Early in 1987 the director of our M. A. program in Spanish received word from the Educational Testing Service (ETS) that the Spanish Test of the GRE would be offered for the last time in December of 1987. Perhaps procrastinating, perhaps hoping it wasn't so, our graduate committee did not bring the matter up until its first meeting this past fall, when I was asked to phone around to find out how other schools in our region were filling in the void. I ended up phoning the 20 Spanish Ph.D. -granting institutions that are located in the western half of the continental U.S. (roughly Kansas-to-the-Coast; the Ph.D. in Spanish is granted by about 80 U.S. universities all told). Here is what I learned: of the 20, only three would continue to use the GRE Spanish Test (GRE-ST) through December 1987 and, as of mid-October, were still thinking about what to replace it with. Sixteen additional institutions either never used the GRE-ST to begin with, or else stopped using it in recent years and have already decided not to replace it with anything. The clear majority of schools surveyed have always required the general GRE for admission and will continue to do so in the absence of the GRE-ST. None of the three schools that were still undecided had any firm plans for drawing up a local testing instrument to replace the GRE-ST. Only one school, the University of Southern California, was considering a specific, national examination, about which more below.

Few of you who are reading this have not come to know the GRE-ST in one form or another, but a quick trip down memory lane is in order, if only to pay homage to a venerable test that has recently passed on. A typical GRE-ST ran to slightly more than 200 multiple-choice items and took about three hours to complete. The first 75% of it tested general knowledge about Hispanic culture and literature, along with the examinant's ability to analyze passages from poems and prose fiction. At most a dozen questions summarily tested knowledge of Hispanic linguistics. The remaining two dozen items constituted a test of syntax, semantics, and style. Between October 1, 1981 and September 30, 1984, 1,474 persons took the GRE-ST, while 1,576 took the French Test and only 709 the German Test as compared with 39,497 Biology, 14,873 Chemistry, 11,458 Computer Science, 23,912 Engineering, 14,838 Literature in English, 43,939 Psychology and so forth. The German Test was phased out several years ago and the French Test was offered for the last time in December of 1987 as was the Spanish. Also abolished recently was the subject test in Geography.

For the admissions committees of graduate programs in Spanish, the demise of the GRE-ST means that the choices are reduced to these: (1) depend entirely on the GRE General Test, which measures and yields separate scores for the verbal, quantitative and analytical abilities students are supposed to have acquired by the time they seek admission to graduate school; (2) do without the GRE general test and depend entirely on undergraduate grade point averages and letters of recommendation, supplemented perhaps by telephone interviews, taped preparations, etc.; or (3) start using the exam -the Prueba de Admisión para Estudios Graduados (PAEG) -that I first learned about from the department secretary at USC.

The PAEG was developed by ETS in the middle seventies at the request of several Puerto Rican universities. Like the GRE General Test, it seeks to examine general abilities and not specific subject areas. It has four parts: (1) [90 minutes] Aptitud verbal (antónimos, palabras relacionadas, interpretación de lectura); (2) [60 minutes] Razonamiento cuantitativo (with two sections, one strictly mathematical and the other more of a test of general logic); (3) [30 minutes] Redacción; and (4) [45 minutes] Inglés (a mix of phrase completion and reading analysis). Spanish is the medium of testing for sections one through three. The PAEG is offered six times yearly in Puerto Rico and also at ETS in Princeton (largely for East Coast residents who seek entrance to Puerto Rican universities). Normed heretofore on a Puerto Rican student population, the PAEG is also used by the Latin American Scholarship Program of American Universities (LASPAU) in evaluating Hispanic American applicants for graduate study programs at U. S. institutions.

As I see it, there are advantages and disadvantages to using the PAEG. The most salient disadvantage is that it does not test -as the GRE-ST did- for specific knowledge of Hispanic literature, culture, and linguistics. Yet the PAEG profusely   —109→   tests examinants' abilities to handle the Spanish language and at levels that are by no means unadvanced. It is in this sense that the PAEG may well prove to be even more appropriate than the GRE-ST for the large and increasing numbers of native hispanophones (whether domestic or foreign) who populate our graduate classes today. (Strictly anecdotal evidence leads me to guess that roughly half of all persons currently pursuing Ph.D.s in Spanish are native speakers of it, and that the majority of them are foreign. A discrete survey would be welcome on this potentially sensitive matter.) The PAEG, however, does not test background in Hispanism, a default that is not easily remedied by «local» instruments in that these could never stand up in court against the law suit of a rejected applicant, since I cannot envision any local instrument ever attracting an adequate cohort of examinants to serve as a base for the necessary studies of validity and reliability without which a test's predictability is moot.

What I have recommended to my own graduate studies committee is a five-fold combination: (1) the PAEG (with primary emphasis given to subscores for sections one and three, though four's subscore should not be overlooked, since a not insignificant number of our foreign-educated applicants are seriously deficient in English, a deficiency which prevents them from handling critical material in that language); (2) the undergraduate G.P.A. in Spanish (or, for foreign applicants, in literatura, redacción and overall filosofía y letras work); (3) a composition in Spanish (to be written under supervised conditions immediately after the PAEG is taken); (4) an on-campus interview if possible, a phone interview if not; and (5) letters of recommendation from former professors.

These of course are local solutions. Will a national consensus arise now that the GRE-ST is gone? Can the AATSP have a role to play in forging such a consensus? At the very least I would like the whole matter of graduate admissions to be discussed in depth, and to that end I am recommending to the AATSP Executive Council that it look into the possibility of sponsoring something -session? panel? symposium?- on graduate admissions at the 1989 annual meeting.

My concern here is personal as well as professional. While granting that doubt is periodically cast on the predictive utility of standardized admissions exams, I nonetheless note that law schools, business schools and medical schools as well as humanities, science and other graduate departments continue to rely on LSATs, GMATs and the like, and so I ask: Can we claim to be a profession if we don't have a professional admissions test?

NEH Funds Latin American Literature Project. The Cambridge University Press is pleased to announce that in 1992 it will publish a comprehensive history of Latin American Literature including Brazil, edited by Roberto González-Echevarría, Yale University, and Enrique Pupo-Walker, Vanderbilt University. The History, written by approximately forty scholars from the United States, Europe and Latin America, will feature extensive annotated bibliographies. A Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities was awarded to this project. Info: The Center for Latin American and Iberian Studies, Box 1806, Station B, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235.

The Americas Review, a fifteen year-old quarterly featuring original fiction, poetry, and essays by and about U.S. Hispanics, has been awarded a «Citation of Achievement for Editorial Excellence and Vision» for the second consecutive year by the Coordinating Council of Literary Magazines. The publication is supported in part by the Cultural Arts Council of Houston, the Texas Commission on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. Publisher, Nicolás Kanellos; Editor, Julian Olivares; and book Review Editor, Patricia Mosier, are all members of AATSP.

(Encuentro, Vol. III, No. 1)

The Americas Review announces a special issue in 1988 on U.S. Hispanic Auto/Biography and invites papers on the expression of Hispanic Auto/Biography and papers on the expression of self and culture in Latino autobiography and fiction to be submitted by September 15, 1988. Of special interest is the application of recent critical theory on autobiography to Hispanic auto/biography and innovative essays on first-person narrative fiction. Studies challenging the culture of crime and poverty as portrayed in works published by mainstream and commercial presses are encouraged. Info: The Americas Review, Arte Público Press, University of Houston, University Park, Houston, TX 77004.

The Travel to Collections program of the National Endowment for the Humanities provides grants of $750 to assist American scholars to meet the costs of long-distance travel to research collections of libraries, archives, museums, or other repositories throughout the United States and the world. Awards are made to help defray such research expenses as transportation, lodging, food, and photoduplication and other reproduction costs. Application deadlines are January 15 for research travel between June 1 and November 30, and July 15 for research travel between December 1 and May 31. Info: Travel to Collections Program, Division of Fellowships and Seminars, Room 316, National Endowment for the Humanities, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W., Washington, D. C. 20506 (202/786-0463).

The Alamo Language Association (ALA) of San Antonio, Texas has chosen Pope John Paul II to be the recipient of this year's Foreign Language Advocate of the Year Award. The award was made in absentia on September 9, just several days prior to the Pope's historic visit to San Antonio and other U.S. cities.

ALA, composed of foreign language teachers from throughout the San Antonio area, presented the award in the form of a resolution written in each of the seven languages which the Pope speaks fluently: English, French, German, Italian, Latin, Polish and Spanish. The resolutions were read aloud by seven interpreters and presented to a representative of the Pope's Visitation Committee who was to forward them to the Vatican along with other materials related to the Pope's San Antonio visit. One of the interpreters was AATSP member Elvira Gonzáles.

SWCOLT Newsletter

September 1987

María Elena Villalba, Department Chairperson at Miami Palmetto Senior High School, Miami, Florida, has been appointed a member of the Foreign Language Advisory Committee of the College Board for the 1987-88 academic year. The work of the committee includes providing advice on how to achieve the learning outcomes described in the College Board's new Academic Preparation Series, the most recent publication of the Board's Educational Equality Project.

