"A fascinating multidisciplinary cultural analysis of the figure of
Bolívar that will be uniquely useful to those attempting to grapple with
the influence of this figure on the Latin American imagination. Conway's
persuasive and subtle analyses of historical, literary, and visual
sources demonstrate how the authoritative image of Bolívar was
constructed, appropriated, and contested from the independence period
through the present."--Mary Beth Tierney-Tello, Wheaton College
The Cult of Bolívar explores the Latin American cult of Simón Bolívar in
modern literature through a broad array of texts that include fiction,
children's literature, poetry, journalism, and presidential speeches.
The image of Simón Bolívar (1783-1830) has been central to debates about
Latin American identity since the 19th century and has been continually
readapted to address current problems. This study examines the interplay
of myth and disillusionment in modern representations of Bolívar.
After outlining the emergence of the Cult of Bolívar during the Wars of
Independence and the early national period, Christopher Conway uses
novels to frame in-depth discussions of issues central to Bolivarian
nationalism: the deification of the hero, monuments and iconoclasm,
fatherhood and sexuality, and the promise and failure of modernity. This
interdisciplinary study argues that representations of Bolívar trace the
difficult and often contradictory processes by which nationalism
imagines its past, present, and future.
In addition to original archival research about the rise of Bolivarian
nationalism in the 19th century and literary analyses of key novels such
as Gabriel García Márquez's The General in His Labyrinth, Conway
includes discussions of contemporary Latin American art and presidential
politics. He utilizes gender studies and a broad spectrum of Bolivariana
to frame our understanding of different aspects of hero worship. Also
covered are controversial representations of Bolívar that resulted in
public outcries in Latin America, such as Juan Dávila's hermaphroditic
painting of Simón Bolívar and Denzil Romero's pornographic novel about
Bolívar's mistress, Manuela Sáenz.
Christopher B. Conway is assistant professor of Hispanic studies at
Brown University. He is the editor of Peruvian Traditions by Ricardo
Palma (2003) and has published articles on Latin American literature in
Hispanic Review, Revista de Crítica Literaria, Latinoamericana, and
other international journals.