Okay, so honestly the first thing I thought when I looked at this MASSIVE booklet was: 'mierda'. After struggling through the first 2 essays with a pocket dictionary and a lot of pen ink, I decided to forge ahead and just go with my gut feelings. I have to say: I was not very inspired.
Not to say that Jose Marti isn't a fantastic writer. You can see his talent and uniqueness in every elongated paragraph, but it certainly wasn't material that I would recommend as a good read. Maybe it's the difference in our eras, or perhaps it was the political-mindedness which I have no background in whatsoever. Or it could have been his apparent obsession with America (no offense, but these subjects literally put me to sleep). However, I do not think that my less-than-ecstatic attitude was brought on by the essays being written in Spanish. I feel that I would have felt exactly the same had I read them in English.
So now that I've said my unkind words and I have ol' Marti rolling in his grave, I should probably get into what I felt was unique about these writings. And seeing as I've already hinted at my inability to grasp the political ideas, I will centre mainly on Marti's semantics and themes.
I would first like to nominate Jose Marti for the award: 'Writer of the Most Drawn-out Sentences EVER!' It was actually amazing to watch him do it, so to speak, such as in the last paragraph of Fiesta de la Estatua de la Libertad. This is 9 lines of one sentence, punctuated with a final exclamation of free indirect narration. It seemed as though Marti's exile to the US only enhanced his obsession with their politics and lifestyle. At times I felt he was writing a satire of America's love of power and presentation; and its convenient forgetfulness of the little people who brought these great displays of power to completion. He remarks in El Puente de Brooklyn that "...si [los cables] pesan tanto de suyo sustentan el resto de esa pesadumbre portentosa.?" (p. 426). And on page 430, when he addresses the bridge workers: "Oh trabajadores desconocidos, oh martires hermosos, entranyas de la grandeza, cimienta de la fabrica eterna, gusanos de la gloria!" Such statements display how these key players in the construction of mankind's most celebrated works were disregarded in a 'wonderful sorrow'. Or even how Lafayette's work with the Statue of Liberty was overlooked because he was a foreigner: "Ah! de Francia, poca genta habla. No hablan de Lafayette ni saben de el. No se fijan en que se celebra un don magnifico del pueblo fances moderno al pueblo americano." (page 182, Fiestas de la Estatua de la Libertad).
Marti is an amazing observer. I felt like I was actually being led by him through the scenes which he presented. He directs us: "Ved a Bartholdi....Ved a los diputados...Ved a Spuller" (page 185, Fiestas de la Estatua de la Libertad), and we see each point of interest in succession.
El Terremoto de Charleston brought some human realism into Marti's essays. For example, how a victim of the earthquake "...anda sobre su vientre dando gritos horrendos, con los brazos y las piernas rotas..." (p. 200). And also how the survivors think of their loved ones at the cemetary: "...los muertos llevados al cementario donde esta sin hablar Calhoun que hablo tan bien, y Gaddens, y Rutledge y Pinckney." (p. 202).
I will be interested in class to hear some background about these essays which may bring them to life for me.
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Hey Katie,
After reading your blog, as per usual, you've brought some interesting points of view to the table and made me think a little. Here are my thoughts...
As for the firs paragraph you wrote about your overall opinions about the works of Marti. I understand where you're coming from in saying that you would have felt the same way if you'd read them in English, but I definitely would not have. Although they would still be powerful and descriptive, I've read some translations online and they just don't have the same impact. I've realized in my years studying Spanish that there are "un chingo" (My Mexicanismo for the day) words used in Spanish literature which simply don't exist and can't be translated in English. When you combine this with Marti's extensive descriptive ability, I think my feelings would be different had I read in English.
Now, I do agree with your observations about the specific stories. I loved the way he addressed the workers in "El puente de Brooklyn" and I think it definitely shows the passion and compassion he had for the building of the Bridge. Same goes for the Statue of Liberty. I noticed the way he portrayed Americans as "brushing off" the French for their architectural talents.
Great job!
Kaan
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