Spanish poet, novelist, and professor of literature at New York University, Odón Betanzos was unanimously reelected president of the North American Academy of the Spanish Language. Author of several works of poetry, Santidad y guerrería and Hombre de luz, as well as Poemas del hombre y las desolaciones and the novel Diosdado de lo alto, Dr. Betanzos has been awarded the Order of Isabel la Católica and is a member of the Spanish Academy of Language, as well as the Academies of the Philippines, Guatemala, Chile, and of the Hispanic Society of America. He is a native of Rociana del Condado, Huelva, Spain.

Emilio Labrada

Organization of American States

Washington, D. C.

Se organiza una Asociación de Valleinclanistas. A partir de los numerosos congresos celebrados en 1986 en distintos lugares del mundo con motivo de conmemorar el cincuentenario de la muerte de Ramón del Valle-Inclán (1866-1936), nos hemos percatado de la necesidad de constituir una Asociación de Valleinclanistas . El propósito de la Asociación será mantenernos al corriente de diversos proyectos de investigación en torno a la figura del autor.

La Asociación tendrá por objetivo promover cualquier actividad escolar sobre la obra de Valle-Inclán en cualquier país y cualquier lengua mediante la publicación de un boletín informativo. El boletín dará a conocer intereses y proyectos de cada uno de nosotros tales como títulos de trabajos recientemente publicados y en preparación, tesis y tesinas, y otras actividades profesionales. Los interesados en ser miembros de la Asociación de Valleinclanistas deben dirigirse a la profesora Virginia M. Garlitz, Secretaria de la junta Organizadora, Asociación de Valleinclanistas, Plymouth State College, Plymouth, NH 03264, USA. Miembros de la Junta Organizadora: Carol Maier, Bradley University, Leda Schiavo, University of Illinois at Chicago, John P. Gabriele, College of Wooster, Albert LeMay, Kellogg Institute -Notre Dame University, Iris Zavala, Spaans Inst-Rijksuniversteit, Utrecht. Info: John P. Gabriele, The College of Wooster, Wooster, OH 44691.

As part of the international observance of the five-hundredth anniversary of Christopher Columbus's voyage of discovery to the New World, the National Endowment for the Humanities is inviting proposals for original   —111→   scholarship on related topics and for the dissemination of both new and existing scholarship. Topics may include the expansion of European civilization through the efforts of the Spanish and Portuguese crowns; the establishment of new societies and new forms of cultural expression through encounters among native American, European, and African peoples; and the political, religious, philosophical, scientific, technological, and aesthetic ideas that shaped the processes of exploration, settlement, and cultural conflict and transformation set into motion by Columbus's momentous voyage. For further Info: Division of Fellowships and Seminars, National Endowment for the Humanities, Room 316, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue N. W., Washington, D. C. 20506.

Encuentro, Vol. III, No. 1

The Ibero-Latin American Studies Center has been created at the University of Colorado, Boulder. After a year of discussions among faculty members from disciplines representing the humanities, fine arts, social sciences, sciences and professional schools, the University administration has approved the creation of the Center to facilitate the coordination of current and forthcoming activities of those interested within the institution in these geographical areas and Hispanics in the United States. This body has the added responsibility of obtaining temporary and, above all, continuous external support to facilitate the attainment of excellence at the University of Colorado, Boulder. The Center's initial budget allows for the publication of a newsletter, the acquisition of library books, the awarding of Grants-in-Aid, the sponsorship of speakers and cultural events, etc. As part of the College of Arts and Sciences, the Center is housed at the department of Spanish and Portuguese.

Luis T. González-del-Valle

University of Colorado, Boulder

Readers International has as its goal the publication of books often rejected by U.S. publishers who bring only mainstream works to their readers. Since 1984, Readers International has brought to the U.S. public 20 books from 16 countries. Among these are six Latin American titles, almost all novels: To Bury Our Fathers, and also Stories by Sergio Ramírez of Nicaragua; A Funny Dirty Little War, by Osvaldo Soriano, Argentina; Mothers and Shadows, by Marta Traba, Argentina; I Dreamt the Snow Was Burning, by Antonio Skármeta, Chile; and The Land, by Antonio Torres, Brazil. Info: P.O. Box 959, Columbia, LA 71418-0959.

The Benson Latin American Collection at the University of Texas at Austin has recently acquired 18 pieces of correspondence of Gabriela Mistral from a book dealer in Argentina. Dr. Don Gibbs, bibliographer, who is working on a manuscript on small archives in this collection, has noted the following themes in the poet's correspondence: publications, literary and reading tastes, the writing of a book of short stories, concern for orphan children in Spain, worry about Chilean attacks on Unamuno and Ortega, and repugnance for fascism. The documents, dating from 1936 to 1949, are now available to researchers.

The minority populations of five states in the Southwest -Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas- are posed to become a majority shortly after the turn of the century.

Yet schools and colleges have been failing significant numbers of minority youths, indicates a report from the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. If the situation does not improve as their numbers grow, the region's educational level could drop.

«If education is not made more successful for minorities than it has been, we will fall behind in achieving our goals of social justice and in meeting our needs for economic growth», continues the report, the product of a panel of educators and state policymakers convened by the commission two years ago to study the implications of the region's increasing proportion of ethnic minorities.

Four goals could alleviate this situation:

1. Educational practices and teaching methods may have to change to accommodate more diverse student bodies.

2. Dropout rates must be reduced by providing a challenging core curriculum.

3. The number of minority faculty members at all levels of education must be increased.

4. Historical inequities in the financing of schools in low-income areas must be redressed.

Chronicle of Higher Education

Sept. 23, 1987, 37-38

Campus Compact, a national consortium of more than 100 colleges and university presidents and their institutions, and the Peace Corps are working on an overseas internship program to help undergraduates internationalize their college experience.

Offered year-round, the internships have possible beginning dates in January, March, June and September so that each intern may serve either one quarter, trimester or semester depending upon the schedule of his home institution. There is a mutuality of benefits. The internship gives the undergraduate a taste of life and work in a developing nation; the student in exchange provides the Peace Corps staff with valuable assistance through a variety of projects tailored to the needs of the particular office and the individual's talents and interest. In this program the Peace Corps covers housing,   —112→   work-related expenses abroad and also any orientation program that the intern may need. Other costs, including travel, food and medical expenses and incidentals are the responsibility of the intern and their schools.

The program originated from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire and in 1986-87, with the funding of the Tucker Foundation, eight Dartmouth undergraduates served in Peace Corps offices on four continents. Among the possibilities for 1988 are four Latin American countries: Honduras, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic and Belize (British Honduras). Info: Campus Compact, Box 1975, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912. Phone: (401) 863-1119.

A resolution responding to recent efforts to declare English an «official language» was approved by the MLA Delegate Assembly in December 1986 and subsequently ratified by the membership of the association through a mail ballot. The resolution places the MLA on record in opposition to such efforts and calls on members to «encourage both foreign language study for native English speakers and programs that enable speakers with other linguistic backgrounds to maintain proficiency in those languages along with English» (PMLA 102 [1987]: 382).

During the academic year 1986-87 resolutions similar to the MLA's were approved by the members or governing bodies of several organizations, including the National Council of Teachers of English, the Linguistic Society of America, the American Association of Teachers of German, Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, the National Association for Bilingual Education, and the American Association of Teachers of French. One impetus to action on the part of these organizations was the success of the English «movement» in persuading the voters of California, in November 1986, to approve by a large majority an amendment to the state constitution declaring English the official language of the state.

Supporters of the English «cause» have introduced resolutions, bills and draft amendments in the legislatures of thirty-seven states, and by the summer of 1987 thirteen states had acted to make English their official language. Info: JNCL, 20 F St. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001. (202) 873-2211.

MLA Newsletter, Vol. 19, No. 3

The Joint National Committee for Language (JNCL) was founded by the major language associations of the U.S. and is dedicated to the advancement of language study in this country. Feeling that language training and international studies have never received priority treatment, JNCL wants to increase language skills so that Americans can conduct a more effective foreign policy, expand trade, ensure the integrity of our national defense and develop a broad-based education for all citizens.

The National Council for Language and International Studies (NCLIS), a complementary organization to JNCL, is the action arm and seeks to influence and promote policies and legislation which are important to its constituency. It maintains regular contact with national policymakers and legislators to sensitize them to language and international studies issues.

These two organizations support the following:

1. An improvement and expansion of foreign language teaching.

2. An increase in the availability of language education opportunities to students.

3. The encouragement of English instruction abroad as well as bilingual education at home.

4. The development of more rigorous proficiency standards and the establishment of language requirements based on those standards.

5. An expansion of basic and applied research on foreign languages in business and public sectors.

6. An expansion of translation and interpretation capabilities.

7. Increased support by Federal, State, and local governments and the private sector for foreign language and international education programs.

Thirty-five professional organizations comprise JNCL and NCLIS. The ones relating to Spanish and Portuguese are AATSP, the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, MLA and the National Association for Bilingual Education. Info: 20 F Street N.W., Fourth Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001.

The Alabama Commission on Higher Education's Consortium for the Advancement of Foreign Language Education is proposing six projects for foreign language teachers for 1988.

Resource Directory:

An updated directory with specific information on the nature and availability of programs will be published every two years.

Summer Immersion Institutes:

A competitive grant or grants will be awarded to one or two institutions or a consortium of institutions to conduct one week Summer Immersion Institutes for certified teachers of foreign languages.

