Carpentier: a work open to the
 21st century

BY MIREYA CASTAÑEDA—Granma International staff writer—

MUCH and many varied things will be said and reflected on at the upcoming Century of Alejo Carpentier International Congress (November 8-12). As reiterated, he is a multifaceted, polyhedric intellectual, according to Roberto Fernández Retamar, and also universal, as much in the orbit of those to whom he devoted his attention as in terms of the reception of his work.

After a press conference at the Casa de las Américas, the Congress venue, Granma International found an appropriate moment to ask poet and essayist Fernández Retamar about a distinct aspect, Carpentier’s human dimension.

"The recurring image of a highly estimated figure has always caught my attention. I had the good fortune to be a close friend of Alejo from 1959, and my image is one of a charming man, a very Cuban man, very warm, with a great sense of humor, great erudition – of course – which overflowed everywhere, but without making him heavy for anyone, quite the opposite. He is one of the most amenable, sympathetic and modest people that I have ever known."

The second question came from another close link, that of Carpentier with the Casa. "It is a particular honor for Casa to host the congress. Alejo is part of the Casa, his presence in it is very strong. For example, remember that he was consulted over the composition of the jury for its first literary prize, known then as the Ibero-American Prize and now the Casa Prize. It was a high-quality jury (including Nicolás Guillen, Virgilio Piñera, Miguel Angel Asturias, Carpentier himself, Carlos Fuentes, Miguel Otero Silva, Mirta Aguirre, Roger Caillois, Jorge Mañach), a quality that we have always tried to maintain."

Granma International also wanted to know – how could it be otherwise? – about upcoming publications from Casa on Carpentier’s works. "We are going to publish a CD, starting with the original 1974 disc that includes excerpts from the novels El reino de este mundo (The Kingdom of this World), Los pasos perdidos (The Lost Steps), El Acoso (The Chase) and El siglo de las luces (Explosion in a Cathedral), read by Carpentier, with the addition of Alejo’s recording of a version of La ciudad de las columnas (The City of Columns) in 1966. We are also initiating a new Collection, Material from the Casa de la Américas magazine, under the title Alejo Carpentier, the first number of which includes some texts that have never been published in book form."

Finally, I asked Fernández Retamar for a brief definition of the objectives of this congress. "To arrive further at an understanding of a work that is so complex, rich and varied, one that will allow us to know ourselves better, and a Congress to know Alejo better."

In the general dialogue with the press, Jorge Fornet, director of the Literary Research Center, reiterated that the Congress, whose title is evidently a play on one of Carpentier’s most exceptional novels, is to cover many facets of his work – primarily his novels – but also his tremendous work as a feature writer and art critic (his Letra y Solfa in the Caracas El Nacional), and great cultural host.

The geographical influence of Carpentier is significant for Fornet, as not all the 40-plus invited foreign guests, are from the so-called Carpentier places, such as France, Spain, the United States, but also from India, Australia, Taiwan, Egypt, Martinique and other less surprising locations such as Mexico, Italy, Peru, Belgium, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica and Germany.

Professor Lusia Campuzano synthesized it for Granma International: "Alejo Carpentier is the most universal of Cuban writers, both in terms of his themes, and universal in terms of the reception of his work. Perhaps one way of measuring that would be his La Pleyade collection of France, the most important in the world as a collection dedicated to one author. Carpentier is one of three Latin Americans there; the others are Jorge Luis Borges and Octavio Paz."

Meanwhile, as art critic Graciela Pogolotti stressed: "With the passing of time, the figure of Carpentier is growing, becomes immense, as a writer, journalist, musician, critic and cultural presenter, and during the Congress," she noted, "we will be reconsidering his figure and we can certainly say that his narrative has not been finished with in terms of reading, because every time we go back to his pages we make a new discovery.

"We have called the Congress the Century of Carpentier because, to a great extent, his life and work embody the 20th century, its social and political convulsions. Moreover, it is a work open to another reading, another approach, in the 21st century. The discussions will lead us to this joyful reencounter with a work that is not closed."

The Havana Congress could be the conclusion and summary of other events in honor of Alejo Carpentier in Mexico, Venezuela, Spain, France and Brazil.