Universidad de La Habana

Love and Violence: Classical Referents in Contemporary Latin American Culture

The Exiles from the Spanish Civil War to Latin America and the Classical Studies

Este artículo resume las biografías y los estudios sobre el mundo clásico publicados por los siguientes profesores que, nacidos en España, se exiliaron en distintos países latinoamericanos, principalmente en México, a consecuencia de la guerra civil española (1936-1939): Juan David García Bacca, Wenceslao Roces, José Gaos, Pere Bosch Gimpera y María Zambrano. El objetivo del artículo es hacer ver que estos profesores, así como otros no estudiados aquí, contribuyeron al desarrollo de los estudios clásicos en el mundo de habla hispana

This article summarizes the biographies and the studies on the classical world published by the following professors who born in Spain had to flee as exiles on account of the Spanish civil war (1936-1939) to different Latin American countries, mainly to Mexico: Juan David García Bacca, Wenceslao Roces, José Gaos, Pere Bosch Gimpera and María Zambrano. The aim of the article is to show that the above professors as well as others not considered here contributed to the development of classical studies all over the Spanish speaking world

From Narrator's to Reader's Point of View: Love and Violence, and the Subversion of Myth in the Work by Lourdes Ortiz

El presente trabajo se propone examinar el uso de los mitos grecolatinos en la obra dramática de Lourdes Ortiz para expresar la tensión entre el amor y la violencia en las relaciones humanas. Las historias de Aquiles y Pentesilea, Circe y Penélope, recreadas por la autora, permiten ver que, ahora como entonces, esa tensión continúa y es causa de frustración, injusticia y destrucción, al entender el amor asociado, sobre todo, a las ideas de posesión y dominación y no como una relación de seres libres e iguales.

This paper aims at examining how Greco-Roman myths are used by Lourdes Ortiz in her dramatic work to express the tension between love and violence which pervades human relations. The stories of Achilles and Penthesilea, Circe and Penelope, as recreated by the author, enable us to see that today, just as back then, this tension continues to cause frustration, injustice and destruction. This is due to an understanding of love manly related to ideas of possession and dominance, and not as the relationship between free and equal individuals.

Sex and Death in Traxicomedia do Vento de Tebas Namorado dunha Forca, of Manuel Lourenzo

En el presente trabajo se analiza Traxicomedia do vento de Tebas namorado dunha forca, obra de Manuel Lourenzo inspirada en tragedias clásicas, como Edipo Rey y Antígona, de Sófocles, o Suplicantes y Fenicias, de Eurípides. El mensaje de la obra gallega es una dura crítica contra la dictadura franquista. Desde el punto de vista formal, la obra entra dentro de la categoría de "lo grotesco", ofreciendo una deformación esperpéntica de personajes y situaciones.

In this paper we review Traxicomedia do vento de Tebas namorado dunha forca. Lourenzo's play is inspired by classical tragedies like Oedipus and Antigone of Sophocles, or Suppliant and Phoenician of Euripides. Play´s message of the work is a hard critic against Franco's dictatorship. From a formal point of view, the play falls into the category of "grotesque", offering a grotesque distortion of characters and situations

Los Atridas, by Joel Sáez: Is Orestia an Epitome of Violence?

En 2009 Estudio Teatral de Santa Clara, bajo la égida de Joel Sáez, estrena Los Atridas, veinte años después de la fundación de un grupo urgido por la necesidad de recobrar la imagen teatral en función de su incidencia en las circunstancias presentes. Establecer lo que implica en estos tiempos la tragedia ática en tanto arquetipo de la violencia, presupuesto inicial de la puesta, y cómo el diálogo entablado responde, ilumina y contribuye a plasmar las bases fundacionales del colectivo teatral -en relación que podríamos catalogar de tradición y ruptura, amor y violencia-, sustenta los resultados expuestos como parte de una indagación mayor sobre el papel del mito en Estudio Teatral y en otras piezas que conforman el panorama actual del teatro cubano.