Weekend Workshops:

Three Weekend Workshops will be offered throughout the state with assistance from local Academic Alliances.

Foreign Study Grants:

A competitive grant project based on the   —113→   Rockefeller Fellowship model will permit seven K-12 foreign language teachers to broaden their professional background through a self-designed program of travel and study in a target language country.

ACTFL Oral Proficiency Scholarships:

Five scholarships will be offered to appropriate persons to satisfy Alabama's needs for ACTFL Oral Proficiency Evaluators.

Foreign Language Outreach institutes:

This project is to alleviate the shortage of qualified foreign language teachers by retraining N-12 teachers.

Susan J. Blankenship

Central High School West Campus

Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Noël Valis, the compiler of Leopoldo Alas (Clarín): An Annotated Bibliography (Grand and Cutler, 1968), is currently working on a second volume. She welcomes any bibliographical information from her colleagues and from Clarín specialists. Info: Noel Valis, Dept. of Romance Languages, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1275.

The Latin American News Service (LANS) will be added this fall to National Public Radio news and information programming, NPR announced.

LANS provides news and features by reporters based in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America. It has been distributed from its headquarters at KXCR-FM in El Paso, Texas, since last February. The service, available to the 350 NPR member stations across the country, will include a seven-minute news report each weekday, and a weekly 14-minute audio magazine summarizing the week's Latin American news and events.

Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 8-13 March, Chicago. Info: TESOL, 1118 22nd St. N.W., Washington, DC 20037. Phone (202) 872-1271.

The Ohio Foreign Language Association, 10-12 March, Cincinnati. Info: Marjorie Artzer, 425 Altaview Ct., Cincinnati, OH 45231.

Changing Views of the American Hispanic in Film, 11-12 March, Cornell Univ. Info: Debra A. Castilli, Dept. of Romance Studies, Goldwin Smith Hall, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY 14853-3201.

Second/Foreign Language Acquisition by Children, 18-19 March, Chicago. Info: Rosemary Benja, East Central Univ., Ada, OK 74820-6899. Phone (405) 332-8000.

Popular Culture Association and American Culture Association, 23-26 March, New Orleans. Info: Helen L. Ryan, Modern Language Dept., Olin Hall 304, Univ. of Akron, Akron, OH 44325.

The Humanities Division of Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York is pleased to announce that the National Endowment for the humanities has funded the Division's Second National Black Writers Conference scheduled to take place on March 24-27, 1988. The theme of the 1988 conference is «Images of Black Folk in American Literature and in the Literature of the Other Americas». Info: John O. Killens, Director, Medgar Evers College, Carroll Street, Brooklyn, NY 11225.

Northeast Modern Language Association, 24-26 March, Providence. Info: Judith L. Johnston, Dept. of English, Rider College, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648-3099.

Southeastern Conference on Linguistics, 24-26 March, Memphis. Info: Reza Ordoubadian, Box 275, Middle Tennessee State Univ., Murfreesboro, TN 37132.

Continental, Latin American, and Francophone Women Writers, 7-9 April, Wichita State Univ. Info: Eunice Myers and Ginette Adamson, Dept. of Modern and Classical Languages, Box 11, Wichita State Univ., Wichita, KS 67208.

Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, 7-10 April, New York City. Info: Northeast Conference, Box 623, Middlebury, VT 05753.

EMU Conference on Languages and Communication for World Business, 7-9 April. Info: Ann Arbor, The World College, 307 Goodison Hall, Eastern Michigan Univ., Ypsilanti, MI 48197.

Latin American Fiction in the '80s, 7-9 April, Rice Univ. Info: Juan Manuel Marcos, Oklahoma State Univ., Stillwater, OK 74078.

SCOLAS (Southwest Conference of Latin American Studies) annual convention at the University of Mexico -San Antonio, Texas, April 7-9, 1988. Held simultaneously with a conference, «Mexico as a Metaphor for the Americas», funded by the Texas Committee for the Humanities. Invited speaker is Mexican writer, Elena Poniatowska. Info: Dick Woods, Trinity University, 715 Stadium Drive, San Antonio, Texas 78284.

Southwest and Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages in conjunction with the Colorado Congress of Language Teachers and Southwest Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, 13-16 April, Denver. Info: Gerard L. Ervin, Slavic Dept., 232 Cunz Hall, The Ohio State Univ., Columbus 43210.

Gauchos and Nation Builders in the Río de la Plata: The Arts and Literature, 14-16   —114→   April, Univ. of Wisconsin, La Crosse. Info: William Katra, Dept. of Foreign Languages, Univ. of Wisconsin, La Crosse, WI 54601.

Southeastern Council on Latin American Studies: Transportation and Communication in Latin America, 14-16 April, Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville. Info: Paula Heusinkveld, Dept. of Languages, Clemson, SC 29634.

Kentucky Foreign Language Conference, 21-23 April, Univ. of Kentucky. Info: J. R. Jones, Dept. of Spanish and Italian, 1115 Patterson Office Tower, Univ. of Kentucky, Lexington 40506-0027.

Foreign Language Day (for secondary school students), 30 April, Youngstown. Info: Herve Corbe, Dept. of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Youngstown State Univ., OH 44555. Phone (216) 742-3464.

Congress on Medieval Studies, 5-8 May, Western Michigan Univ. Info: Constance Nehil, Medieval Institute, Western Michigan Univ., Kalamazoo, MI 49008.

Pacific Northwest Council on Foreign Languages in conjunction with Confederation of Oregon Foreign Language Teachers, 6-7 May, Eugene. Info: Dianne W. Hart, Foreign Languages and Literatures, Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR 97331. Phone (503) 754-2289.

Eighth Annual Cincinnati Conference on Romance Languages and Literatures, 11-13 May, University of Cincinnati. Info: Sadek Anis, Conference Chair, Dept. of Romance Languages and Literatures, Univ. of Cincinnati, OH 45221-0377.

American Forum on Education and International Competence, 13-16 May, St. Louis. Info: Global Perspectives in Education, Inc., 45 John St., Suite 1200, New York, NY 10038. Phone (212) 732-8606.

National Association for Foreign Student Affairs, 31 May-3 June, Washington, DC. Info: Sherie L. Voland, NAESA, 1860 19th St. N.W., Washington, DC 20009.

San Sebastian Conference on Basque, French, and Hispanic Literatures, 22-25 June, San Sebastian, Spain. Info: Felix Menchacatorre, Departamento de Lengua y Literatura, Universidad del País Vasco, Apartado 644, 48080 Bilbao, Spain.

Centre for Research in Philosophy and Literature: Translation/Transmission/Tradition, 9-11 July, Univ. of Warwick. Info: David Wood or Susan Bassnett, Centre for Research in Philosophy and Literature, Univ. of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, England.

Congress of the International Institute of Iberoamerican Literature, 24-31 July, Mexico City. Info: Alfredo A. Roggiano, Hispanic Languages and Literature, Univ. of Pittsburgh, PA 15260.

American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, 19-23 August, Denver. Info: AATSP, P. O. Box 6349, Mississippi State, MS 39762-6349. Phone (601) 325-2041.

International Comparative Literature Association: Space and Boundaries, 22-27 August, Munich. Info: Roger Bauer, Abt. für Deutsche Philologie, Schellingstrasse 3, D-8000 Munchen 40, Federal Republic of Germany.

Kentucky Foreign Language Association, 24 September, Louisville (tentative). Info: Elise André, Berea College, Berea, KY 40404.

Southern Conference on Language Teaching, tba October, Charleston. Info: International Language Center, 909 S. Boston, Tulsa, OK 74119. Phone (918) 587-6561, ext. 261.

Foreign Language Association of Missouri, 7-8 October, Kansas City. Info: Paul A. Garcia, School District of Kansas City, Room 1108, 1211 McGee St., Kansas City 64106. Phone (816) 221-7565, ext. 308.

El Español en Los Estados Unidos/Spanish in The United States, 13-15 October, Miami, Florida. Call for papers on original research, written in Spanish or English. Info: Dr. Ana Roca, Conference Chair, Dept. of Modern Languages, Florida International Univ., University Park, Miami, FL 33199. (305) 554-2851 or 554-2046.

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese of the University of Illinois at Chicago are sponsoring a three-days conference entitled «Symposium on Spanish Linguistics», 3-5 November. Two noted scholars, James W. Harris (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), and Heles Contreras (University of Washington) are invited speakers. The organizers welcome 20-minute-long papers dealing with synchronic and diachronic issues on Spanish linguistics. Info: Rafael Nuñez-Cedeño, Dept. of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese, University of Illinois, Box 4348, Chicago, IL 60680.

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, 18-20 November, Monterey. Info: ACTFL, P.O. Box 408, Hastings-On-Hudson, NY 10706. Phone (914) 478-1011. Note: Post-conference workshops, 21-23 November.

Australasian Universities Language and Literature Association, 6-10 February, Sydney. Info: Audrey Meaney, School of English, Macquarie Univ., NSW 2109, Australia.

World War II and the Exiles: A Literary Response, 6-9 April, Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln. Info: Helmut F. Pfanner, Dept. of Modern Languages and Literatures, Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln 68583-0315.

