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Alejo Carpentier y Valmont
(December 26, 1904 ? April 24, 1980) was a
Cuban
novelist, essayist, and
musicologist
. He greatly influenced
Latin American literature
during its famous "boom" period. Born in
Lausanne
,
Switzerland
, Carpentier grew up in
Havana
,
Cuba
and
Paris
. Carpentier always said he was Cuban. He traveled a lot, mostly in
France
, and to
Mexico
. He sided with revolutionary movements, such as
Fidel Castro
's Communist Revolution in Cuba in the mid-century. Carpentier was jailed and exiled for his leftist political philosophies.
Carpentier studied and understood music. He wrote a book
La musica en Cuba
in the music of Cuba. He put in musical themes and literary techniques in his writing. Although Carpentier wrote many types of writing, such as journalism, radio drama, playwrighting, academic essays, opera and libretto, he is best known for his novels. He was among the first to use
magical realism
. He explored the fantastic quality of Latin American history and culture.
Carpentier's writing style used the
Baroque
style which had become popular again. It was called
New World Baroque
. It was a style that Latin American artists took from the European model. Carpentier also brought the
Surrealist
theory to Latin American literature. Carpentier had parts of Latin American political history, music, social injustice and art in his writings. His writing influenced younger Latin American and Cuban writers like
Lisandro Otero
,
Leonardo Padura
and Fernando Velazquez Medina.
Carpentier died of
cancer
in Paris in 1980. He was buried in Havana's
Colon Cemetery
.
Carpentier's major works include:
- Ecue-yamba-o!
(1933)
- La musica en Cuba
(1946) (
The Music of Cuba
), an ethno-musicological study of Cuba starting from the sixteenth century, the arrival of European explorers, till the present day of publication, the mid twentieth century.
- El reino de este mundo
(1949) (
The Kingdom of this World
)
- Los pasos perdidos
(1953) (
The Lost Steps
)
- El acoso
(1956) (
Manhunt
)
- Guerra del tiempo
(1958) (
War of Time
)
- El siglo de las luces
(1962) (
Explosion in a Cathedral
)
- El Recurso del metodo
(1974) (
Reasons of State
)
- Concierto barroco
(1974) (
Concierto barroco
; English:
Baroque Concert
), based on the 1709 meeting of
Vivaldi
,
Handel
and
Domenico Scarlatti
, with cameo appearances by
Wagner
and
Stravinsky
, and fictional characters from the new world who inspire the Venetian composer's opera,
Motezuma
.
- La consagracion de la primavera
(1978) (
The Rite of Spring
;
Le Sacre du Printemps
, ballet by
Igor Stravinsky
)
- El arpa y la sombra
(1978) (
The Harp and the Shadow
) dealing with
Columbus
.