In 2009, Santa Clara Theatre Studio, directed by Joel Sáez, release The Atridas, twenty years after the founding of a group urged by the need to recover the theatrical image based on their incidence in the present circumstances. Establish what means the Attic tragedy in those times, if it is only an epitome of violence, initial base of the play, and how the dialogue responds, enlightens and contributes to shape the foundational bases of the theater collective -relationship that we can catalogue as tradition, break, love and violence- support the results presented as part of a larger inquiry about the role of myth in Theatre Studio and in other plays that shape the current panorama of Cuban theater

Medeia: espaço de denúncia da violência contra a mulher

Propomos analisar a dramaturgia de Medeia, no qual emerge o trinômio: violência, mulher e morte. O mito de Medeia configura-se como um tema que não se esgota através do tempo, pois se mantém ativo como nos apontam a diversidade de representação no campo da dramaturgia, imagética e cinematografia. Medeia representa as inquietações das mulheres esposa e mãe vítimas da violência doméstica eque reagem ao processo de subordinação a figura masculina. Vivenciamos uma sociedade do espetáculo no qual a mulher protagoniza momentos de violência e busca reagir de diferentes maneiras, principalmente através da representação como forma de luta contra a vitimização. Usa o palco do teatro como espaço de denúncia contrao preconceito social da mulher exilada, a violência racial definida pela cor da pele e a perseguição étnicae religiosa.

We propose to analyze the drama of Medea, in which emerges the triad: violence, women and death. The Medea myth appears as an issue that is not limited by time, it remains active as a link in the representation of diversity in the field of drama, imagery and cinematography. Medea is the concerns of wives and mothers women victims of domestic violence and react to the male figure reporting process. We experience one spectacle society in which women stars in moments of violence and seeks react in different ways, mainly through representation as a way to combat victimization. Uses the stage of the theater as a complaint space against social prejudice of the exiled woman against racial violence defined by skin color and against ethnic and religious persecution

The Relation between Love and Violence in Klássico (with K), from Mayombe Theatre Group

A través de los personajes clásicos Antígona, Fausto, Medea y Ulises, Mayombe Grupo de Teatro estrena en 2013 la pieza con la que conmemora sus dieciocho años de existencia, Klássico (com K). El objetivo de este trabajo es discutir cómo el grupo retoma las temáticas del amor y de la violencia para resiginificar los mitos y contextualizarlos para la contemporaneidad.

From classic characters Antigone, Fausto, Medea and Ulysses, the Mayombe Theatre Group debut, in 2013, the theatrical production celebrating its 18 years of existence, Klássico (with K). The objective of this paper is to discuss how the group takes up the themes of love and violence to reframe the myths and contextualize them to our contemporaneity

O ensino da tragédia no Teatro Universitário: Prometeu Acorrentado

Esse artigo apresenta uma reflexão sobre o ensino da tragédia grega na contemporaneidade. O estudo se dá no âmbito do curso técnico em Artes Dramáticas do Teatro Universitário da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, onde ministro a disciplina de História do Teatro e Literatura Dramática. No curso técnico, cujas habilidades do sujeito-ator são desenvolvidas através de ensinamentos mais práticos que teóricos, proponho aos alunos a leitura do texto trágico também na perspectiva da cena. Analiso aqui o caso específico de um trabalho realizado na turma do primeiro ano de 2014 do Teatro Universitário, que resultou na apresentação de uma cena com criação de dramaturgia própria, a partir do estudo do texto Prometeu Acorrentado, de Ésquilo. Não abordo diretamente o texto trágico, falo mais do que se mostrou relevante para os alunos em sua leitura do texto e do mito; relevante a ponto de vir à cena, de passar do texto à ação. Esse trabalho, realizado sistematicamente no âmbito escolar, tem se mostrado bastante profícuo, exatamente por aproximar o aluno do universo trágico, de modo que ele mesmo possa lhe conferir um sentido cênico.

This paper reflects on how Greek tragedies are taught at present. The performing arts course taught by the Department of Theater at the Federal University of Minas Gerais is examined. The curse allows drama students to develop their skills on a more practical than theoretical basis because they not only study tragedies but also analyze how they can stage them. Students themselves staged the Ancient Greek tragedy Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus in the year 2014, after studying it. This paper doesn't examine the tragedy itself but focuses on what aspects thereof students considered as relevant to its production, i.e. how they could stage this myth. This way of systematically teaching Greek tragedies has proved itself to be very useful because it allows drama students to get familiar with tragedies at the same time that they are encouraged to find their own ways to produce them.

Heartbreak and Fraternal Violence: Seven against Thebes. A play by Antón Arrufat

Los siete contra Tebas, de Antón Arrufat, es una versión de la tragedia homónima de Esquilo en que se resuelve el antiguo tópico de la fraternidad antagónica como restablecimiento del orden puesto en riesgo por la injusticia. La desacralización del conflicto y la nueva alternativa para la situación trágica desplazan el drama al plano humano y el comportamiento verbal del protagonista, en consonancia, realiza una estrategia discursiva de inclusión y solidaridad. En el enfrentamiento con el hermano esa estrategia se plasma en la constatividad que intenta oponer a la performatividad de su acusador, hasta que tiene que renunciar a las verdades que ha esgrimido para responsabilizarse del arbitrio con que ha decidido. Así aflora el vicio de carácter que lo hace tan falible como aquel, e igualmente culpable.

