds flee, silence ag—in is king, and the
agitated swamp recovers its habitually morbid calm.

“einaldo Solar lik ewise cor ntains a number of realis

 

tic descriptions. Among the most typical is the Easter-Day
public performance there Reinaldo on horseback is to prove
his courage, ability, and strength by fellin3 a bull by its
tail. The only wide street of the town is 01 owded with
clanorous people who cheer the bull 113hters while the na-

tive joronos and Spanish pasodobles are being played. Rei-

 

naldo hopes to win the prized trophy in order to shine in

. ’ . . .
his beloved America Pena, a country 31r1, and

*‘b

the eyes 0
to gain the respect of her brother Guaicapuro. All the con-
testants are on their horses behind the cull tryin3 to grasp
its tail. There seen to be an endless number of ands reach,
ing out at once. hoaies ostle and push each other in a

cloud of dust. Finally Reinaldo succeeds in graspinr the

‘

L

g
i

civeted tail and with one deft, firn twist throws the beast

on its back. The crowd goes wild:

“,4...’ 1° - ..,1 1 '1
Le. cri1te11a se nizo eisO1eeceaora; el potro, enarae-
cido, se iba ta sca1do el ireno. Zeinaldo, perdida la

concienci ade Sl misno, lle; :0 sin contenerlo casi, hasta

81

el extren'o de la calle. A pocos po.sos d.e la talanquera

recobro las riendas, y empinandose sobre los estribos,

con un golpe de consumado jinete, pa :0 en $000 a la bes—
tia . . . IEravo, neinaldo' [Br vtsimo' [Asi se tunba

comp afiero. ' 9

The custom s of the peoples of Venezuela have also

3.:

le 8:0 8, They 1 ave not only served the

.4

been of interest to Ga
author as a vehicle for interpreting the lives of Venezu-
elans, but have enr hed the literary value of his novels.
'Each racial or social group has its typical customs, which
are treated by Gallegos with varying degrees of eznphasis.

A part of Canaima.and Sobre la Iisma Tierra is con-

 

cerned tith the native customs of Venezuelan Indians. One
very interesting example found in Canaina is a description
of one of the festive celebrations of the Guarauna Indians.
_hese natives who live south of the Orinoco in a forest ad-
jacent to the lower reaches of the Cuyubini River produce an
alcoholic beverage from the Yucca plant which provides them
with the spirit aid energ y needed to survive the strenuous
and prolonged physical activities they are called upon to
perform during the course of t eir festival.

For the ritual dance, which commences at lightf all,

1

the chief is absent. His place is taken by the oldcst men-

1

her of the tribe, whose duty it is to play tie maracuita.

In addition he pres ides over the festival in which all neigh-
boring tribes take an active part. By the time the dancing

 

9 “einaldo Solar, '76.

 

82

1s about to begin every member of the tribe, includ in 3the

(.0

women, i heavily under the .1‘fluence of aloe el. Uhen the

moon appears on the horizon, the chie1's representative

closes his eyes and_, cm1 nting "he, he he," commences to shake

attnpting to pre-

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the dance, he strikes the ground with his righ hand. Im-
nadiatel'r the celeb 1:-ts fern a circle around him and, nev-

inm 1n a leW'and monotonous cadence, shout repeated y, as

the ugh in reply to the Lzzw ician's enant, "IJa, 3a. Gable-

I
I

’ 1 . o_:.o- -1 _ :V __
cot" In the course of this CCJlVibJ -any shed tears the cry

C
{.1

aloud. Th author apnears to indicate that the latter is a
manifestation of their sorrow because of their subjection and
oppression by the white man. The dancing and drinking sea1
to have no limit except that imposed by natu1 e. The cele-

bration cantinues for days until they are overcome either

A curious custom to which every adolescent Indian
girl is required to submit is the blanquee. Its purnese is
to whiten the young ;Hi1l's enple:ie:1 so that sne ma
come a beautiful briC e. The bla aneo er whitening treatment
is much like a relicieus cereceny. 11r at the maiden's ha1r

is out, then, iellenin; ‘ne prescribed bath, she is robed in

as a sign 0: Leuestv covers her body from

 

heaa to loot, with the exception of her mace and hanes. Kent

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t-s or years, depending upon the unsortance
of her family. strinj the first week of the blancuee the
birl fasts in order to elininate her childisl1 1eaknesses.
Then she is fed very special feeds end Durifyi»“ lie uids
which are supposed to 11 need t1e color of her complexion.
Durinr this .eried 01 confinement she is taught such domes-
tic snills as sewing and t'avinr by herinether er aunts and

o o O A 3 .‘-fl "
1s adV1sed re3arc1n3 her future role or v11e and Nether.

ultimate objective is not unique. The parents Seek material
adrantages. Uhen they rran3e their dau3hter's marria3e, the
agreement provides that the future husband muS‘ 31ve then a
certain portion of his wealth in exchan3e for the maiden.
Since the prettiest girls make possible the nest advanta3eeus
bar3ain s, it is not surprisin3 that parents bend e1 cry effort

to beautify their eleaible children.

In Sobre aifiigna Tierra RenetalQontiel is forced by

 

her aunts to accegt the blanquee beauty treatment. 1hey

premise her to Chuachua1151a, a ricn Hui n, in exchange for a

a

snare of his Wealth. The ni3ht of the wedving, however, Re-

ssisted by a21 Indian slave, cscaees and joins her

3
O
c+
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('3

.n

In Genuine he raertiafie e1 lw-arces Ve133as and an In-
dian girl is another example. “J10 nights before the event,

O (W

the Indians surround t1 10 br Ml Le's "prison" to see that she

84
fasts and to keep her awake. In the last act of the wedding

ed in her womanly robe is placed

0)

preparation the girl dres
in the center of a circle of dancers, each of whom.strikes
her twice with a whip. After this ordeal the bride is fi-
nally allowed to depart with her husband. Following is the
author's descriltion of the whip dance:
Girando en torno a la gue richa, pintarre jeados de
negro y de rojo y otra vez con gran aln azara de cantos y
3ritos y provistos de bejucos de manure, cada hombre
debia propinarle dos azotes y luego uno a s1 mismo,
acaso porque en culpas de amor dos terceras partes son
de la mujer.10
Venezuelan Le3roes have;mixed their pagan reli3ion

with the Christianity which they have adopted. Their reli-

gious activities are described in Pobre Iegro. Durin3 the

 

festivities of Corpus Christi Venezuelan Hegroes, in keep-
ing with their promises, don the costume of devils as non-
ance f0- past sins. In their bright and varicolored dress
they parade throueh the main street of the town and head
toward the church. Right in front, in the atrium, they per-
form a pagan dance to the accompaniment of the beating
drums. Each devil touches the wooden doors of the church
with his tail three different times. Then he jumps and
crouches hour after hour. When they all collapse e? austed
by the strenuous dance, their promises are completed. while
they dance huge crowds watch and try to copy their gestures:

Ahora comenzaba la zarabanda de todos los diaolos.
La da:w za 3eneral, sin ritmo ni compas, solo para meter

 

10 Canaima, 295.

ruido los ta nbores, torbellino de saltos, esguinces y
a3azap anientos que cubrla todo el espacio del atrio,
Africa prinitiva aunque tal vez reproduciendo en Ameri-
ca una es cena de la Europa mes ioeval, pose1dos por la
farsa ya los pon1a frenéticos y al asalto recha zado por
la virtud de las Huerta del temple y de este frenesi
participaban los espectidores cuyos gestos y acemanes
copiaban las peripecias.

