The party of the goat

Mario Vargas Llosa.

Mario Vargas Llosa.

The party of the goat (2000) is a historical fiction novel written by the illustrious Peruvian winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Mario Vargas Llosa. The plot is based on historical records related to the assassination of the Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo, although several of his characters never really existed.

Likewise, the masterful reconstruction of the events revolves around three intersecting stories. The first focuses on Urania Cabral, a young woman who returns to the Dominican Republic to meet her sick father. The second reviews the last days of Trujillo's life and the third focuses on the murderers of the dictator.

About the Author

Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa was born in Arequipa, Peru. He came to the world on March 28, 1936. He is the only child of the marriage between Ernesto Vargas Maldonado and Doña Llosa Ureta. Little Jorge Mario spent the first part of his childhood with his maternal family in Cochabamba, Bolivia, because his parents were separated between 1937 and 1947. There he studied at Colegio La Salle.

After a brief stay in Piura together with his mother and maternal grandfather, the future author moved to Lima after the reconciliation of his parents. With Mr. Ernesto Vargas he always maintained a turbulent relationship, as his father was angry and showed animosity towards his son's literary inclination. In the Peruvian capital he studied at a Christian institution.

First jobs

When he was 14 years old, his father enrolled him in the Leoncio Prado Military Academy, a very strict boarding school that would serve as the setting for the future writer in his first novel, The city and the Dogs (1963) In 1952 he began his journalistic career at the newspaper The chronic de Lima as a reporter and local interviewer.

His first artistic publication was a theatrical piece, The flight of the Inca (1952), presented in Piura. In that city he completed his baccalaureate at the Colegio San Miguel and worked for the local newspaper The industry. In 1953 he began his studies in Law and Literature at the San Marcos University in Lima.

First marriage and move to Europe

In 1955 he secretly married his in-law aunt Julia Urquidi (this scandal inspired the events narrated in Aunt Julia and the Scribe). The couple divorced in 1964. Meanwhile, Vargas Llosa founded — along with Luis Loayza and Alberto Oquendo— de Composition Notebooks (1956–57) and by Literature Magazine (1958–59). In 1959 he traveled to Paris, where he worked for French Radio Television.

That same year, Vargas Llosa published his first book, The bosses, a compilation of stories. Later, with The city and the Dogs (1963) the Peruvian author joined the great "boom" of Latin American letters together with the "heroes" García Márquez, Juan Rulfo, Carlos Fuentes, Jorge Luis Borges, Julio Cortázar, Ernesto Sábato and Mario Benedetti.

Consecration

Success allowed Mario Vargas Llosa Leaving behind the times of financial need, therefore, he was able to devote himself entirely to writing. Se married in 1965 with the niece of his first wife, Patricia Urquidi, with whom he had three children: Álvaro (1966), Gonzalo (1967) and Morgana (1974). In 1967, he moved to London, where he worked as a teacher at Queens Mary College.

During the following years he lived for a time in Washington and later in Puerto Rico. In 1971 he obtained his Doctorate in Philosophy and Letters at the Complutense University of Madrid. Your doctoral thesis, García Márquez, the story of a deicide (1971), reflects part of the masterful work of Vargas Llosa as a literary critic.

Political thought

Throughout his life, Mario Vargas Llosa showed great contrasts in his political thinking. During his youth he was a supporter of Christian-conservative tendencies and opposed to any dictatorship. During the 60s he had a significant rapprochement towards the Cuban Revolution of Che Guevara and Fidel Castro.

In 1971, the so-called “Padilla case” generated a definitive break with communism. Already during the 70s he was more inclined towards moderate liberalism and became a candidate for the presidency of Peru. He was defeated by Alberto Fujimori in the 1990 elections.

His work in numbers

In 1993, Vargas Llosa swore the Spanish flag. A year later he was admitted to the Royal Spanish Academy. Till the date, His work includes 19 novels, 4 storybooks, 6 poetry books, 12 literary essays and 10 plays, among many other journalistic publications., documentaries, translations, interviews, speeches and memoirs.

