Guerra de Canudos y Guerra Cristera: Apocalipsis, profecía y subversión de la historia en Vargas Llosa, Rulfo, García Márquez y Garro

Abstract

The objective of this study is to analyze the historical novel The War of the End of The World (1981) by Mario Vargas Llosa and the novel Pedro Paramo (1955) by Juan Rulfo by discussing apocalyptic motifs and historical themes that influence the texts. Both novels present the gradual decay and destruction of the religious communities of Canudos and Comala--literary towns at the intersection of fiction and history. Vargas Llosa models the town of Canudos on historical events related to the War of Canudos (1896-1897) in northeast Brazil. Juan Rulfo's depiction of Comala is partially influenced by the Cristero War (1926-1929) in western Mexico. Both Vargas Llosa and Rulfo use apocalyptic imagery and prophecy to subvert the official history of the events, much like John of Patmos did in the Book of Revelation. The Peruvian novelist is influenced by both Biblical and medieval apocalyptic imagery. Rulfo's novel is influenced by apocalyptic pre-Columbian mythology. The authors use apocalyptic imagery to question official accounts and the history of both events. Vargas Llosa questions the account of Os Sertões (1902) by Euclides da Cunha and presents an alternative point of view of the events. On the other hand, Juan Rulfo questions the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920) and the historical representation of the Cristero War. Both the Canudos War and the Cristero insurrection represented peasant revolts under the guise of religious uprisings, and many complex sociological, political, cultural, and economic factors treated in the novels---from inequality, to rural-urban-ethnic divides, and the need for agrarian reform---spurred the conflicts. The dissertation also discusses the use of apocalyptic imagery in the representation of the literary town of Macondo in One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967) by García Márquez and the town of Ixtepec in Recollections of Things to Come (1963) by Elena Garro.