Another passa3e which gives us an x nple of a typi—
cal custom.of he plains re3ion describes the party given by
the Coronado family for their workers just before the cattle-
drive. There is singing, dancin3, story-telling, eating and
drinking all evening and until daybreak. The llaneros are
ofi ered w1ne, rum, and brandy by tr ei1 employers and for the
women there are delicious crémes, "cokes? and beer. The
food consists of barbecued pork, candies and other tasty
morsels. The plains people dance loggpgs accompanied by the
guitar, the mars as, and a harp. Uhile tne old gestizo

couples try to imitate the polka and mazurha of the white

people, the younger set combines the pasodoble and foxtrot

 

step with the native jorono. When the tine for the story-
telling ari Wi ves, the old men who are to tare part, dressed
in their Sunday suits, relate the most fantastic and hunor-
tales. The best one wins a youn3 cow or pi3' The fol-
lowing day the whole party attends another fest1vity at the
home of the winner, who roasts his p1 mi e and serves refresh-
m ent s .

-. .1 .. I . ~ I.
"Las Velaaas de la Vaqueria" 1n Dona Barbara presents

 

 

11 Pobre hegro, 245.

 

86

a tra itional event of thel lar o taat tanes place at the be-

fl

ginning of the rainy season. The absence 01 fences between
one property and another 1 as given rise to this custom. All
the workers of the nearby ranches, banded together, take
turns at the various estates branding unmarked cattle that

may have ha ened tO'Wander onto their land. These men work

*‘d

I

under the direction of a foreman tho has been elected at a
suaciaaneetinb . Each ranch tries to select its best cowboy
so that, as its representar tive, he may de21onstrate his abil-
ities as a centaur. After this contest the llaneros attend
a dance given by their employers there they sin3, eat, drink
and dance until da wn. This festivity is famed for the well-

improvised couplets which are sun; to the accompaniment of

the guitar and maracas. At this time the plainsnan app ea rs

 

0
as a creator of pOpular poetry.l“

In Cantaclaro, also, the plainsman is described as a

 

born singer. The hero, antaclaro, who has already been
mentioned as the symbolic Minstrel of this region, 'npro-

vises conlas as he wanders throurh th e deser ’ed llanos. He

 

does this mainly to win the love of a pea ant girl or to
satirize Opponents during sin3in3 contests.

An xample of Cantaclaro's apt improvisation is a
cov.plet sun3 while alone on a hot ar d distant desert. he

calls: "Llano, llano, llano, llano." Uithout losing his

 

0 o w _ 0’ -- - O
1“ Leo Ulrich, "La Invenc1on en la novela," RCV1sta
Hacional de Cultura, IO. 58, 112.

0‘

good humor he continues:

"Cuetro veces to he mentado

V e nin3une he s respondieo.

Quien I18 manda a ester buscando

Lo que no se me he p~rdido?"l5
finother diversion of th llsnero is to have a p ity
where the talented singers compete in the presence of the
neighboring families dressed in their Sunday nest. Cante-
ele:o attends one of these ner'tes at Late viejo where he

sings 3] elfinneque llanero. It is e sei ies of verses sun3

 

witLout Stonning, in union he describes the various months

of the year as they are exterienceé in the lleno:

"Los lies del mes firixero
Ce sabana todo verde,

ls hacienda en el co"edero
retozendo Co We ele1 re.

Les reeiies con sus lueeros
y lune resglroceelerte,
eusndo el jesmin del esters
florece sin que lo siezfi 303

. . . Y,:n la orille nel sendero
elcsrevcn rue no due31i3e,

3orcue eses lunes de enero

no nay bicne que no desvelen.

H cranes, eonoefier

1 el "rcsnoeho en Cue los tienee31."lé

7
U

C",

As Cant aelsro cones to the month of February, he pauses to
a llou'his enemy, El Gunrique§—, to ive ‘_e cour er >oint.
The letter, who is jeelomv of Gen oeclero's e3ilit-

-‘

1‘56 .‘fl'rrc "'V 71A 0’ ‘1 7 7-)"? -° _~ - n '1 - 13- -2 r1
-_.s on”. .. --o se LO cones Vienen L810 panel); :13. sus

versos . . ." To which Cent cJ_oro replies: Wjis verses, ee

 

Contnelaro,

 

l4 Centeelero, llO.

 

donde cuiei en; His pelebras de nis heehos."lu Csnteclero's

superiority is made evident by el Gusricuefib:
"Io es :enester que me slvierta
cone deco nroce(lel,
Dues yo no peso les uertss
' ' ‘1 l f.‘
one me neean detenel. "lo
Centecloro ensvers artfully criticizin: his ussde of ne

 

"Son nu.chos debes, co 3pedre,
an pocos verses conte.os,
pero suneue todos le euadren
yo me etengo 3 Juan Parse
(U8 es el ano de esta fiesta
ton cordial y tan rumboso,
cue su bondad nos obsequia
pa sue yo cents His coplas.
Y pregunto a su prudencia
sip le puedo contester,

en me buses rencc

1

cia
lose(hfl center. "l7

C.)

1i
O
C

14-. 6‘

Tel

H

'PH

At this point Jun; :erao, a fiegro worker uno is the host 01
the pertv in order to avoid any more 'isputes between the

w..- I} ,

two Singers, asks Cenosclnro to continue nis elfio3o3ue lster

 

.0 '. J‘ Q‘ _- .Q 0 .' . ‘ (H _I (_. .9- I" '. Q 0 Q " .2- 1 F‘ O O -
11 one evening and S1 nnls tne.13s1eiun DO oe,1n a iero3o so
¥ Md

 

 

'1‘“ 'L "“1 . " "~r‘" flun-
U."_C.v u.‘._ 51.2315 ; AL] 1.11108 0
, “q J. O -0 -' O O r‘ —,,.. _ C O ‘ W _- ’1-
s 1esuiv1tg 51111 r to U”C one UeflblOLCL 1._erLt3elJ
R, .1? 0 1 - o .0. ' -v“‘ R Q _ - J.- __ - >- .9 _c_ ’ O N . ‘
sQOVe is described 11 use AKQU‘Q ent1cled "De0113s y F1—
! 4.. .- — ~ -». M _ _ 1- _~. .3- n .
lies" 01 Pobre genre. fine 1e,ro J :1 re 01 n1 3re-03o-
m *h “
1 (3‘.- ‘10‘1‘ 3'11 '7‘ ‘ —"1"’ ~ ‘7 n'~‘1 "3 71 . r767 -w"! “1 n'1 " “FF _ ”mu m
C e... ~u 13.1. L. be 1):...8 1.01.. v-3. 0:. 11w“; \..L. v-.. 0.1. 01.]. V...) [“1001 - LL.’.a(—L U110 J. u L14.
"‘ 'fi " 1 ‘ H . J‘ " ‘.-" ' 4.71,. f‘ .3, m1 .-\ h a -
S 03:33 OJ- 1"} 0.3.11 00]. 311.1? Lll t011 4.10 1’6 U‘.L\.-:.L dog- “.1. . 2.21.0LS CG].-
"0 I‘):.d..’ 3-25.