Central States Conference on the Teaching   —115→   of Foreign Languages, 12-14 April, Nashville. Info: Gerard L. Ervin, Slavic Dept., 232 Cunz Hall. The Ohio State Univ., Columbus 43210.

Tennessee Foreign Language Teaching Association, 12-14 April, Nashville. Info: Sylvia Countess, Oak Ridge High School, Providence Rd., Oak Ridge, TN 37831.

Conference on Latin American Popular Culture, 13-15 April, East Lansing. Info: Joseph D. Straubhaar, Latin American Studies Center, Michigan State Univ., East Lansing 48823. Phone (517) 355-5073. Note: Call for papers, 1 October 1988.

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, 24-26 November, Boston. Info: ACTFL, P. O. Box 408. Hastings-On-Hudson, NY 10706. Phone (914) 478-2011. Note: Post-conference workshops, 27-29 November.

Modern Language Association, 27-30 December, Washington. Info: MLA, 10 Astor St., New York 10036. Phone (212) 475-9500.

Convidado pelo Centro de Estudos Luso-Brasileiros da Brown University, esteve entre nós recentemente o ficcionista e jornalista brasileiro João Ubaldo Ribeiro, precisamente para falar da sua experiência como homem e como escritor. Expressando-se num inglês perfeito o escritor aborda com extrema elegância e à vontade o tema que lhe fora proposto: a análise do período que vai de 1971 a 1985. Estas balizas cronológicas foram propositadamente indicadas, já que abarcam precisamente o período de tempo que medeia entre a publicação das suas duas obras mais famosas, respectivamente Sargento Getúlio e Viva o Povo Brasileiro. Ou seja: da repressão totalitária à chamada «abertura democrática».

E Ubaldo fala como quem lê poesia, calmamente, despojado dos artifícios empolgantes da retórica, do papel do escritor na sociedade, sobretudo durante o período de repressão.

Os escritores serão importantes? Mas claro. Que os escritores hão-de forçosamente desempenhar um papel importante na sociedade é ponto assente, de contrário não seriam os primeiros a serem presos pelos regimes totalitários. Porém, Ubaldo Ribeiro não embarca em ilusões quixotescas, com os pés no solo acrescenta que enquanto escritor, eu sei que não posso mudar o mundo, mas tenho obrigação de saber qual o papel que me cabe desempenhar na sociedade em que me insiro. Papel que será simultaneamente um misto de Prometeu e demiurgo, mas sobretudo de um artista que não se esquece de ser homem. Aliás ele sente que dessa tarefa não lhe advém qualquer privilégio de normatividade, o escritor Ubaldo Ribeiro sabe ser um homem que tem uma tarefa apenas diferente da maioria dos outros, só isso. De facto, não há nada que eu possa fazer pelo meu país senão escrever em ordem a denunciar e a clarificar, ou (e pede desculpa pela tautologia) seja: identificar a nossa identidade.

No debate que se seguiu teve oportunidade de expressar a sua surpresa por ter atingido uma notoriedade que o levou a ser um dos escritores mais lidos actualmente no Brasil. Mais: a sua popularidade intensa abriu-lhe as portas no estrangeiro, estando Sargento Getúlio traduzido em mais de dez idiomas e Viva o Povo Brasileiro pronto a sair em 7 países. Sobretudo o surpreende a última obra, que teve um sucesso quase bombástico, enquanto que Sargento Getúlio tem sido um livro em vendas regulares desde o lançamento, mas sem ter jamais explodido como Viva o Povo Brasileiro. Claro que seria cómodo explicar o sucesso deste por ter sido publicado já no tempo da chamada «abertura democrática», mas o autor entende que não, a ditadura (e a censura) obrigou à adopção de uma linguagem simbólica (e cifrada), mas não terá tido efeito tão radical como alguns sustentam. Se assim fosse as editoras teriam sido afogadas com as grandes obras que estavam na gaveta. E pergunta desapontado: onde estão elas?

Esta opinião revela uma flagrante analogia com o caso português após a Revolução de Abril. De certo modo passou-se, no entender de muitos, o mesmo em Portugal. Os melhores livros surgidos após Abril não serão o resultado directo da descompressão censória. Claro que a abolição da odiosa censura criou finalmente um clima propício à criação estética e libertou as ideias, mas isso será outra questão. Seria interessante colher a opinião de Ubaldo Ribeiro.

O que acontece logo no dia seguinte, num colóquio menos formal com professores e alunos lusófonos. Pergunto-lhe se é possível estabelecer um paralelo entre a situação portuguesa pós-revolução e o Brasil pós-abertura. A resposta brota sem qualquer hesitação: mas claro que sim; em Portugal como no Brasil os grandes livros de protesto nunca saíram das gavetas ... porque jamais lá entraram. E não há sarcasmo nas palavras de João Ubaldo, tão só a urgência de devolver a denotatividade a um discurso pejado de mitos e símbolos. Após este desabafo, doloroso mas catártico (para os portugueses, evidentemente) retoma o fluido tom de uma elegante digressão por temas múltiplos. Torrencialmente (mas sem jamais divagar ou pretender passar por especialista em qualquer assunto: sou um pobre escritor e nada mais) vai desfiando acutilantemente temas da actualidade social e literária. E zanga-se por ser catalogado como escritor regionalista por alguma crítica. O comentário sailhe em palavras mordazes, sardónicas:

Mas quem é que me pode acusar disso? Um qualquer escritor de Ipanema, que representa apenas alguns milhares de brasileiros? Ao menos eu tenho o número por mim, sempre represento uns trinta milhões de falantes. Aliás deixem-me dizer que a acusação é falaciosa, uma vez que os dialectos brasileiros não foram cientificamente levantados por nenhum linguista. Cadê os atlas linguísticos? Não há, ponto final. Daí quem poderá falar da norma e das variantes dialectais?

Versátil, lúcido e, sobretudo extremamente culto, João Ubaldo passa da linguística à literatura, do fenómeno da produção às questões ligadas à estética da recepção do texto literário. Dá-nos conta do trabalho violento a que se submeteu para produzir Viva o Povo Brasileiro: foram dez horas de trabalho diário durante quase ano e meio ... para nem mesmo assim conseguir cumprir os prazos com o editor: Foi o diabo. Para logo de seguida falar do fenómeno da recepção estética, que o escritor atribui muito mais a questões de conjuntura económica do que a uma sensível melhoria do bom gosto do leitor médio: sabe, paradoxalmente (e de acordo com informações que me foram dadas por livreiros e editores) o povo lê mais quando a crise económica aperta; não há dinheiro para sair (cinema, teatro, ópera), de modo que o pessoal opta por ficar em casa a ler, sempre fica mais barato. Pode ser uma forma modesta de explicar o sucesso das suas obras (permitindo-lhe viver exclusivamente da escrita) mas também pode ser a explicação para uma situação que pode induzir em erro os mais crédulos.

No seu curriculum vitae lê-se que também é tradutor. Não entrará isso em contradição com a actividade de escritor a tempo inteiro?

Tradutor? Sim, mas só ocasionalmente. Por exemplo, acabei de traduzir para inglês Viva o Povo Brasileiro que vai ser publicado nos Estados Unidos. Deixem-me falar dessa experiência: Nem quero falar do trabalhão que deu. Ainda por cima um livro que começa quando os Estados Unidos ainda não são um país. Vocês já viram o embaraço? Houve dias totalmente dedicados à procura de uma equivalência (lógica e cronológica) para uma planta, um peixe, uma flor. Nem lhes conto.

Caminhamos para o fim. É imprescindível falar de nós, do Brasil e Portugal, países que se queria fossem irmãos -mas que parecem apostados em arranharem-se ou ignorarem-se, conforme as circunstâncias. Estamos num espaço privilegiado de distanciamento geográfico e mergulhados num mundo que do Brasil conhece o calor, o carnaval e a música ... e de Portugal nem isso. Por isso, não quero deixar a oportunidade deste colóquio sem procurar agarrar a opinião de um intelectual que conhece bem a Literatura Portuguesa e Portugal. Ubaldo não se enleia em labirínticas mistificações de simpatia serôdia por Portugal e enfrenta desassombradamente a questão, respondendo sem falsos circunlóquios que de um modo geral a literatura portuguesa é praticamente desconhecida no Brasil. Se exceptuamos Camões, o leitor brasileiro (claro que não falo dos cultos, falo da média) de hoje terá dificuldades em conseguir citar três autores portugueses, sobretudo contemporâneos. Mas olhe que em Portugal a situação é idêntica em relação à literatura brasileira.

Mas porque teríamos chegado a esta situação incrível, como desceríamos a este inadmissível limiar de rotura? Por ignorância? Por complexos de colonizador/colonizado? Por má fé? Por orientações políticas deficientes?

Aqui fica o que Ubaldo tem para nos dizer -misto de admoestação e de apelo, mas sobretudo análise a merecer ponderada reflexão: Por muito que me custe, pois gosto muito de Portugal, tenho que reconhecer que os portugueses encaram tradicionalmente mal este fenómeno. O português irrita-se com a atitude «cafajesteira» da maioria dos brasileiros. Sai da sala furibundo e bate estrondosamente com a porta. Mas o «cafajeste» continua ignorante como até ali, com esta atitude de dama ferida no seu orgulho Portugal não vai lá, assim não conseguirá tornar a cultura portuguesa mais respeitada no Brasil. Para piorar começa a haver no Brasil uma escola académica anti-Portugal, liderada, como é do conhecimento geral, por Afrânio Coutinho. E depois é também o problema do investimento cultural e se é certo que Portugal está longe de ser uma potência económica, não é menos certo que o que gasta no Brasil é mal gasto; daí que Portugal tenha que definir uma política cultural mais correcta ... até para evitar que as coisas piorem mais ainda.