Most important accolades and awards

A separate article could be elaborated only on the decorated works in Latin America by Mario Vargas Llosa. Although, without a doubt, its most prominent milestones have been the following:

  • Prince Asturias Award for Literature (1986).
  • The Miguel de Cervantes Award (1994).
  • Nobel Prize in Literature (2010).
  • PhD Honoris Causa:
    • Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Israel (1990).
    • Queens Mary College of the University of London. United Kingdom (1990).
    • Connecticut College. United States (1990).
    • Boston University. United States (1990).
    • Harvard University. United States (1999).
    • Universidad Mayor de San Marcos. Peru (2001).
    • Pedro Ruiz Gallo National University. Peru (2002).
    • Simon Bolivar University. Venezuela (2008).
    • University of Tokyo. Japan (2011).
    • University of Cambridge. United Kingdom (2013).
    • University of Burgos. Spain (2015).
    • Diego Portales University. Chile (2016).
    • Lima University. Peru (2016).
    • National University of San Agustín de Arequipa. Peru (2016).

Analysis of The party of the goat

The party of the goat.

The party of the goat.

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Context

Officially, Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina was dictator of the Dominican Republic between 1930 - 1938 and 1942 - 1952. In reality, Trujillo held de facto power for almost 31 years (until his assassination in 1961). In this regard, there is a metaphorical parallel with the merengue song "They killed the goat", cited by Vargas Llosa at the beginning of the book. Hence the title of the book.

Symbols

The dictator's sexual impotence

Throughout the book, Trujillo demonstrates an obsessive behavior regarding his body and his daily rituals (personal hygiene, uniform, exact itinerary)… In the same way, to reaffirm his dominant position, the president used to take the wives and relatives of the members of his government.

Therefore, when the autocrat begins to show symptoms of incontinence and sexual impotence, he sees this circumstance as a weakening of his person and his regime. It's more, his erectile dysfunction calls into question his perception of himself (the country's "alpha male" savior).

The complicit silence

The character of Augusto Cabral is unable to answer the questions raised by his daughter. This omission represents the indispensable complicity of third parties for the consolidation of any dictatorship. Thus, Don Augusto is unable to justify Trujillo's cruelty or the absence of justice, before and after the dictator's death.

The home of the Cabral family

The Cabral family home reflects the decadence of a once splendid country that was demolished by decades of tyranny. That house is a shadow of the one inhabited by Urania in her childhood, it is a place as deteriorated as the health of its owner.

Urania Cabral

Urania represents a whole country outraged for thirty years by Trujillo. She, who was proud to maintain her chastity before her family, was handed over by her own father to the dictator as a way to demonstrate his loyalty. Despite the vexation suffered, at the end of the story Urania decides to reestablish ties with her family. Which, symbolizes the hope of reconciliation of a country.

The Mirabal sisters

These sisters do not appear directly in the narrative, but they do represent the power of female resistance to despotism. They became martyrs after being executed by the regime due to their role as student leaders. For this reason, they are remembered as heroines by the precursors of the plot that ended with the death of Trujillo.

Paradoxes

Vargas Llosa describes the great contradictions present in a totally corrupted country, where its politicians would do anything to survive. This is palpable in the narration of the outrage suffered by Urania Cabral. Who promised to remain a virgin if Trujillo pardoned her father, but her father decided to hand her over to the dictator to earn forgiveness.

Equally, Joaquín Balaguer - known as the “puppet president” - was able to get away with impunity after the death of the tyrant (even though he was closely linked to the regime). In fact, Balaguer was a key figure in controlling the Trujillo family and promoting the transition to democracy.

El complot

Quote by Mario Vargas Llosa.

Quote by Mario Vargas Llosa.

To consummate Trujillo's assassination, the participation of many members of the government was necessary. After all, even the highest officials of the regime wanted the downfall of the dictator. Well, no one wanted to extend the existing paranoia and state terrorism established through the secret services in charge of suppressing any hint of conspiracy.

Some notable metaphors

  • "It was necessary to liquidate the person in whom all the threads of that dark web converged" (p. 174).
  • "Trujillismo is a house of cards" (p. 188).
  • "That's what politics is, making your way through corpses" (p. 263).

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  1.   Gustavo Woltmann said

    I have read many works by Vargas Llosa, he is a magnificent writer, his stories are captivating. I have not had the pleasure of reading the Fiesta del Chivo, but I do, and with this article in mind I think I will be inclined to do so.
    -Gustavo Woltmann.