 

1
L

 

89
ebration may be compared ndth that of Centac 1 mr 's "Corridos

Contran3nteos" and Dana iLerbera's "Las Veladas de la Va-
y -

 

' - ~ 0 q . o
suer1a " Where ponUlsr songs and teens are sung in tne pat1os

of the haciendas. Dec::1as are sung at this celebration. I

 

quote the following excerpt:
Ties de mayo, Ues de nayo,
Cuando las recias calores . . .

Guardo los toros son braves,
Los caballos corredores. "18

In order to give the reader a wider i nterpret tion
and a better unde3stan1ngof the inhabitants of Venezuela,
I
Romulo Gallegos has introduced in his novels a number of

folkloric elements. Among the most interesting of them is

that of El Faniliar in Dona B5— rba ra. This old superstitious

 

consists in hurting an old horse

L3.

belief of mysterious or riq

or bull alive in the first ealise de w11.ich is cons oructed at

m

n I .4—

the stockyard of a nerdy'established ranch. Each estate has
its familiar who is to bring good luck by apnearing as a
ghost from time to tiUe em nd bv lo ohing after the ranch and
the peop3.e who live there.

In Cante ela rO'we find t1vo leg gendary stories that lend

 

1:1ysterv anc superstition to the life of thefuanos, el Dia-

 

blo de Cunaviche and La_gparici6n del Blanco. ”he fonuer is

 

an old tale of a devil who sank a small boat with all its
passengers, because one of them had mentioned his nane.
This hapeened, according to the legend, at midday. There-

fore, tLe devil was heard to haunt the nearby inhabitants

 

18 Pobre Hegro, 142.

 

90

.L

every day at noon.
fihen Dr. Payara's wife died because she drank a poison

that had been placed near her bed, people at M1 outed. her

-ct

ca
U)

death to the punitive of a ghost called El Blanco. he

is thought by them to be an ancestor of Doctor P€.yara, Don
nqu ilino, who had been disappointed in a woman. In revenge
he would not allow women to live at hato Viejo. Any woman
who happened to go there was haunted by him at night until
she left. Having the power to pass tlrough walls and doors,

he had easy access to any room in tne hmlse. When any of

the feminine inhabitants Ivere sl W'to depart, he w-nt to the
extreme of shaking their beds alter they were asleep.

Another superstitious legend is that of P020 fig Rosa,

 

picturesoue story concerning a small stream in La. Trena-

a
dor.. It is nar- ated to Victo ria by Taparita, an old Indian

 

servant. The creek is located at Cantarrana in a shady area
on Hilario Guanipa's property. Years before, it UUs a

medium-Sized stream, but of late, especially in the dry sea

ison, it les shrunk to a tiny creek. According to legend
this is an enchanted location. The site is lonely and hm-
pressivelyd MI} It is claiUed that in.=1edia tely after sun-

set sounds of anguish a11d lamentation are heard to come from
the direction of the almost dry rivulet. No one r ally
claims that he has heard it, but none dare to pass by it
after dark. This is a story of love and vengeance. Accord-

ing to the legend, a p1et Indian girl naUed Rosa has de-

ceived her husband by falling in love with a Spaniard. hhen

the former learns of her unfaithfulness, he becomes angry

:4-

and then very sad. One afternoon he nvites her to W? h by
the stream with him. As she sits on the edge of the stream,
admiring her beauty reflected in the water, he sees his op-
portunity. Seizing her very long hair he strangles her with
it, winding the strands seven times around the slender neck.
(Since then, seven has been considered an unlucky number in
the region.) The husband, consumed mith jealousy, pushes
his wife into the water. On returning home and finding him-
self alone, he regrets his crime and begins to call to her:
iRosat iRosa! :Rosa! The legend also has it that each
time he called her, aznoan cane from the river, which at the
same tine dried up more and more. By the following dawn the
river had disappeared and in its place there wereza great
number of roses, On counting the roses, he discovered that
there was one for every time he ha! called Rosa. From that
time on, superstition has attached this name to the dying

'river of Cantarrana.

CHAPTER'VII
T3 TKl UTE EID STYLE OF GfiLLEGOS' HCVELS

&1ulo Gallegos beg an his literary career during the
period when the modernis tic school was at its height. 'Under
this influence he wrote a series of seven short stories en-

titled Los Aven tureros,l in the second decade of the present

 

century. These stories are characterized by lyricism, by
rnvr1.ical prose, and by lack of objectivity. They empha-
size form rather than content.

Gallegos forsook the fastidious refinement and lyri-
cal tendencies of his early writings when he wrote gl‘Ultimo
Solar, his first novel. This production and the two which

...._

Q ~ ’ ~ _g_
succeeded it, La Trepa dora and Dona Barbara, stress content,

 

 

characterization, and expression. In the last two novels,
especially, the plots are carefully planned; the characters
are well thought out and not one of them is superfluous.
Even the minor personages are fully developed, but in such a
‘way that they make the leading one stand out in relief. In
his later works, however, the author returned to the stylis—
tic form of his earliest books. As a result, both the plots
and characters suffered in quality. The former became con—
fused and disconnected and the latter ill-defined and nebu-

 

1 The seven stories are: Los Aventureros, El AxoLo,
aLiberacion, 801 de Antaho, Estrella s Sobre el Bar anco,
s ITTOV1as del lendiEo, f hilagro deITAfib.

 

 

 

Lila) L-I

 

 

95
lous.
Because it was ~allegos' first Level and because he

Ltely trained in the writing of such crea-
2

was not yet adequ

r)

tions, Reinaldo Solar cannot be compared in quality with the

 

two which followed it. The plot of this work is not well
planned. It is confusing and disorderly and lacks continu—
ity of action. The book h»s been eXpanded to include too
many questions, thus dispersing its strength an‘ reducing
appreciably its intensity. The author is a,parently not in-
terested in the plot, for he pays so much attention to the
protagonist that the former is neglected. But the princi-
pal character, Reinalao Solar, is also faulty. As an in€°-
vidual he is unrea , because he portrays only the weaknesses
of Venezuelan youths. Further detracting from.the value of
the novel, Gallegos in some cases treats so intensively the
inner life of those secondary characters who cone in contact
with Zeinaldo that one loses sight of the central figure.
This occurs particularly in the development of Carmen Rosa,
Rosaura.ledieville, Antonio henéndez, Riverito, andlianuel

Alcor.