Oxalá Portugal procure inflectir a sua filosofia cultural, de contrário esta absurda atitude de ignorância e indiferença mútua vai alargar-se ainda mais. Com a agravante de que nós, portugueses, somos pequenos e temos contra nós o peso do número. Até por isso se tornará urgente uma equacionação correcta da política cultural portuguesa. Vindo de fora, e vindo de quem, o alerta poderá ecoar dinamicamente   —117→   nesta sonolência apática em que nos vamos deixando encarquilhar. E se calhar só de fora é que se poderá avaliar como temos envelhecido.

Domingos de O. Dias

Brown University

El público, de Federico García Lorca, tuvo su estreno mundial en el Teatro Fossati de Milán (Italia) el doce de diciembre de 1986. La coproducción del Centro Dramático Nacional (España), el Théâtre de l'Europe (París), y el Piccolo Teatro (Milán) se estrenó en España el 16 de enero de 1987 en el Teatro María Guerrero de Madrid y fue aclamada como el acontecimiento teatral del año por la prensa española.

En el ensayo general de Milán, el director Lluis Pasqual le cedió la batuta, como es costumbre en Italia, a su maestro Giorgio Strehler, director del Teatro de l'Europe y del Piccolo Teatro. Allí la representación adquirió su forma final antes de la acogida clamorosa del público italiano y la crítica europea.

Escrito antes de Yerma, Bodas de sangre y La casa de Bernarda Alba, El público, según su propio autor, es «atrevidísimo y con una técnica totalmente nueva. Es lo mejor que he escrito para el teatro». Para montarlo, Lluis Pasqual y el escenógrafo Fabià Puigserver vaciaron el patio de butacas y lo cubrieron de arena azul, convirtiéndolo todo en un escenario en redondo. Al fondo colgaron cuatro grandes y ricos telones esculpidos, en movimiento, uno tras otro. Con el aforo reducido y la eliminación de las segundas y terceras filas de los balcones, sólo cabían trescientos cuatro espectadores la noche del estreno en Madrid. Entre ellos se encontraba al ministro de Cultura Javier Solana; los poetas amigos de Lorca, Rafael Alberti, Luis Rosales y Rafael Martínez Nadal; su sobrina Laura García Lorca; los cineastas Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón y Pedro Almodóvar y el director de la Compañía Nacional de Teatro Clásico Adolfo Marsillach.

Presenciaron sin descanso una obra visualmente deslumbrante y poéticamente arrebatadora. Con largo aplauso el público escogido del estreno expresó su admiración, pero el comentario a la salida dejó claro que muchos no habían entendido la obra, aunque comprendían que se trataba de una pieza de gran alcance literario e importante consecuencia teatral.

Alfredo Alcón, eximio actor argentino, encabezó el reparto en el papel del Director (Enrique); su desdoblamiento en pijamas fue Asunción Sánchez y en traje de bailarina, Paola Dominguín. El Hombre 1 fue Joan Miralles; Ismael Abellán hizo de Hombre 2 y Juan Meseguer de Hombre 3. Una joven actriz, Maruchi León, interpretó el papel de Julieta; sola y delicadamente captó al callado público con una gran presencia en escena. Juan Echanove cantó el entremés del Pastor Bobo evocando aplausos, los únicos que interrumpieron la representación de una hora y cuarenta minutos sin descanso.

El Centro Dramático Nacional tiene contratadas para 1988 representaciones de El público en Nueva York, París y Berlín.

Nancy Dale Nieman

Santa Monica College, CA

Se celebró el 16 de junio en Madrid la apertura de la Primera Muestra Internacional de Teatro Feminista. Organizado por el Club Vindicación Feminista, se incluyeron en el programa seis montajes teatrales, un recital de María Dolores Pradera y una mesa redonda por medio de la cual se esperaba crear un diálogo entre las actrices y el público. En el momento de apertura se contaba con la participación de Melina Mercouri (Grecia), Dacia Maraini (Italia), Nawai el Sadaawi (Egipto), y Genma Cuervo, María Ruiz y Nuria Espert (España). [Información Cultural, junio de 1987]

John Philip Gabriele

The College of Wooster

Spain's Ministerio de Cultura launched its first annual exposition on the winners of the highly regarded Premio Miguel de Cervantes in the Salas Nobles of the Biblioteca Nacional on April 23 with an exhibit on Antonio Buero Vallejo (Premio Miguel de Cervantes, 1986). The exposition offers the public a unique look at Buero's life and work. Drawings and portraits by the playwright from his youth and incarceration during the Civil War, dramatic texts, numerous photographs and other articles make up the exposition. Exhibits will be organized to honor future winners of the Premio Miguel de Cervantes and presented in a similar manner. After an initial viewing in the Biblioteca Nacional in Madrid the exposition will move to the capital and other important cities of the prize-winner's native country. Also included in this inaugural exposition is a panoramic view of eleven past winners of the coveted literary prize. [Información Cultural, mayo de 1987]

John Philip Gabriele

The College of Wooster

It has come to our attention that the note on Juan Larrea (Hispania 70. 3, p. 550) is in error in its statement that the 1986 translation of Larrea's poems in Sulfur are the first to appear in English. Professor Robert Lima's translation of Larrea's «To Be No More» was published in the Spring 1930 issue of the noted international journal Stardancer (Ns. 5-6, Double Translation Issue). It was included in a group of poems by Spanish surrealists (Lorca, Cernuda, Altolaguirre, and Aleixandre).

G.R.M.

Se exhiben   —118→   actualmente en el Petit Palais de París más de quinientas obras maestras de arte español. Las obras de arte, distribuidas en cuatro grandes exposiciones, se agrupan bajo el título «Cinco siglos de arte español», que van desde El Greco a los jóvenes artistas de los ochenta. Las cuatro exposiciones que representan la más amplia panorámica del arte español se titulan «De El Greco a Picasso», «El siglo de Picasso», «La imaginación nueva, 1970-1987» y «España 1987: dinámica e interrogaciones». Las obras reunidas proceden de las mejores colecciones privadas y públicas existentes en España. Las exposiciones forman parte de un amplio programa cultural titulado «París a la hora de España» que pretende dar a conocer a los franceses diversos aspectos de la creación artística española en las artes plásticas, el cine, el teatro y el pensamiento. El programa tendrá su correspondiente contrapartida francesa en España en 1989, según el convenio del intercambio firmado hace unos meses entre los gobiernos de los dos países. [Información Cultural, septiembre de 1987]

John P Gabriele

The College of Wooster

La primera gran exhibición retrospectiva en los Estados Unidos de la obra de uno de los artistas más importantes del arte barroco español, Francisco de Zurbarán (1598-1664), se inauguró el 22 de septiembre en el Metropolitan Museum of Art. La exhibición consta de setenta pinturas aproximadamente, muchas de las cuales son obras maestras virtualmente desconocidas de colecciones privadas o raramente visitadas, todas ejemplos extraordinarios del genio de un artista considerado en su tiempo como el segundo gran pintor de España después de Velázquez. La exhibición ha sido realizada conjuntamente por el Metropolitan Museum y el Musée du Louvre. Será expuesta en New York hasta el 13 de diciembre, después de lo cual será trasladada a París para su inauguración en el Grand Palais el 11 de enero, donde permanecerá hasta el 11 de abril de 1988.

Philippe de Montebello, Director del Metropolitan Museum, dice del artista: «Zurbarán es el pintor por excelencia de la vida monástica española; sin embargo su estilo fuertemente naturalista junto a su simplificación y abstracción de la forma son muy atractivos para las sensibilidades contemporáneas. Nos sentimos muy complacidos de poder mostrar al público norteamericano una selección de pinturas excelentes realizadas por este gran maestro quien epitomiza tal vez mejor que ningún otro la grandeza y la profunda religiosidad del pueblo español.»

G. R. M.

Mil cien millones de pesetas se invertirán en la remodelación de la Biblioteca Nacional. Entre las obras que se realizarán se destacan la ampliación de los depósitos del edificio, el mejoramiento de sus instalaciones de seguridad y la redistribución más racional del espacio interior del centro. También se propone la construcción de la infraestructura para la informatización de la biblioteca y la creación de un laboratorio para los servicios de reprografía y restauración. La remodelación durará hasta el año 1989. [Información Cultural, septiembre de 1987]

John P. Gabriele

The College of Wooster

Hispanistas de los países miembros del Consejo de Europa se reunieron en Madrid en noviembre de 1986 con profesores de lengua castellana de toda España para un curso de lengua y cultura españolas organizado por la Subdirección General de Formación del profesorado del Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia.

Durante una semana profesores de lengua española de toda la Europa Occidental y las Autonomías españolas asistieron a conferencias sobre aspectos de la lengua y cultura españolas.

