Carlos Fuentes was a Mexican novelist
during the Cold War whose writings were controversial in many
different countries and made an impact on millions of people
worldwide. Most newspapers have named him as one of the most
influential and admired writers of the Spanish speaking world. He
was also a social critic that mostly criticized Mexican and American
politician's political opinions, along with being a critic of Fidel
Castro himself. In my person experience, I've noticed that usually
most writers seem to be more soft spoken and shy, but Carlos
Fuentes, undoubtedly a bold man, definitely surprised me. He spoke
about his opinions in front of hundreds, and even scolded the United
States on its harsh diplomacy of the time in front of a crowd that
contained Ronald Reagan.
Carlos Fuentes wrote a great deal of
books during his lifetime. These books included “The Death of
Artemio Cruz” and “Where The Air Is Clean”. In the
first novel, Fuentes addresses how power can make any person become
corrupt, and how the ideas of the Revolution were pure until
corruption tore them to pieces. His other novel that was mentioned
portrayed to readers the inequality of citizens in Mexico and the
corruption that was heavily present during the late 1950s. This
novel also portrayed Mexico's upper class of the time. A third novel
of his was banned in Spain for its Pornographic tendencies,
communistic beliefs, and pro-Jewish statements. While this book,
called “A Change In Skin”, was being banned in Spain, it
also won a literary prize in Barcelona. Other novels of his tackled
the concepts of the combining of Indigenous and European cultures.
With all of his novels, Fuentes made a
huge impact that changed opinions and opened minds throughout Latin
America, and heavily encouraged the freedom of speech. His works
helped to influence the Latin American literature boom. This boom had
writers exploring new ideas that were controversial at the time and
helping popularize different styles of writing much like a
renaissance.
Fuentes has received many awards for
his political writings. He has received over ten awards and was one
of the writers that was put into consideration to win the Nobel
prize. Even with having received many awards, Fuentes had been put
under severe criticism for his writings and had dealt with critics on
a daily basis. The criticism of his books had spread far and wide
and because of his writings that were thought to portray dictatorship
support, Carlos Fuentes was even denied passage into the United
States. Carlos Fuentes replied to this matter by telling the media
that “The real bombs are my books, not me.
All in all, Carlos Fuentes was an
inspiring writer that impacted most of the countries around the
world, and helped to influence the Latin American literature boom.
He educated citizens around the world of political happenings, and
was a bold and courageous man that has done his part in the world to
educate minds around the world and has made his mark on the literary
world.
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