La Trenadora, his second novel, reveals the optimis-

 

tic spirit of the author. He presents one of his best con-
ceived and developed plots without the interpolations and

asides which break the unity of he nllro Solar and at the

 

 

q

second

)
.J
J
H.
p
I
d-
k—A
'.J
(D

2 El Ultimo Solar becane Reinaldo Sela,
and subsebuent editions.

 

94

same time introduces well-drawn characters the ar- typi Lcallgr
’ toward
Venezuelan. The m1thor nakes a great effortxsinplicity.

The plot, the characters, anl the be ck3round chose:1 for the

J-

developnent of the Story have been skillfully bro1311t co-
gecher. The first two—thirds of tne novel takes place near
Caracas at Cantarrana, the coffee plantation of the Casal

f which the acquired by EiL rio Guanipa, th Jain
character. In the last third, vii h ":313 place vastly in
the capital, nilario's dau3hter, fietoria, becomes the prin-

1‘ " .' .L..|. ‘ " "7‘ "‘ " I“ " ,‘1 ‘7 “1 "‘ ‘-... rx '1' .1 ‘:
al C-QTCCtC”. Jae 0 pa- ts 01 one hotel are 1nt1-ate1y

connected, their plots follow 13 each other in setuence to-

....'._)

~ 0

oject1ve.

 

~ ._ ’ a o w cw v . .
Donn -arhara lS probaoly Gallegos' heat literary cre-
"4.3 [\M It.\, -‘\-1 '1" ': (a (V‘.."“"-; .—-.-'. f‘ - r.-.--v‘.-'Dr.1 '-\.1(-" J': 3 .11 —“ ‘em 3‘ “-‘qr‘
a- blur. . m. ~.C _.-..O u 1. 1.: 111.1 241.10 11‘. l__-.1w.l1-_,.. ul‘. -1. L1-..L CJ---‘.-1- 1.10 vol 0
-- . - .. ° L1 ,1. .n ' T—L ~ _
are encellon 1; pa “n ed anL clearly de11ned. 1 1s a 1eal-
.2 ' .. - -2. u ,- m‘ - - 1- ° .1.- . ._.. $0 .1- -0
1stic as tell as 1oeci c uOVOl. 110 worn 1s de_d a 1eau 01
A ~- 1 . a: r n °1n "alt“ n *~**« 1~a~1 we «
QLNC1lC eCUUlC 1o 01 inner oa ance. Che hatln-nhe11 an 1e-

I
C .. n .q ‘ A) 'f" -1“ J- u} A 'I‘ 54'“ q ~ 0 4-
v1ewer has 3on0 so 1hr as to say that John .a rbara IS the

 

“ "‘ ‘ " " J" "7 ‘l "‘ 1 r- .‘1‘ j - *A "- .‘ rn'.‘ '1’ " I. 1 ' '2 7 1
LOSo aerfect aha hell-eal need no1el that has neon prouucea

I v I“: ,',_ . fi, __ _ .. '-" ' J- - ....
Since Cervantes' tine.~ The bflCLSfOQHL of this seer; occu-

- - - a 1 4- - .0 - 1-- . :-- ° - - -,--
p1es a oreponu ra u part, 101 at 1n-s 1s 1s the 1eal pro ag-

nist overshadowing

O

c!-

Toes not deflect the or er- all euphasis iron Lofih Ba--

0 ) v
{:10
0’)

 

l'j" -_-

0 ...<--11.ueli_ F‘edro GOl zalez "A Ere-10.15. 00 de .Dofii Err—
? . a") r‘w v --\'1 fi "‘5‘ 1 1

bara, " 11 V1. 9:; 07.1.1.1...lgu (‘1 of}.-- ,1), LC. (38,130....7EOCL1.’

--|JIJ‘D)’ 163.

 

 

95

bara, in Wm" Gall es is profoundly i terestel. The beauti-
n q ‘0 4‘. '1 ~ _ a _ a, 1 ‘0 N c y- 1‘“? ‘D
1111 (LOSCll‘DulOIlS 01 the Lanseape 1-.c_-u.11.-3 its 11.11011. se 1iv—

ers and mysterious pla‘ns have heed realisti call1r por’crayed
along with the human and animal dwellers. This novel could

be regarded as an epic of ranch lire on the great tropical
plains of vJenezuela becaus e 01 its powerful (es criations,

characters, and customs of rural life of the olains. In one

 

0 w '1-") - ,, "‘ W'x ’ 'I _ 9
plains, does not 011er as good a plot as Dona ‘aJDara. Tae

lovers of folklore and poetry would accept Cantaclaro as ea-

 

llegos' best production bees use 01 its beauty of languaee

\_J

’1

and description 01 rural customs. It is inferior, h "ever,
to most of his novels in consi tency and narration 01 plot,
the latter being disjointed and confusing. Gallexos ass in-
terwoven several argument and by not riving the
proper enCin: he has 1etracted.1ron its merit. The plot a1-
pears to have no special turnose, for the characters just
disappear at the end 01 the story, leaving the reader in
doubt. levertheless it has been argued that Gallecos' ar-
tistic plenitude has been achieved in this novel, because

no me e beauti1 ul l1as been said about the life of rural

no

I;

noth
venezuela and also because it has such lyric prose and spir-

itual gracefulness.4 The interest of the author when writ-

 

! ' I.
4:p1con Sales, op, eit., 220.

96

in3 this novel was apparently not in plot or characters, but

in the descr 1p ntion of the re,; :ion in a poetic style.

In Canaima th 1e author also emphasizes back3round ratlr-
er than plot and characterization. The mySt terious atmos-
phere of tr e jun3le is present all throu3h the novel and the
customs of the Indians have been faithfully narrated. Al-
thouih Luis Alberto Sanchez, a Peruvian writer, avers that
Carai as is the best production of Galleb os, it has been con-
sidered by most readers inferior to Doha Barbara and L§_Trg:
nadora because of its loose plot and absence of purpose in
the presentation of some of its principal characters, as-
pecially.uarcos Var3as.

Galle3os returns to his stylistic form of writin3
after reaching the culmination of his literary career in

HQ, . .13 J...
Dona DSTL ara. He is no longer 111te1 GSbCQ 1n a ca e1ul 0103-

 

aration of plots and psychological studies of characters,
but becomes involved in historical and political matters

7.-

and a rhvthmic prose. This can be noted in Pobre negro.

The work pictures the life of the laborin3 class in the
11iddleof the last century when nejroes were still enslaved.
Galle3os also brin3s to his readers a realistic scene of the
Federal war durin3 this period. Lhen writin3 this novel,
Galle3os is not only the novelist who may invent somet.1n3
possible, but also a h1stor'a1 who pictures reality. Pobre

Eeiaro, as well as E; Forastero, is a series of disconnected

m,

 

isjo nted. In

a
H
}.J
o
o
m
o
'3
m
,..J
rm

scenes which zalte the plot rat;

97

El Forastero, for example, some_of the character pass

 

t21rou3h the book as 3 re snaaows with no oogective or nur-

- ~. 1" : -.. o—r - ~3- q («J-‘4
pose. Leo Ulrich clas3111es the t. 0 books as ~ssags rather

 

 

than as novels. :e states that Tobre £2322 shanla be taiaed,
not a novel, but an essay of psycho] o; gical lmi torv on the
Feieral bar of Venezuela, and Eli fortstcro, an essay of po-
litical psycholodr on Cespotis1 and its transition to Genoc-

 

 

'J

’)
O
.4
d
C)
Iw
H
H
5...:
t J
P40
C)

LMIC. 8011: )0 {is

or in oesc11u tions of
first novels. l*e seems to be impelled by a stron3er humanis-
tic ana patriotmc feelin3 and a 3reat acsire for reform in

the prizitive “e3i0ns of his country. Ee adopts a n1U stfle
amicn snows a narked deviation 1103 his precedin: works, for
these l.£ t creations have been written to be seen rather thi

.n— ‘

to be read.