El lunes 10 de noviembre el curso se abrió con «La visión de España en los viajeros franceses e ingleses del siglo XIX»; conferencia de D. Fermín Tamayo, profesor de lengua y literatura del Instituto de Bachillerato «Carlos III». Por la tarde D. Manuel Alonso Erausguin, profesor de la Facultad de Ciencias de la Información de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, les informó a los participantes del estado actual en España de los medios de la televisión, la radio y la prensa. Le siguió el conocido crítico de teatro, Ricardo Doménech, con una conferencia sobre «Teatro y democracia en España».

Al día siguiente D. Luis Suñén, crítico literario del diario El País, habló de los últimos diez años de la novela española, ofreciendo un amplio listado de recientes títulos de interés. El poeta César Antonio Molino hizo un resumen de la poesía de los años ochenta y, a petición de los presentes, leyó un poema suyo. Por la tarde se proyectó la película, La Vaquilla, de Luis Berlanga, con comentario del director de cine Luis G. Valdivieso.

El jueves se dedicó a la lengua y hablaron Dña. Guadalupe Galán, colaboradora de El diccionario manual e ilustrado de la Real Academia Española, y D. José Jesús de Bustos Jovar, decano de la Facultad de Filología de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid. La conferencia del Dr. Bustos se tituló «La gramática en la enseñanza de la lengua y su utilidad didáctica», e interesó sobre todo por las implicaciones para la enseñanza del español como segunda lengua.

El curso, que se suele repetir cada año, estaba al cargo de Dña. Ana Orozco Pardo, asesora de lengua y literatura española, y Rosa Inés Gutiérrez,   —119→   coordinadora de becas del Comité de Cooperación Cultural, ambas de la Subdirección General de Formación del profesorado del Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia. También fue patrocinado por la Subdirección Gral. de Cooperación Internacional, del mismo departamento.

Profesores que se interesan por el vídeo «En español» deben informarse en el consulado de España más próximo o escribir al Servicio de Publicaciones, Secretaría General Técnica, Ministerio de Cultura, Fernando el Católico 77, 28015 Madrid, España.

Nancy Dale Nieman

Santa Monica College

Various literary and artistic prizes and awards have recently been announced. The following, listed by country, are some of the many:

MEXICO:

Premio Cabeza Olmeca (UNAM) to Marcela Fernández Violante for her filmstrip Frida Kahlo. Premio «Los Cuentos de Ateneo» to Humberto Guzmán.

Premio «Rafael Heliodoro Valle» to Ernesto Sábato.

Premio de Ensayo Literario «José Revueltas» to Luis Cardoza y Aragón.

Premios Literarios de Yucatán to Benjamín Valdivia (poetry), to Fernando Winfield Gómez (short story) and to Antonio Ojeda Sáenz (theatre).

Premio de Novela «José Rubén Romero» to Daniel González Dueñas.

Premio Nacional de Poesía «Ciudad del Carmen 1987» to Gerardo Puertas Gómez.

Premio «Novedades y Diana» to Joaquín Armando Chacón for his novel El recuento de los daños.

SPAIN:

Legión de Honor to Pilar Juncosa, widow of painter Joan Miró.

Premio Internacional de Novela «Ángel Guerra» María Elvira Sagarzazu for her El imposible de la eternidad.

Premio Internacional «Menéndez Pelayo» to Mexican poet Octavio Paz.

Premio «Ausias March de Poesía» to Pere Bessó.

Premio «Joanot Martorell» to Josep Maria Castellet.

Premio de Novela Ateneo de Santander to Francisco Javier Satué for his novel La pasión de los siniestros.

Premio Planeta 87 to Juan Eslava for his novel En busca del Unicornio.

CUBA:

Premio «José Martí» to Claudio Díaz (Argentina), Stella Calloni (Argentina), and Lázardo Barredo (Cuba).

UNITED STATES:

1987 Ingersoll Prize to Mexican poet Octavio Paz.

VENEZUELA:

Premio «Rómulo Gallegos» to Argentine writer Abel Posse for his novel Los perros del paraíso.

JAPAN:

Henry Moore Sculpture Prize to Mexican sculptor Jesús Mayagoita.

ISRAEL:

First Prize of the Festival of Alternative Theatre to exiled Chilean Ariel Dorfman.

INTERNATIONAL:

Premio de Cultura «Gabriela Mistral» (OAS) to Mexican philosopher Leopoldo Zea.

Premio Interamericano de Educación «Andrés Bello» (OAS) to Luis Alberto Sánchez.

Sam L. Slick

Sam Houston State University

El escritor argentino, Abel Posse, acaba de ser nombrado recipiente de la quinta edición del premio internacional de literatura Rómulo Gallegos con su novela Los perros del paraíso.

La novela fue publicada en 1983 y, según el novelista, de alguna manera da continuidad a su novela anterior, Damión. «En ambas planteo la historia de nuestra América, vista a través de la aventura surreal de Cristóbal Colón, como el choque de dos civilizaciones, de dos visiones: la cristiana católica enfrentada a la visión naturalista de los habitantes de estas tierras [América]»:

La primera obra narrativa de Posse fue Los bogavantes. Con su segunda novela, La boca del tigre, obtuvo el Premio Nacional de Literatura de Argentina.

Los finalistas seleccionados fueron el chileno José Donoso con La desesperanza, el cubano Lizandro Otero con La temporada de los ángeles, el mexicano José Agustín con Cerca del fuego, el peruano Bryce Echenique con El hombre que hablaba de Octavia de Cádiz, el español J. J. Armas Marcelo con Las naves quemadas, el venezolano Guillermo Morón con El gallo de las espuelas de oro y el español radicado en el Perú, Féliz Alvarez, con Crónica de blasfemos.

Los ganadores del premio en años anteriores han sido Mario Vargas Llosa (1967), Gabriel García Márquez (1972), Carlos Fuentes (1977) y Fernando del Paso (1982). [El Comercio, 31 de julio de 1987]

Dianne Douglas

Louisiana Tech University

SPAIN: Ana María Matute's story is inspiration for Javier Aguirre's recent El polizón del Ulises. Luis García Berlanga's latest film, Moros   —120→   y cristianos, opened the Valladolid Festival in October. Jaime de Armiñán's Mi general won the Special Jury Award at the Montreal Film Festival.

PORTUGAL: Variety (August 26, 1987) has recently devoted numerous articles to the Portuguese film industry. Some interesting film facts: 362 theaters in Portugal; average ticket price $1.02. José Alvaro Morais's O Bobo won the Golden Leopard Award at the 40th Locarno Film Festival. Recent Portuguese pics include: Agosto, Tempos Difíceis, O Desejado ou As Montanhas da Lua, O Paraiso Perdido, and Outono.

ARGENTINA: Fernando Solanas (Tango: El exilio de Gardel) has begun shooting Sur. Teo Kofman has begun Los corruptores. The CIGA Prize (San Sebastián, Spain Festival) was awarded to Alejandro Agresti's El amor es una mujer gorda. The Sorrento (Italy) Festival spotlighted the Films of Leopoldo Torre Nilsson.

MEXICO: November 7-17 will be dates for the XII Reseña Mundial de Cine in Acapulco. The event spotlights all films that have won international awards during the past year. Reyes Bercini will film Joaquín Armando Chacón's Amarras terrestres. Mitl Valdez's Los confines debuted in November. It is based on four short stories by Juan Rulfo: «Taipa», «Diles que no me maten», «El llano en llamas», and «Nos han dado la tierra». A big event was the debut of Enrique Escalona's animated film, Tlacuilo, which is based on Aztec codices.

Sam L. Slick

Sam Houston State University

Imagining Argentina, by Lawrence Thornton (Doubleday, 1987), is a riveting account of the kidnappings and violence perpetrated by the Argentine military regime during the late 1970s. Carlos Rueda, the director of a children's theater, returns home from work one day to find his journalist wife Cecilia missing. The plot evolves through Rueda's efforts to find her and, at the same time, many other «desaparecidos» whose relatives march in front of the «Casa Rosada» every Thursday. Based on tragic events that occurred a decade ago, this novel is enhanced by its Borgean technique of fusing reality and dreams, resulting in an atmosphere of «irrealidad», the Argentine master's hallmark. Indeed, one passage, which describes Rueda's journey to Patagonia in search of his wife, emerges as a reworking of Borges's «El sur». Thornton, a North American, displays his knowledge of recent Argentine history as well as an intuitive ability to recreate the nightmare of terror that gripped the entire country. His first novel is another example of Borges's influence on contemporary writers outside Latin America.

G.R.M.

El amor en los tiempos del cólera, el último libro del escritor colombiano Gabriel García Márquez, fue lanzado en París por la Editorial Grasset, con amplios y elogiosos comentarios por parte de la crítica. El semanario Le Nouvel Observateur comentó que este libro es una sorpresa, «puesto que García Márquez, un escritor marcado por sus posiciones políticas partidarias, se lanzó en esta novela con alma y cuerpo a seguir la tradición romanesca más clásica y burguesa».

«En el fondo», agrega la crítica, «el escritor colombiano fascina a los europeos con su manera de hablar del amor -a través de sufrimientos y palpitaciones, esperas prolongadas y un súbito frenesí, fantasmas y realidades lúbricas, exaltaciones y humillaciones- como de algo mucho más importante que la política o la economía.» [Visión, 1 de junio de 1987]

G.R.M.

