BOOKPATHS

Colombia

“Juan Gabriel Vásqez talks to Richard Lea about how getting away from Colombia allowed him to write about it, and his ongoing quest for new fictional territory.”

“Born in the Colombian capital, Bogotá, in 1973, he left South America towards the end of the war between the drug cartels and the government in 1996. It was a complicated decision to leave, driven partly by the practical difficulties of living in what was one of the most violent cities in the world, and partly by a desire for geographical distance, for perspective.” – from "Beyond Bogotá," by Richard Lea, The Guardian

Cartagena, Colombia

Mark Hodson explores the Cartagena of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Love in the Time of Cholera.

“Set around the turn of the 20th century, Garcia Marquez’s tale of magical realism is infused with the sultry, torpid atmosphere of Cartagena, where he worked as a young reporter.” – from “At Home in Cartagena with Gabriel Garcia Marquez,” by Mark Hodson, The Times

Colombia

Claire Armitstead looks at how Colombia is “using books and film to woo tourists.”

“Paula Marcela Moreno, the 29-year-old minister of culture, has no doubts. ‘I believe there are minimum standards for quality of life,’ she says, ‘and access to a library is one of them.’ But it is not about books alone. The libraries have computers and audiovisual equipment. ‘We want all Colombians to be able to understand images as well as words. We know that countries with good economic growth have a strong culture, and that the more access children have to cultural activities, the more sensitive they will be to life.’" – from “A New Leaf,” by Claire Armitstead, The Guardian

Cartagena, Colombia

Mark Stratton visits Cartagena, the Colombian city that inspired Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Love in the Time of Cholera and is now the setting for the book-inspired film.

“In Cartagena, you never feel far away from the 'magic realism' made famous by Colombia’s most famous son, the Nobel prize-winning writer Gabriel GarcÍa Márquez. Even at the breakfast table, bizarre and colourful things happen – a toucan landed one morning, snatched my bread roll in its kaleidoscopic bill, and hopped on to a banana palm to gorge itself.” – from “Love in the Time of Cartagena,” by Mark Stratton, The Times

Aracataca, Colombia

“For the first time in more than two decades, Colombian author Gabriel García Marquez is returning to his hometown which he immortalized as Macondo in One Hundred Years of Solitude.”

Colombia; World

Jay Parinini considers “the greatness of Gabriel García Márquez” who turned 80 this week.

“Everything changed, for Márquez himself and the novel as a genre, when One Hundred Years of Solitude appeared in 1967. ‘The tone that I used,’ recalls the author (I'm quoting from his website), ‘was based on the way my grandmother used to tell stories. She told things that sounded supernatural and fantastic, but she told them with complete naturalness.'" – from “The Greatness of Gabriel García Márquez,” by Jay Parini, The Guardian

Aracataca, Colombia

Simon Romero reports on Aracataca’s 80th birthday celebration for native son, Gabriel García Márquez.

“Aracataca, struggling after decades of neglect and economic decline, is pinning its hopes for a revival on the attention surrounding Mr. García Márquez this year.” – from “The Town’s Biggest Event Since the Banana Fever Ended,” by Simon Romero, The New York Times