One critic believes that allojo urete tion Hit; the

'3 .n . .. n _..°- ,, 4.1- y. . .1. 1. .v-.'. .., ° .--. H m -
idea 01 ranS1031L13 then lflUO notion p1ctares at a late”!

l.'L ‘Qq'flfir NH" '11" CI 6 [.rvw . a ”\‘1‘! r”-"‘D(\('1r‘~."". (17“: i") ”‘qu r“- ('1' T'v—1.--.~ r10
lUClu..LL, n -1110. --..1 o U..O:. Voolvloh. ....;1 Uc. “e«,0u' x.‘i.lull‘.:.u

has veenened rather than sti onw'zeued his re1utation as a

.1 r—V

5 Leo Ulrich, Revista Iacional de Cu-tura, Lo.
CZavo-Junio, 1948), 110.

9
w

 

 

0 0 a . ’ J.-- ‘
An outstan'ing quality or nonnlo Gallegos' st le 18
r to construct word pictures of char-

acters wnicn are so Vivi- that the people appear to be living
'7 '7'

beings when one has known for some time. nis descriptions
include not only their physiognony, but their personality as

well-—their very soul. Perha US this clarity of expression
is due in part to the author's projection of his own traits
and of his own ideals into the figures who "live" in his
novels.

Also orthy of note is the remarkable economy of

vordS'With Whi h Gallegos describes each inaivilual. A

Cl

H.
O
H.
U)

times in one brief phrase t: e distinctive characterist

b:
H a
U1

set forth as, for example, when Reinaldo Solar se ell
property to the ruffian nestizo {arusrtin Gonzalez. The

'5

atter succinctly reveals to the reader what kind or person

‘...l

he is when he expla" ins the sea on hi sface to Reinaldo:

. .. .i . ..’
"Una nacnetaCito sue me dio el difunto, torque le quite la

mujei cita. "8

Just as his style has qualities whi h nerit praise,
so Gallegos' novels have defects mt ich carnot be ignored.
One of than is the author 3 tendency to duplicate the traits

of one character in other persons who appear in his novels.

This la k of variety can be unfdr+ tunate. For instance, some

 

7 See Chapter V..

8 Reinaldo Solar, 205.

99

of the people who represent the civilizinp influence in the

\J

backward regions have many characteristics in common and

.CO

5 true Ol

:w

very often are Gallegos? wn mouthpieces. This
the aristocratic landowners such as Dr. Santos Luzardo, Dr.
Juan Crisdstomo Payara, Reinaldo Solar, Don Jaine and Eise-
las del Casal, Don Cecilio Cespedes and his nephew'Cecilio
Alcorta, hanuel Ladera, and several others. Also the polit-

ical figures intrOduced are too often pictured as dishonest

B

d despicable. Representative of this type are: Apolonio
Alcaravan, General Buitrago, General Parnenién, Miguel Arda—
Vin, fib Pernalete, and Hernenegildo Guaviare. Ijany of the
feminine characters appear to be cut from the same pattern.
Common characteristic can be found in the girls belonging to
the Casal, the Vellorini, and the Alcorta families. Kari-
sela and Victoria, both nestizas, also seem to possess com-
mon traits such as rebelliousness, arrogance and a high de-
gree of enotionalisn. Carnen Rosa reminds us very much of
Adelaide Salcedo and Efigenia because of their sweetness,
submissiveness, and patience. In almost every novel there

is a peasant thom Gallegos lionizes as an intensely sincere

DJ

ervant and frien of his master, loyal even to the point of

0’)

H

l—l

iSLinp his ife for him. Juan Coronoto, Pajarote, Antonio,
Juan Parao, Taparita, Hinojoza,and Cabo Pisao, for example,
are of this type. All fit the sane pattern.

Another shortcoming noticeable in Gallegos? novels is

the sometimes abrupt and unexplained exit of a number of the

lOO
principal characters, as well as of some of the minor per-
sonages. The effect of this practice is frustrating. It

give ne the feeling that the story has been brought to an

6’)
0

end before its completion. Cantaclaro, for instance, dis—
appears at the end of thezstory and the only explanation

ven is that the devil took hrn away. Doctor Payara, who

0-?
l-J°

is also one of the main characters in Cantaclar , loses in-

 

portance as the novel nears its end and is finally forgotten
‘ ’ ‘7 w
by the author. Doha Barbara, probably Gallegos' best cnar—

J1 .0

n ignorance Ol her luture when

H.

acterisation, also leaves us

t the conclusion of the

{a

he iS‘Withdrawn from the plot
story. Gallegos disposes of Iareos Vargas in Cansina, and
ofljariano Urquiza, Harte Elena, and the unknown foreigner

ame fashion.

U)

in g; Forastero in the

 

Gallegos' tendency to repeat is evident, too, in his
the typiCal ranchero evening gathering.
“is same scene showing the men singing in conpetition,to the
accompaniment of native instrumental music, telling stories,

and sometimes dancing, is duplicated with some minor varia-

c+
H-

o - - ’ W '
one in Dela Barbara's "Veladas de la Vaqueria," Canta-

1

' O I L o H '
claro's "Corridos y Contrapunteos" and "Cuentos de Vagueri-

 

-7 ’ ° '1-4 I
as," and Pobre hegro's "DeCimas y nulias."

he poetic ability of the author mav be appreciated

ta

in the neaningful verses sun? at the song contests of the

H

above-mentioned scenes. The same may be said oi the author's

able narration of tragedies of t

{127311;1 ,

101

‘10 was hanged by Doctor

Iban los dos caninando

nor la orilla del estero,
llevaba el indio la s03 a

y el blanco 01 mal nensaniento.
El blanco, cue bien sabla

cue el indio no era cuatrero,
sino que el hanbre le dijo:
"Anda y robsa te el becer1o."
Iban los dos canir ando

a la luz de los luceros.

Llegaron hasta una mata

de un nonbre due no reeuerdo,
lle.3 aron y se pararon

junto a la p9 ta de un ceibo,
Y el blanco le dijo al indio:
"Arrodillandote, oust rero.
Ya vas a ver lo cue cues ta
Un namanton de mi hierro."
Llegaron y se pararon

bajo la copa de un ceibo.

fiEncomiéndate a la vir5en,
echate la soga al cuello,
pues solo te oueda vida

pa r zar un ladrenuestro."
A31 y Q16 dijo el blanco

y el indio as1, con enpeno;
"Que yo no robando, n:.ute,
sue yo perdon te pidiendo. "
Y esto lo estaoan hablando
a la luz de los luceros.