El 25 de julio se inició la filmación del video La espera, basado en el cuento homónimo de Guillermo Blanco. El video-filme persigue una doble finalidad: dar al estudiante de educación media una oportunidad novedosa de acercarse a una obra de la literatura chilena, y representar a Chile en el Cuarto Festival Latinoamericano de Tele-Educación Universitaria, que tendrá lugar en México, en el primer semestre del próximo año. [El Mercurio, 1º de agosto de 1987]

Los premios honoríficos que anualmente otorga la Academia Chilena de la Lengua a un escritor y a un periodista, recayeron este año en el escritor Felipe Alliende y en la periodista de El Mercurio Raquel Correa. Felipe Alliende ganó el premio por su obra Mi amigo el negro que la Academia consideró como el mejor libro chileno publicado en 1986. [El Mercurio, 1º de agosto de 1987]

Isidora Aguirre, la destacada dramaturga chilena, ha publicado su primera novela, Doy por vivido todo lo soñado, que revela una faceta de la sociedad chilena pasada y tiene muchos elementos autobiográficos. La obra ha sido publicada en España por la Editorial Plaza y Janés. [El Mercurio, 8 de agosto de 1987]

Ariel Dorfman, el escritor chileno, ha expresado su molestia por la prohibición de ingreso a Chile y dijo al Washington Post que estaba siendo objeto de un reexilio. Dorfman fue ofensivamente devuelto desde el aeropuerto de Santiago, después de una noche de vuelo proveniente de los Estados Unidos, donde pasa la mayor parte de su tiempo. Dorfman ha hecho campaña en contra de Pinochet tanto en sus novelas como en su poesía. Considera esta acción en contra suya como una advertencia en contra de todos los exiliados, tanto para los que han regresado como para aquellos que aún no han sido autorizados para volver. La Comisión Chilena de Derechos Humanos declaró que éste es el primer caso que conoce en el que se ha revocado la autorización a volver y se ha reimpuesto el exilio. El Ministerio del Interior dijo que si Dorfman presenta una solicitud formal para volver a entrar a   —121→   Chile, el gobierno la estudiará. Dorfman se niega a solicitar algo que las convenciones internacionales consideran como un derecho propio de los ciudadanos: el derecho de vivir en su propio país. [El Mercurio, 9 de agosto de 1987]

Se realizó el Primer Congreso Internacional de literatura Femenina Latinoamericana en Santiago de Chile entre el 17 y 21 de agosto con participación de cien escritoras chilenas, latinoamericanas y de diferentes rincones del mundo. Junto a algunos colegas varones -Fernando Alegría, entre otros- se intentó dilucidar si existe una escritura femenina o una específica palabra de mujer. [La Época, 15 de agosto de 1987]

La mesa sobre Violeta Parra fue una de las más concurridas del Congreso de Literatura Femenina, con participación de Fernando Alegría de Stanford University, Inés Dölz-Blackburn de la Universidad de Colorado, el alemán Manfred Engelbert, Javier Campos de Marshall University, y Juan Armando Epple de la Universidad de Oregón.

Cantautora, ceramista, folclorista, poetisa, pintora, viajera impenitente, Violeta se ha convertido en mito y su trágica muerte ha despertado el reconocimiento que le fue negado en vida. [La Época, Santiago de Chile, 22 de agosto de 1987]

Óscar Hahn ha sido catalogado como modernista, medieval, barroco y vanguardista. La crítica expresa que es uno de los poetas chilenos más notables de su generación. Su nombre aparece en las antologías más diversas: griegas, húngaras y norteamericanas. Su célebre poema «Gladiolo junto al mar» es considerado ya casi un clásico. De visita en Chile, el destacado poeta chileno revela detalles sobre su nueva obra Flor de enamorados, cancionero cuyos textos originales estaban en castellano antiguo. Hahn los transformó tomándose toda clase de libertades y los adoptó a su propia estética literaria. Hahn es catedrático de la Universidad de Iowa. [El Mercurio, 23 de agosto de 1987]

Inés Dölz-Blackburn

University of Colorado
at Colorado Springs

El joven realizador Luis Vera llevará al cine la vida de la legendaria folclorista chilena Violeta Parra, quien hace 20 años hizo callar para siempre su guitarra al suicidarse. «La mitad de los chilenos me va a odiar y la otra mitad me amará cuando vean la película», dijo el director al revelar su proyecto.

Luis Vera, con estudios en Rumania y Suecia, miembro de una nueva generación de cineastas, realizó el año pasado su primer largometraje, Hechos consumados, concluyendo recientemente Consuelo, filme que será proyectado en Santiago en diciembre próximo.

Violeta Parra, de intensa vida, recopiló las expresiones de la música y la poesía campesina, escribió poemas inspirados en esa realidad y compuso cientos de canciones que llevó al disco y que han sido grabadas por intérpretes como la estadounidense Joan Báez, la argentina Mercedes Sosa y el hispano Raphael. Sus conflictos afectivos y su intensa lucha interior quedaron reflejados, dramáticamente, en dos de sus más conocidas canciones: «Gracias a la vida» y «Volver a los 17».

En otras creaciones como «La carta» y «Arriba quemando el sol», la artista volcó su profundo compromiso social con el mundo obrero, la juventud y los pobres. El cineasta Luis Vera, después de investigar su vida, su obra y sus amores, llegó a la conclusión de que «Violeta es un patrimonio universal y no sólo de un sector determinado». Explicó Vera que «Violeta es un ejemplo en América Latina de la rebeldía de la mujer», precisando que su película tendrá un guión, un argumento y un desenlace donde se mezclarán la ficción y la realidad, la leyenda y la verdad. [Visión, 13 de julio de 1987]

G.R.M.

The deaths of the following prominent figures in Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Arts and letters are to be noted:

Gerardo Diego, 90, Spanish poet, July 8, in Madrid.

Raúl Ruiz, 39, Spanish writer, August 8, in Barcelona.

Carlos Drummond de Andrade, 84, Brazilian prose writer and poet, August 18, in Rio de Janeiro.

Gilberto Freire, 87, Brazilian sociologist and intellectual.

Carlos Ancira, 58, Mexican actor, October 9, in Mexico City.

Sam L. Slick

Sam Houston State University

(Lo siguiente es una respuesta de Arturo Azuela al comentario de Vargas Llosa sobre la educación en Latinoamérica que apareció en «The Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian World» en Hispania (septiembre de 1987, 552-53). Arturo Azuela es novelista, profesor de matemáticas, y director de la Facultad de Filosofía y Letras de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.) Recibida por Alfredo A. Roggiano.

Al paso del tiempo, en virtud de tantas crisis, el análisis de las universidades públicas latinoamericanas se ha vuelto muy complejo, de aristas difíciles y múltiples contenidos. Matices más, matices menos, además de los presupuesto raquíticos y las burocracias en aumento, todavía existen el mimetismo académico y el «estilo patricio» en el ejercicio de muchas cátedras y trabajos de investigación. A varias estructuras rígidas, autárquicas, con su tendencia al enquistamiento y a la creación de insatisfacciones intelectuales, se suman los activistas más radicales -los «ultras» de uno y otro signo- que no sólo defienden sin tregua la autogestión sino también el autoritarismo y las asambleas   —122→   «resolutorias». Sin embargo, a pesar de tantos problemas, estas instituciones están muy lejos de la subversión y la catástrofe. Por ningún motivo se deben ubicar en el centro de la irradiación del «odio por todas las cosas».

Para la aproximación a algunas conclusiones no se deben olvidar la inducción y la cautela ni mucho menos los paradigmas y la ejemplificación. Aun las universidades más antiguas tienen historias muy distintas: la Universidad de San Marcos de Lima, la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México y la Universidad de Santo Domingo -las tres con más de cuatrocientos treinta años de vida- se encuentran ahora en contextos históricos y políticos diferentes. Por otra parte, la Universidad Central de Venezuela y la Universidad de São Paulo no tienen problemas semejantes a los de la Universidad de la Habana; y, por obvias razones políticas, la situación de las universidades de Paraguay o de Chile se encuentran muy distantes de las universidades de Argentina o de Uruguay.

Todo esto viene a colación por algunas declaraciones insólitas, ajenas a la realidad, del escritor peruano Mario Vargas Llosa. En primer lugar sostiene que «las universidades públicas o estatales de América Latina han dejado de lado su interés académico para convertirse en nidos de fanáticos extremistas ... que promueven el odio y la violencia». Desde hace varias décadas muchos universitarios mexicanos conocemos estas palabras; parece resurgir la voz de los pretorianos, el antiguo proceso de persecuciones y encarcelamientos. El novelista habló en inglés desde una plataforma neoyorkina y lo hizo junto al ex secretario de estado Henry Kissinger y el secretario general de las Naciones Unidas, Javier Pérez de Cuéllar; se le presentó como garante el mismo día del «establecimiento de un llamado Fondo de las Américas para universidades independientes o privadas de América Latina». A la mañana siguiente -el 20 de marzo-, sus declaraciones fueron publicadas en muchos periódicos de nuestro continente.