Seven against Thebes by Antón Arrufat is a version of Aeschylus play in which the ancient topic on fraternal antagonism is solved by the reestablishment of order endangered by injustice. The demystification of the conflict and the alternative for the tragic situation lead the drama towards the human side, and the verbal behavior of the main character in turn develops a discourse strategy of inclusion and solidarity. Facing his brother and antagonist, that strategy is shown through opposing the performativity of the accuser, until he has to deny the supported general truth to take responsibility for his arbitrary decision. This makes his vicious character to emerge as vulnerable and guilty as his brother is.

Ciranda de loucos: o ritmo circular e trágico do delirio

Uma poderosa imagem da loucura atravessa os tempos, tema vasto e complexo que invade a vida social e a literatura. Apresentaremos a tragédia Héracles de Eurípides focalizando seu protagonista, o herói que é tomado de furor e investe contra a própria família. Com o apoio de outros textos -o romance Quincas Borba, de Machado de Assis, e o conto "Sorôco, sua mãe, sua filha", de João Guimarães Rosa-, pretendemos investigar como se dá a escolha e o uso de palavras para a constituição do ritmo da loucura. Sem mencionar autores que verdadeiramente eram ou ficaram loucos, como inocular desordem na palavra artificialmente -e portanto racionalmente- construída? A nossa trajetória pretende demonstrar que a técnica da literatura para construir a demência nos três textos escolhidos tem suas bases na literatura grega

A powerful image of madness -a wide and complex theme in social life and in literature- is presented in Heracles' Euripides through the main character of the tragedy, the hero who is seized by rage and invests against his own family. With the support of other texts -namely the novel Quincas Borba, from Machado de Assis, and the short-tale "Sorôco, sua mãe, sua filha", from João Guimarães Rosa-, we intend to investigate how the poet make a madness' rhythm from the choice and use of the words. Not to mention authors that actually were or went mad, how to inoculate disorder in the word artificially -and therefore rationally- constructed?

Tragedy, History, Novel: An Approach to Leonardo Padura's Novel The Man Who Loved Dogs, and Jonathan Littell's Novel The Kindly Ones

El trabajo aborda el modo en que dos novelas contemporáneas, al tratar dos de los hechos históricos más traumáticos del siglo XX, asumen una serie de patrones y de motivos provenientes en última instancia de la tragedia clásica, lo cual da ocasión para reflexionar sobre la cuestión de la representación de la historia en la novela y la relación que se establece entre dos géneros considerados por las teorías literarias clásicas como antitéticos.

The paper tackels the way in wich two contemporary novels, when it comes to deal with two of the most traumatic historical events of the 20th Century, adopt a series of patterns and motives from the classical tragedy. In doing so, it meditates on the issue of the representation of History within the novel, as well as on the relationship built up between two genres traditionally considered as opposite

Catullus' and Lesbia's Love in Three Modern Novels

La historia de amor entre Catulo y Lesbia se convirtió pronto en un motivo literario al que han recurrido muchos escritores a lo largo de la historia. En este trabajo analizo el punto de vista de tres novelistas modernos -Thornton Wilder, Antonio Priante e Isabel Barceló- sobre esta relación amorosa. En sus narraciones se confronta el amor apasionado y el reflexivo, la perspectiva masculina y la femenina, los usos antiguos y modernos, etc. Hay afinidades evidentes entre los tres novelistas en el tratamiento de la historia y los personajes, pero también diferencias ideológicas relevantes que resultan útiles para entender mejor la sociedad romana del siglo I y la nuestra.

The love story between Catullus and Lesbia was quickly transformed into a literary motif which many writers have resorted to throughout the history of literature.In this work I will analyse this love relationship from the perspective of three modern novelists: Thornton Wilder, Antonio Priante and Isabel Barceló. In their writings there is confrontation between passionate and reflective love, male and female perspectives and classical and contemporary uses. There exist clear similarities between the way these three novelists approach the story and characters but there are also significant ideological differences that can help further our understanding of both first-century Roman society and our present-day society.

