Short stories
Faragual y otros cuentos
Not translated into English
Carlos Francisco Changmarín · 1978
Synopsis
Eleven stories from the countryside of Veraguas, where animals stand as figures for men. In “Faragual”, poor peasants defend their crops against the cattle of don Julio, a rich rancher, which graze in their fields; “La vaca”, “El tigre”, “El gato”, “Galápago en su concha” and “El diario de la Yegua del alcalde” show the marginal peasant facing landowners, judges, soldiers and clergy. The faragua, which gives the book its title, designates the pastures where cattle graze.
Context
A first volume, Faragual, 13 cuentos de la tierra, awarded a prize in manuscript, appeared on 10 August 1960 from the Imprenta Nacional. The edition adopted here appeared in 1978 from the Centro de Impresión Educativa of the Ministry of Education, then in 1986 from Manfer, in 137 pages. In 1974, the Casa de las Américas in Havana reprinted the title story in an anthology, seeing in it the problem of the latifundio and the exploitation of the peasant. Silvia Quezada Camberos studied in 2021 the animal world of the collection as a symbol of social marginality.
Who it is for
In Spanish, with no published translation; the rural speech of Veraguas and its regional words call for a little attention.
Prizes and reception
The 1960 book received second prize in the 1959 Ricardo Miró competition; the expanded edition is recommended as basic reading in secondary school and at university.
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