 

Desde aquel dia la nata

del nonbre C_ue no reeuerdo,
larmtmt3 hilxidel am>mc do,
por el la dron del oecerro
que as iuella noche colgaron
de los copitos de un ceibo,
se5un lo pone el pasa je:

a la luz de los luceros.
Iban los dos caminando . . .
Sefiores, no cuenten este.9

 

9

Can

taclaro, 59-60.

 

102
Gallegos' novels re not overloaded Hi 11 1i5urative
expressions, but he has injected a sufficient number of then
to give his stories a spicy and pleasant taste. Kany ex-

amples could be cited, but only a fe1rwnicl1seen to be es-

pecially ucid are quoted. Fr on 3031-312:

 

ling sannlesn may be conside: ed t;'pical. "La maldita lla-

. q . ~ I
nura, devoradora as nomares."lo "La muerte es un pendulo

I...)
I:~

1 _ _o - 1 .9 ’
cue se nueve score la llanura, de la 1nunaa01on a a equ a

U)

l . -. .’ A.
y de la sequia a la 1nunda01on."ll "For 11m el anor de A—

(If)

.L

drfibal, pura sombre erranue a través del alne tenobrosa, se
reposaba en un sentiz1iento noble."l3 "Ya no se habla en la
balsa. Pero el rio se ha puesto a cuchichear con las ne-

A number 01 critics consider Gallegos' co position
classical. Torres Rioseco, especially, is 01 this opinion.
The latter states that by this de:i1ition he :eans "A racial

style with that sin1licity, clarity, robustness and stren

’0

3

Characteristic of azarillo d. Tories and gpvelas Bjenpla-

 

 

res."l4

Kany'Latin—American writers who have 3"t0H1ced to

 

10 Dofia Ba1bara, 91.

 

11 Ibid., 291.

 

 

14 Torres Rioseco, Fovclistas Contenpordheos, lOl.

103

D

write retlist 10 novels have used the unschooled la_3uage of

F

the peasant es a ureter to avoid expos1113 their inability

f)

U)

‘I . ’ W
to express t1menselves in pure Soanish. Ronulo Gallegos no
also euployed the illiterate reasant dialogue, but unlike

other authors has demonstrgtez :13 capacity to write clear-

I.._J
A
N
C)
5
,0;
H.)
O
O
(D
I,
5
; .J
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4
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(D
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(D
{o
(D
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:0.
cl-
(D
p
j
{.3
l(D
C)
O
'4)

time treats it with respect. His deco“1uti0ns are imple,

but they are elegant and correct. He knows how to in fuse

H
H.
'ob
CD
9
.3
0
CI-
Ho
O
:3
93
{.5
Q;
w-
:3
Cf
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F.
H
Ho
cf-

rle is excellent.:u5E e pos se::ses all the qualitie

U)

which ought to adorn the true novelist.

 

 

‘3 l . . -- . .. .

1“ "Ponulo Gollegos,"31c1clcped1h UHlVC?S?l 11u53ré-
1 - 0 -v 7— " rr ‘- 1"“
do, Ave endice, V, Bilbao, “96:16., Lh1colone, lJ¢1 j. 020.

 

COI‘CT ZTSIOH

’ O -~ ~ ~ . - 1
Remule Gallegos lived under the heavy atmosphere are

spiritual ir di"e11ce M liCh the dictatorial rule of Ci;1iane

x.)
—. {.111

Castro and Juan- Vicent e Gomez created in we hezuela. 1h y
reduced, as might be expected, th e liz1its of intellectual
life and denied to Venezuelals the eppercunitT to discuss
openly and freely their common problems. In the hirty-six

years of these two dictatorships (1899-1935), some writers

bowed to arbitrarv p019? and others cl1ese -xile rather than

Cl

a.cenpren1se of their principles. Gallegos is one of the
latter group.
t is natura , then, to GXpect tlat the predominar

‘ u. o o -_ 1 1 . r _ _ h . ra .. . ., ~‘ :
theue in his novels should ee a1 arr 1 nnent or the social,

O
(‘3
0
r4
H
r.
U
(D
[N
(I
;——o
y
r J
(D
e
:1.
(‘3
‘._J
Ho
C’“
4
('3
1 3
f3
{K
i...
C”)
I

economic, and pelit1cal
parit? unich are cue to "ca rs 01 cer11pt government. Qhe
novels convey a Vital nessa e, a messawe of reior; to the
“eun er re eratieh, thicr is urged, by lnjlr? cat tion, to as-
511re the res_ens1:11ilitT for the initiatim1 and e:eeutien of
pretressive measures. Gallefes is an extrexely siLcere den-

_’3 v

eerat. Ee views with abhorrence a phileseu1y O1 "ewer1ment

.' ,1. .- - - J_‘., H - 1.. . ..
110018 grea1s, he ereai-deun of

d-

.specially in the loves

[.1
C)
L“.

ial barriers, and eventua ly the assi:;ilstion of

"J
:J
;.J
C)
C)
0

races. Time e probla1s are treated with e ahesis in nis nov—

0

-‘ :1 - _ - 5.. '1 0‘ t" C‘ _, r3. ‘ o .__L. W“ o
els 1.1 «'ecsstero 8.1m. 23.0in to 8 le _ give 37801511 a' gentler.

l
‘

 

 

to the political and social diseases which11ave re rded tn

grOch of Ver ez1mel La Trepadora expresses the author's

 

contempt for he social obstacles r aim1t i; 1ed by the more

economically fortunate classes; Pobre Iegro points to a pos-

 

‘* 4.0 ”a ‘ ° - , "‘ 3" '.’- -
eiele solution 01 tne re 01a l problem. Dena Barbara and

rest the modernisation of the in-

C)
[J

1
\4

U1

Sobre la.Mis:1a-Ti1errs

nteies t of all Venezuelans.

:10

terier regions in the

is to awaken his eou_ntr7-

1-11
p.
g...»
(D
r)
{J
1.:
}_J
O
O
C)
L.
f
E
,.J
O
O
I .J
O
C'
H
L

men to the great need for progressive bett-rrent, he has, at

the same tine, made a notable contribution to Le“1n-hrerlc a1

literature. In the purely literary sense,

4.1,
U,

Q
a...