Eros and Memory in La noche del Aguafiestas, by Antón Arrufat

Algunos investigadores como Rafael Rojas o Suremis Pavón han catalogado La noche del Aguafiestas, de Antón Arrufat, como una novela platónica, conectada simbólica y literariamente con el Banquete. Este trabajo suma a tal relación la presencia del Fedro, famoso diálogo platónico donde se aborda el fenómeno de la memoria o reminiscencia y su relación con la Belleza y el Eros. Se intenta validar esta conexión intertextual, que ha pasado desapercibida a la crítica, y se analiza cómo repercute a nivel simbólico en la configuración de los personajes y en una de las temáticas más recurrentes de la novela: la importancia de la memoria y su función activa en la relación erótica con el Otro.

Some scholars like Rafael Rojas or Suremis Pavón have considered La noche del Aguafiestas by Antón Arrufat to be a Platonic novel symbolically and literarily connected with The Symposium. This paper adds The Phaedrus to this connection, Plato's famous dialogue dealing with the issue of memory or reminiscence and its relation to Beauty and Eros. It tries to validate this intertextual connection that has gone unnoticed by critics, and it examines how this text has a symbolical effect on the characterization of characters, and on one of the most recurrent themes of the novel, namely the importance of memory and its active part in the erotic relation to the other.

Duas propostas oitocentistas de tradução literária para a praelocutio de Geórgicas III, de Virgílio

Neste artigo, desejamos discutir os diferentes procedimentos empregados por Manuel Odorico Mendes (1799-1864) e pelo Visconde António Feliciano de Castilho (1800-1875) para traduzir poeticamente -em versos inclusive- as Geórgicas de Virgílio. Especificamente, a passagem escolhida para nossos comentários corresponde ao começo do prólogo do livro III (v. 1-48) desse poema, com especial atenção aos nove primeiros versos. Assim, apesar de terem buscado alternativas para tornar estas traduções em produtos literários poeticamente trabalhados, parece-nos que Odorico foi mais bem sucedido nessa tarefa, pois a experiência de lê-lo recria com mais "fidelidade" o que se passa quando tentamos acessar Virgílio em latim.

In this paper we intend to discuss the different procedures used by Manuel Odorico Mendes (1799-1864) and by Viscount António Feliciano de Castilho (1800-1875) to translate the Georgics of Virgil into a poem, even making use of versification. Particularly, the excerpt that we have chosen for our remarks corresponds to the beginnings of the prologue to book III (v. 1-48) of this poem, with special attention to the nine first lines. Thus, despite both authors have sought for alternatives to turn these translations into literary products poetically treated, it seems that Odorico was more successful in this task, since the experience of reading his work recreates more accurately the ambiance found when we access Virgil in Latin.

Filming Oedipus: Mythical Montage of Recent Political History in Two Argentine Movies: Vidas privadas and El recuento de los daños

Las películas Vidas privadas (2001) y El recuento de los daños (2009), dirigidas por Fito Páez e Inés de Oliveira Cézar, respectivamente, tratan acerca de las consecuencias de los crímenes de la última dictadura militar argentina, principalmente de la apropiación ilegal de hijos nacidos en cautiverio. Ambas películas han coincidido en elegir el mito de Edipo para llevar al extremo del tabú del incesto las secuelas de los daños que este régimen de terror ha dejado. El mito provee, en los dos casos, un marco interpretativo para leer y comprender lo sucedido.

The films Vidas privadas (2001) and El recuento de los daños (2009), directed by Fito Páez and Inés de Oliveira Cezar, respectively, deal with the consequences of the last Argentine military dictatorship's crimes, mainly with the illegal appropriation of children born in prison. Both films have chosen Oedipus myth to take to the extremes of incest taboo the harm effect of this terror regime. The myth provides, in both cases, an interpretive framework to read and understand what happened.

Of Love and Violence? Copies Can Tell their History…

La historia de las colecciones de copias, que se remonta a la Antigüedad y llega hasta nuestros días, está plena de sucesos disímiles que alternan etapas felices, de deleite por el arte clásico y acopio de reproducciones de las obras con diferentes motivaciones, con otros momentos aciagos en que las copias artísticas fueron repudiadas y desamparadas. El presente trabajo hace un recorrido por los principales avatares de esta historia marcada por el amor y la violencia en sus diversos períodos, con especial referencia a España, Hispanoamérica y al Museo de Arqueología Clásica Juan Miguel Dihigo de la Universidad de La Habana.

The history of the collections of copies, sinceAntiquityto our days, is full of events alternating between happy times of enjoyment of classical art in which many collectionsof reproductions of masterpieceswere assembled with different motivations, and unfortunate moments in which artistic copies were repudiated and abandoned. This paper makes a tour of the main episodes of this history marked by love and violence in their different periods, with special reference to Spain, Spanish America and the Museum of Classical Archaeology Juan Miguel Dihigo of the University of Havana.

