Fiesta al noroeste

Fiesta al noroeste

"Fiesta al noroeste" is a novel written by Ana Maria Matute and first published in 1952.

Summary

Dingo is a pupetter who is travelling when he runs over a small child with his cart. He then goes to Artamila in order to find Juan Medinao, a prominent land-owner and childhood companion, and find the child's family. Juan is really rich, and when Dingo arrives a servant comes to get Juan. Then, there is a flashback of the childhood of Juan, when his father, aka Juan Padre, was abusive to him and had an affair with Salome, a woman in the town. Salome had Juan Padre's second child, Pablo Zacaro. Juan's mother died as a result of Juan Padre's actions towards her, and after her death, Juan Padre sent Juan away to boarding school because Juan reminds him of his mother. However, Juan wants to know his brother, so he returns home to Artamila. Then, the story returns to the present, where a priest and doctor have joined Juan and Dingo at the dead child's house. The doctor is always drunk (emborrachado). Then, Juan confesses to the priest that his whole life, he has been prideful. The rest of the book is his confession (as a flashback).

Although Juan was an awkward child with a large head, he and Dingo were friends. They became friends when they realized that both of their dads beat them. Pablo, on the other hand, was a stone-fox. Juan Padre was really rich, and when he died, he gave all his money and land to Juan. At one point, Dingo brings Juan to a puppet show in the town, and it scares Juan, but Dingo runs away with the puppet cart.

- Pablo feels every man should construct his own house, but Juan owns all the land and refuses to let Pablo build there. The servants unite around Pablo against Juan, and Pablo runs away. After Pablo runs away, Juan realizes that he wants everyone to know that they are brothers, so he asks Salome where Pablo went.

Unfortunately, Salome doesn't know, but Pablo returns to the town with a girlfriend Delia, a peasant woman. Juan goes to Delia's family and asks for her hand in marriage, but she doesn't want to marry him. However, her family forces her to marry Juan so that she won't have to work anymore. After this, Pablo hates Juan and never wants to be with him. He also rejects Delia.

The flashback ends here and Juan's confession is over. The last chapter of the book is the dead child's funeral.

Themes

The main theme is pride. The pride of Juan prohibited his happiness. At the end of the novel, Juan Medinao wanted to be with his brother, but becausue he told Pablo that he couldn't build a house on his land, their relationship is ruined. The pride also effected Pablo because he was too prideful to accept Delia after her marriage to Juan.

Subthemes include

* Violence - Violence appears in the scenes when Dingo and Juan's fathers hit them and when Juan finds his mother's dead body
* Friendship bonds - There is a bond of friendship between Juan and Dingo, which is very important because Juan doesn't have any other friends

* Family - At the end of the novel, Juan realizes that he wanted to be with his brother, Pablo. This shows that family is important although it is sometimes hard to feel a strong bond among relatives

* Reconciliation with your own past - The majority of the book is in flashbacks, and Juan's long confession shows his need to address his past and his regrets


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Six Flags Fiesta Texas — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Six Flags Fiesta Texas es un parque temático de 200 hectareas situado al noroeste de San Antonio, Texas, en una vieja mina cerca de la intersección del Loop 1604 y la interestatal 10. Es el 39o parque temático más… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Ana María Matute — Ana María Matute, née à Barcelone le 26 juillet 1925, est un écrivain espagnol. Elle est la deuxième de cinq enfants d’une famille de la petite bourgeoisie catalane, conservatrice et religieuse. Sa mère était hispanophone et son père un… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Ana María Matute — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Ana María Matute Nacimiento 26 de julio de 1926 (83 años) Barcelona …   Wikipedia Español

  • Matute, Ana María — b. 1926, Barcelona    Writer    Interviews by Matute during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s reiterate the significance of childhood experiences of the Civil War and her own marginal, outsider status. Both profoundly mark her writings, producing… …   Encyclopedia of contemporary Spanish culture

  • Ana María Matute — Ana Maria Matute (born 28 July 1926) is an internationally acclaimed author. She is one of the strongest voices from the posguerra , or period immediately following the Spanish Civil War, and is considered a spokesperson for her… …   Wikipedia

  • Ana Maria Matute — Ana María Matute Ana María Matute, né à Barcelone le 26 juillet 1926, est une écrivaine espagnole. Elle est la deuxième de cinq enfants d’une famille de petite bourgeoisie catalane, conservatrice et religieuse. Sa mère était hispanophone et son… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Ana María Mature — Ana María Matute Ana María Matute, né à Barcelone le 26 juillet 1926, est une écrivaine espagnole. Elle est la deuxième de cinq enfants d’une famille de petite bourgeoisie catalane, conservatrice et religieuse. Sa mère était hispanophone et son… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Premio Café Gijón — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda El Premio Café Gijón es un premio literario español para novela que tomó su nombre de la tertulia del Café Gijón de Madrid de la mano del actor y escritor Fernando Fernán Gómez en 1949. La idea original de los… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Matute, Ana María — ▪ Spanish author born July 26, 1926, Barcelona, Spain       Spanish novelist known for her sympathetic treatment of the lives of children and adolescents, their feelings of betrayal and isolation, and their rites of passage.       Matute s… …   Universalium

  • Матуте, Ана Мария — Ана Мария Матуте Ana María Matute Дата рождения: 26 июля 1926(1926 07 26) (86 лет) Место рождения …   Википедия

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”