1' ‘
0U. p.101“ 1133

H.
C]

. : w, :2 .-.-~ .1. x- - :1 4-11 7-: a .. . .. - --
83.31.0300. e-‘ eCCiull-CIIC OJ. e116 :;.."“’7"""C-« 163100.11 IlOvCl DJ

- s ’5 "" J-‘zfi --.u. - 'v- 1- .3." ...... ~ ~ (‘-‘ q 1 ’“- -‘ °"‘: "‘
31-0" 7: “01.: {21-0 (3011:1011 1109.8 O.L €-1_)1‘CSS-Jio;1 Cull DC ILCUL- ‘...1-L11"’

 

o o -1 .— I
4- 1 J— - . - :3! vs :1 ‘ A H" ' n1 3“" ~ ‘ fl ' 'r" ‘ 7 r1- .
out detracting 1: n a iine C s 131 n su;le. sofa 1,:ee3a 18
n r .0 .1. .. ..-- .' .1. - .1-‘ - ' 1 - -
one 01 Lls bGSb enadples. In lb ne enploys an plain re:-

 

 

1" (—- q "- \ fl 4" O ‘ j ' .1 " " J- "\ . ~
cl-nl, cs \ell as on -OSb polisnel an: correct SlanisL.
m ‘ . ‘ .. - 1 f“ ~ wv - ~¢ -’ ~ . < ~v
111s novel is Let c 1 1700 e an 0? 11s otnsr mon-e, UUU

 

-f‘b

-0 Q ~: ‘1‘: 4-. I 5 ‘
- lC LCSC3 pc1ens o: tge gui

_o__ _v_ ._ c __‘ -n‘ 1 _ _ ‘ ~. '7‘, g - '0 '- ‘ .1". _~ _9 _n‘ J.—
laccer's 1H1 uence on “an; gOTJC Le'ro is: its CU

} J.
C")
CI
1h
0
(J
F I
,_J
C:

 

. - - . ~'-‘.- o-r - > . ‘ In -—-wv- 'fi A ,H .
WOGblC C_7?".J_‘OC_C;l--ul-€ ILL !}C.lllb--11;_.,, 00131 u’ Ol 1.0.17.1 '3.-ch 3353;11-

r of novenen nt of its sentences.

.0

As a native-born Venezuelan Cl humble pa: ntage, as

u.

one who has studied the ills which beset Venezuela ans who

,..3

has ascenLed the seeial, economic, and political lad or

Q

q o - o D ‘3’” m . ._
througn nis own energy ans intelligence, nonulo vallctos nas

had J-o opportunity of becomin; acoJ: ».inted with the geogra-
phy of his country and its people. He has achrate know;
ledge of their feeli_gs, actions, traits, customs, and laL-~

his countrymen, the author nas at-

*‘b

guage.. In 1: it in3 0
tempted to por trsgr authentically and fa itllfully what le con-
siders to be tb e 5 enuine spirit which lives witLin them.

, , .. I , . _._. . .2. __ _
Truly it can be said that fiomulo Gallegos lS tne interpreter

of Venezuela.

B IBL IO GPJEIIY

108

"OVL '3 OF ?.OAUAO CALLZC S

ficinaldo Sol "Coleccion Ans t1 rs " Espasa-Calpe A15en-
__ 19/.

-r
tina, S. A., Buenos Aires

 

l,
l

O Q ’ "fi .
La Trcnstora 25 edicion, Aspasa- Calpe Ar~e1u.na, S. A.,
Elle/:03 1113. CS, 194.4.

 

 

 

Cantaclsro. 53 ed., Bsuasa- C- alpe Argentina, S. A., Buenos

 

Canaiqg. Espasa—Calpe Argentina, S. A., Buenos Aires,
1941.

Fobre regro. 1a ed., Editorial "Elite," Caracas, 1937.

 

El Forestero. 3Q ed., Editorial Araluce, Barcelona, n.d.

 

e la.fiisna Tierra. lg ed., Espasa -Calpe :1r Me1 111a ,
S. A., Buenos Aires, 1944.

 

SOCKS AID ARTI CLES

Angarita Arvelo, P fec1,Tisto1ia v CriticL fig 1a."ovela
Venezolana. Berlin, I938. 217-830.

 

.gr ’ . T" '7'". I 'f
Anez, Jorge, De lLL Vorazine a Mafia saroara, Inprenta del
Dejvertamento, Bogota, 1944.

 

 

 

. . l .., ,-._ . _
1.01n1egas, German, Tao Green Continent - A CornreneAsive
View'gi Latin America bv Its Lead1133'1ziters. Alfred A.

 

 

 

Anonl, 1ew York, 1944.

, "Venezuela's lovelist-lresident," United rations
World (April,1948), 60-61.

 

Betancourt,,Romulo, "Carta Alusiva," Reoertorio Aacrlca- ,
San Jose, Costa Rica (June 5, 1937}, 329-55.

 

"Campaigning for President," Lewsweek, E0. 30 (Hov. 10,
1947), 40.

F4

0 0 u- ’ Q q 0 0
Clinton, Daniel d., Gomez, Tirano g§_ os Alzes. Aditor1al

Claridad, Buenos Aires, '1940

 

 

Coello Andrade, Alejandro, La 1¥o ovela §3_Arérica Imprenta

-1- o
d.el Iinistcrio de Educecion, gait , lQel. 5.

 

109

"Democracy's Day," Time, No. 15 (Dec. 22, 1947), 58.

Dobree, Bonamy,

"Dofla

Du.nh§

EFCXI 10111:,

2113161“

I
Barbara,"

L01 ell,

-_ . u. I
‘"1{8V16W'Of Uofia Barbara! The Sgectat

 

Boston Evening Trenscriut, Aug. 22, 1931. l.

 

"Cri cical Introduction and siorrannv " in

a Lsrbara, by Exonulo Galle: gos. F. S. Crofts and Co.,

1945

 

"Pobre Icgro," Books Abroad, XII (1931)), 56.
’ n 1 .
Link, John E., "Dona Barbara, Legend 01 tne Llano,”
Iisnania, “YE , Ho. 5 (Aug., 1948), 2o9-70.

 

 

 

 

Ferguson, 3 1a, Venezuela. Alfred Knogf, Eew”Yo ork, 1939.
ii gueira, Gaston, "Sobre laliisna Tierra," Books Abroad,
XIX, So. 1 (Oct., 1944), 45.
. -- . c
"Romulo Gallefos," A nciclogedia 911ve1s1I1111stradaA_le:--
dice, V, Bilbao, Iadrid, Larcclona, 1?}:Ml 675.

"Ronul

q u \ _.. _‘_|_‘

"Gallegos,1§ove
26, 1942)

1
, 5

Goldberg, Isaac,

Brentano's,

._- J grlfi

w— -
_ues brena,

'f‘fi‘i'? Caw "flrfip 4- r-S

42

Ca:

..-_I,. -’
:Lornanuo: G9°Clfl,

4—1--

.7- “ --. fl " - ~":-A ..' '\ .— -. r"
051.133, .- 1" .1 1.1011 3": .‘12‘U'1' .1 2031.0...

.. f0

V .LJIJ

bric c, I

‘

iciones ArfentWrLL, ES. 1..1., Luenos =Wes 192s.

'11]:’19’:0

(u.

o Gallegos, Biographies Ar“i
Pan American Union Division 0

Lew Iork, 192 .

c cle, " Venordfa, Ho. 14,

f Intellcc uual Cooyeration,
D. C. July, 1940), 11-15.
ist of the Llanos," Scholastic, Lo. 41 (Oct.

 

Studies n Sna:nish A;e1ican Lite1absr

 

- . _.. I
Dears "A :ro:os ito de Dofia Barbara 13111-
‘1

, 3
'1n of Snsnis; Studies, VII, 10. 23, Liverpool "(Oc:.,

m,TOQS-Ui? .