Duos Attracting? A Roman Coin Collection in Cuba

Atracción y repulsión son alternativas no siempre tan alejadas entre sí, y este hecho se manifiesta en la cultura humana desde la Antigüedad. El presente artículo revela cómo el amor y la violencia, temas de gran interés para la contemporaneidad, se encontraban en pugna y seducción desde la antigua Roma. A través de un estudio de caso, la colección numismática Dihigo, perteneciente al Museo de Arqueología Clásica fundado en 1919 en la Universidad de La Habana, se dibujan y luego se desdibujan los límites contrapuestos que son, finalmente, caras de una misma moneda.

Attraction and repulsion are not so distant alternatives, and that fact became manifest in the human culture since the Antiquity. The current essay reveals how love and violence, nowadays subjects of great interest, were fighting and seducing themselves since the ancient Rome. Through a case study, the numismatic collection Dihigo, pertaining to the Classic Archaeology Museum founded in 1919 at the University of Havana, draws and then blurs the opposing boundaries that finally are face of the same coin.

Odi et amo. Love and Violence in Tango

Este trabajo analiza las letras del tango desde la perspectiva de los modelos clásicos que abordan el amor y la violencia. El estudio se centra en la presencia de los tópicos literarios Odi et amo y Nec tecum nec sine te en la obra de letristas rioplatenses consagrados como Enrique Santos Discépolo, Luis César Amadori, Homero Expósito, Enrique Cadícamo o Cátulo Castillo. El enfoque metodológico parte de la literatura comparada con el fin de establecer paralelos entre la poetización del así llamado "odioenamoramiento" en el mundo clásico y en el tango. Los ejemplos aportados permiten concluir que la tradición grecolatina subyace en la literatura del tango a la hora de retratar las situaciones en que el amor y la violencia concurren

In this paper tango lyrics are analyzed from the perspective of the classical models dealing with love and violence. The study focuses on the presence of the literary topics Odi et amo and Nec tecum nec sine te in the work of renowned songwriters from Río de la Plata such as Enrique Santos Discépolo, Luis César Amadori, Homero Expósito, Enrique Cadícamo or Cátulo Castillo. The methodological approach derives from comparative literature in order to establish parallels between the poetization of the so called "hatelove" in the classical world and in tango. The examples given allow us to conclude that the classical tradition underlies tango literature when depicting the situations in which love and violence concur.

A Ninfa e a Mênade: imagens antigas em histórias de amor e fúria na arte brasileira contemporânea

A partir da história da arte desenvolvida por Aby Warburg e dos papéis que nela são atribuídos às ninfas e às mênades, o artigo propõe um painel com obras brasileiras de diferentes tipos (literatura, pintura e cinema), para demonstrar o duplo agenciamento do coctail paradoxal amor/violência: por um lado, a captação do traço dialético existente nestes padrões emotivos; por outro, a complementaridade entre aportes teóricos e códigos artísticos capaz de explicar a sobrevivência do antigo em novas historicidades. Benjamin, Bataille, Girard e Agamben contribuem para a fundamentação teórica do artigo. O corpus analítico inclui pinturas de Di Cavalcanti, o filme Reflexões de um liquidificador (Brasil, 2010) e o romance-teatro A Tragédia brasileira, de Sérgio Sant'Anna (1987). Nestas obras sobrevivem figurações do imaginário pateticamente intensificadas (Pathosformeln) que, ao representar artisticamente paixões, recuperam gestos imemoriais infensos ao controle do imaginário e dos corpos, ao longo da história.

Based on Aby Warburg's Art History and the roles attributed to nymphs and maenads in it, the article proposes a panel with Brazilian works of different types (literature, painting and cinema), in order to demonstrate the dual agency in the paradoxical coctail love/violence: on the one hand, the detection of dialectical features in these emotional patterns; on the other hand, the complementarity between theoretical approaches and artistic codes that elucidate the survival of the Antiquity in new historicities. Benjamin, Bataille, Girard and Agamben contribute to the theoretical approach of this article. The analytical corpus includes paintings by Di Cavalcanti, the film Reflections of a blender (Brazil, 2010) and Sant'Anna's novel The Brazilian Tragedy (1987). In these works, figurations of pathetically intensified imaginary (Pathosformeln) survive, recovering ancient gestures impervious to the control of imaginary and bodies throughout history.