 

Kous el, Vida V Obrss de flutores ene"e1e‘o-.
-Llfa, I; rCLDO-l—LL‘L, Ouija, 191. 5.

 

r.)- 1‘ A"" .51 _- a O J-
:3. , :0 L118; LS O-l— Ejoua 9' --l€:‘J -jbgl-: , " I‘JTL {Jr-
in 1123e11c Acorica, Itrra1d Vnivors1t: 13035,

 

*
(‘f‘(‘ .1 .
L_I-u_>o, ——\/'__';:_).

9r

, _ , I
-€i“-”€3, thcrc"““° Ionosolrna Conteueoranri

 

’_ _-....“

, 1', ,L._ . -. -..
1 1." 'rrn m 1".“ t“! (‘1 - '
..'...' '..G Kw (1-." b-‘u.f‘CU -— .1. Cl)? '.. e? ."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"‘ _ _'_ r; _ - -21 ‘3'; - , _ e ‘ ,0 _q r" .1._ -~-
1&110, 1., "Specure 01 19 JGJCHCSCLO," 191xé:7111L0Ut0Us, Lo.
- I. r‘ - I F'
5.9: (4111 194:7) luv-‘11.).
0 w -l—-— I _ _ - _ ~_‘ ’— - .0 I‘ I .L _ .I‘ - -: -_~ 4““ 5T.“ _:
3100T1t1,9tur333 3., ”it“. P—AHLJ 011 L1u030_ U30 1; 01‘ 011-
——.—.—-‘-.--.— ‘I-— .- w ”-—
tc? Stct 0. Earvaru L‘“VC£SI$V 1:053, C @‘Ula'e II005.,
'30 G0 0 ‘7 o 4‘
1009. 911, Qué, 900, 1090, 103;,1109.
w ‘ —n 1.- . J" "' ’\ : . "2‘ ’ J‘V‘ - T‘ r- ‘w‘
fuizc on, 31110 A., “180 310 c 13 Ll-srr-Lfi? _10\._ _0-
r2, 1"“.1- .° .11 Hpnm: 1,, __- .- 1, .-.-, ‘
cri Cff”‘,.1C.1 or1c1.U=:un111003, 0. I”, :UIJIIUII , 310100
.1;.::c>s J.C~s:v.
'71 Q 4. “ 7—0 , 3 ~_~- ,U -.., 1” .,.. rf'r) ~, ~'_ 0 m m
" J Lioe3ucdor 0n111ssoar1," 1013.001, 10. an (901, la, 1 éd)
fir, “~”-‘
{on} .
- A — . 1 .- 1' '.‘ . ' 1 “H‘- . -‘ J“ C'r‘"w ’ t‘" ‘ Q‘". t
_ 00; 151, n., "130101 as 1303100nu," ‘°‘41 M0v_0 L1
— -:-~ -« '- r‘ H“ 0 -
03UM11-0, 10. o1 (”11. m , 1949), —0.

" I)n‘f‘I-1Lq-‘-’j ff‘c-

 

 

   

 

 

1:1003, Jorge, "Una'flran ;ov010 130310213, 10 1.-
- ' n C‘. '" ‘3 - - f.‘ n ‘ or
U10.Uo, wan 0030, C. 1. (Jalf , 10w9), 00, uu.
1031n0110,JUUU, "Tres Covelcs Ejemvlnros," Literattra
7103UU0-7 9"“C““0, Edicion de 10 C21v0"0101( ~0‘; 3101,
y’“... . ‘_ . . . n . '
-101100, 1.:r-C 'W;IS CTL 1010 13 also in Cub "P3 (005.,
*W
(3'70
lQ/VL‘V) , 11- J-::):
" .. ~ 1U- " ~' '4'» . J-“ ., A" -" ~3- .. '1.- - -
-FPC», 1300 W., "L116 01 .10 Ilglfls 01 V0U07U010,"10_'_031
r1..q fl - .1. .r" r1
.... Cs-) (J’L‘kyfiuSUg’ 1901.), ( Q
"-7 .. 4.: ---~ -,. -:--! 7-1 ' .1.‘ 1... ., : n '34., . -30 - ,3
103u1n, rercj A., Uno's ”Jo 1n LSUIE “-03101. 00a110 u? U211-
A" . L" .I' (\ _ '1' r rfi/f.r\‘~'-‘-\ '.1 PK APT-- .r’
VLJSl , E3033, 1'10 1100, 00 1101311, 1100, 107.
‘v . O -"1 0- "x r‘ _ - .- -, l I
Mass n1 201100, "5031 L101-o Sol ° a La fixcpeuora " 10-

3 C." ._ r,
sta Tvcion 91 Ce Cultura, Lo. 13 (10v., lQUO), 115—150.

 

 

Lclez‘zd z, Con011, "Trcs 1 Nels; d0 10 Katuralcga Aceric: Ua--
Don Segundo 80:1b13a, La V regime cnl 3050 LrUbaIa," CU“-
tUrc V0U0"0‘cnc, ILIII, So. 106 (Segt.-00:., 1050), 150-

 

149.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~~r 1" ' ”fly ° " +- -— f» r — ~- - -.-
LCSult, Lud0V1oo Lgrlano, Desolavo har01es. J301013 01 U1-
- u. . .fl ? Q - 1 ~' .1 " ‘ - "‘- i“- n ‘ w ' ‘1 ’ —
31n000 L10708 1 Venezucln. LJECOJJU, @3100 gxu 00.,
.I__ .l O. ’- (I no“
i-4C‘n’ OJTTQ.’ IQSI‘U.
' 7'" . ' “ r“! - " fl
CHIS, Jarrleu ae, Ego UQILSJ Lflnd, AU AVV‘OlOMV of Lenin-
5. .. .3 --1 .. _ 1". ‘7' '4. '1 -1“ "" a v 1 =3"... - -‘T
M103~con 30111030 1, 11uezzkw30. h. 1031, u u 10:1,

 

 

l 9/:‘3 Q 23

Pearce, Charjes A., "The JeUezlclhu 210118," She 30v RQpUb-
lLEJ LlV VIII (Oct. 28, 1931), 504.

 

 

 

—.. o ’ ~v o " o ’ -—‘\ -— a
11003 Solos,1Jar1a1o, Sorreeion z_5rocesg_de 11 Licereruro
.N' s n C 7—1 . 'f. . fl , . . ,"‘ 3‘ , -7“¢5 2—: l‘ r‘ 11" .
Venezol r . 1d1to'111 Ccc111o Acosuo, ou1ucus, 1910.
, Literature. Veoe"olon :11tor1a1 Les boveoades,

 

 

 

’C. A., Caracas, 1949

_—

ident of Venezuela,"3311etin
.o. 82 (Feb., 1948), 70— 71.

 

 

 

 

 

P 0111 ff, Dillwzu 3., V01033011. Er so Fiction. Ir't11u_to
de les Espenas en los Lstodos Unidos, L—u York, 955.
-o _.. _p 1"-
Rosenberfi, 3111131 S. 1., "Done 11: are," Z-Looxs Abroo IV

(1959), 333.

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