Vargas Llosa no especifica, no señala a los promotores -sus tendencias o filiaciones políticas- ni mucho menos a los directores y rectores que han permitido que las cosas llegaran a tales límites. Tampoco sabemos de qué odio se trata y de qué tipo de violencia, hacia quién va dirigida. Al parecer, estamos ante un punto culminante que va más allá de los muros universitarios; es un problema de inestabilidad pública, de desequilibrio social. Por lo tanto, si ésta fuera la situación -entre cientos de universidades y millones de estudiantes- debería caracterizarse a esos fanáticos extremistas, describir sus propósitos subversivos y sus orientaciones políticas. Al sostener tales críticas -y sobre todo si se trata de un escritor de la categoría internacional de Vargas Llosa- es muy importante que se hagan con conocimiento de causa, con un análisis profundo de la situación; en una palabra -esencial palabra para un escritor- con responsabilidad.

Desde luego que las universidades públicas no deben estar al servicio de un partido político o una congregación religiosa; no deben estar tampoco a las órdenes de una cofradía o un puñado de gobernantes. La autonomía universitaria es una conquista histórica; ya tiene sus memorias y sus biografías. Por lo tanto ni los savonarolas, ni los calvinos, ni los torquemadas deben dirigir nuestras instituciones. Los académicos de todos los niveles y las autoridades y funcionarios deben defender día tras día, la pluralidad y las vías democráticas de los cuerpos colegiados; pero antes que nada; deben fortalecer y recrear las mejores condiciones académicas para la investigación y la enseñanza.

Es evidente que las universidades públicas no pueden resolver los problemas de nuestros países, pero, además de sus objetivos específicamente académicos, sí deben continuar con un papel sustancial en la vida social y en las áreas ideológicas y políticas de nuestro continente. Entre la confrontación de muchas posiciones -desde las liberales y las revolucionarias a las moderadas, reformistas y conservadoras- se debe enriquecer la pluralidad de la vida académica. Y quizá todo esto no lo vea Vargas Llosa; quizá no reconozca que muchas universidades de América Latina son auténticos centros de debates y cuestionamientos -de análisis científico, de contribuciones educativas, de encuentros de extensión académica- y no, como él afirma, «centros de división, de pugna de facciones, de odio por todas las cosas, de intolerancia y producción del anarquismo y la brutalidad en nuestros países».

Aquí, en la Universidad de São Paulo, una de las universidades más importantes de Brasil, no se ve por rincón alguno a «los promotores de la violencia» ni a los alentadores de «la brutalidad»; entre raíces antiguas y propuestas de vanguardia, aquí se trabaja en cuestiones científicas o sociológicas -como en la Universidad Central de Venezuela, como en la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, como en los Colegios de Zamora, de México, de Sonora, como en la Universidad de Río de Janeiro; aquí los problemas académicos son sustanciales y la libertad de cátedra se defiende todos los días; nadie olvida, aunque estemos muy lejos del positivismo, el «ordem y progresso» del escudo de los Estados Unidos del Brasil. Unos y otros -estudiantes, docentes, investigadores- saben que la esencia de la universidad es la discrepancia; sabiduría antigua: discrepar para enriquecer la propia ideología y convivir con elegancia o, más importante aún, para enriquecer nuestra visión del mundo.

Ojalá Vargas Llosa, con documentación e información objetiva, nos dé más luz, nos ilumine en extensión y profundidad, en torno a esos «odios, pugnas, intolerancias, anarquismos y brutalidades» que él ve por estas instituciones del Río Bravo a la Tierra del Fuego. Claro que existen casos aislados,   —123→   y quizá muy graves, pero la excepción no confirma la regla. Unas cuantas escuelas o facultades no pueden ser el punto final, la excusa definitiva, para otorgarle semejantes atributos a las instituciones universitarias de casi todo un continente. Además, el autor de La casa verde afirma que «los extremistas latinoamericanos han nacido en nuestras universidades» y que «se teme en América Latina por el futuro de la democracia ya que nuestra gente joven está siendo educada sin libertad de conciencia...»

Al aumentar nuestro asombro, se multiplican las preguntas. Vargas Llosa tiene la obligación de hablar con precisión, de explicar a fondo una situación de tal naturaleza. Si muchos de nuestros centros educativos son bastiones de la pluralidad ideológica, si la libre asociación y la manifestación del pensamiento no tienen cortapisas, ¿de dónde obtiene la conclusión de que no existe la libertad de conciencia? ¿Y quiénes son los que temen por el futuro de la democracia en nuestros países? ¿Serán los oligarcas o los representantes de los sectores populares? En nuestras universidades existen varios niveles y la agitación estudiantil -con su espontaneísmo, su fuerza y sus altibajos- no es el único escenario que debe llamar la atención. También está presente la vertebración más poderosa de nuestras tradiciones universitarias: junto a la consolidación de la autonomía está el debate permanente en torno a la defensa de la identidad nacional.

Que Vargas Llosa se haya transformado, por convicción propia, en un defensor de las universidades privadas, ésa es su decisión y no pensamos discutirla, pero lo que nos parece inadmisible es su postura de gran acusador -al parecer con el índice de fuego en las alturas como garante de un Fondo con universidades pontificias de miembros asociados. Todo esto no es sólo una ilusión o una utopía de los enemigos de las universidades públicas; es una realidad contundente. La información internacional no ha sido desmentida y el escritor del Perú no ha añadido una sola palabra.

Por otra parte, no queremos que se nos malinterprete: estamos en contra de «las repúblicas universitarias» y de las camarillas que buscan, a través de supuestas elecciones, de supuestos procedimientos democráticos, el dominio del mundo microscópico de los claustros. En cambio, siempre hemos defendido, hasta sus últimas consecuencias, la libertad de enseñanza, investigación y difusión de la cultura. Los consejos universitarios no deben transformarse en parlamentos de partidos políticos o en foros de confrontación de tecnócratas y administradores. En los consejos deben debatirse esencialmente problemas académicos y jamás olvidarse la salvaguarda de los más altos intereses universitarios.

Finalmente, en calidad de director de la Facultad de Filosofía y Letras de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, invito al autor de La ciudad y los perros a que nos visite cuando considere pertinente, a que entre ilustres anfitriones -Juan José Arreola, Salvador Elizondo, José Luis González, Juan M. Lope Blanch, Margit Frenk, Ramón Xirau, Sergio Fernández, Carlos Solórzano y Rubén Bonifaz Nuño, entre otros-, profesores arraigados en una universidad pública, venga a nuestras aulas a que nos hable no sólo de su fecundo trabajo de escritor sino de sus reflexiones en torno a las universidades públicas de América Latina. Que nos hable con entera libertad, en un diálogo franco y generoso, con amigos y colegas de largo tiempo y la presencia de muchos alumnos que, sin lugar a dudas, la escucharán con atención, con tolerancia -entre ellos encontrará troskistas, protestantes y católicos, y no faltarán los jacobinos trasnochados y los disidentes de nuevo cuño-, un grupo partidario de la coexistencia pacífica y enemigo del odio por todas las cosas y la brutalidad en nuestros países. En todo caso, por cualquier otro medio, ojalá veamos algún día la respuesta de Vargas Llosa y, como buen novelista -con un cierto desdén hacia el maniqueísmo-, nos demuestre que en verdad conoce un principio esencial de los espíritus creativos: el beneficio de la duda.

Alfredo A. Roggiano, Director

Revista Iberoamericana

University of Pittsburgh

En el pasado mes de julio se inauguró en Villa de Leyva, Boyacá, el Colegio Verde de Colombia, resultado de varias iniciativas ecologistas y ambientales que han pasado a ocupar un papel crecientemente importante en el ámbito universitario colombiano. Ya el Primer Seminario sobre Universidad y Medio Ambiente para América Latina y el Caribe, reunido hace algún tiempo en Bogotá, había acordado encargara la Universidad Nacional de Colombia para que sirviera de núcleo para grupos interuniversitarios que buscan implementar estudios sobre el impacto ecológico del desarrollo. Los impulsores de estas iniciativas insisten que no es suficiente incorporar la dimensión ambiental en los estudios superiores como otra cátedra más, propensa al academicismo y sus problemas. Al contrario, se trata de producir una reforma universitaria que incluya dos áreas básicas: los estudios interdisciplinarios y el acercamiento de la universidad a los problemas ambientales de las comunidades. La «Carta de Bogotá», documento que expone los propósitos a corto y largo alcance del movimiento ecologista, indica que las universidades tienen la responsabilidad de «generar una capacidad científica y tecnológica propia ... para promover estrategias y alternativas de desarrollo». [«Magazine Dominical» de El Espectador de Bogotá, 19 de julio de 1987]

Gilbert Gómez Ocampo

Nagold-Emmingen

Alemania Occidental

El cronista Juan de Betanzos escribió la Suma y narración de los incas en 1551 que describe la conquista española desde la perspectiva incaica. El documento, escrito por encargo del virrey Antonio de Mendoza, se perdió en 1607 menos los primeros 18 capítulos. Con el hallazgo reciente, tenemos el manuscrito completo que consta de 82 capítulos. Hay dos partes de la obra; la primera tiene 48 capítulos, y la segunda, 34.

A diferencia de los otros cronistas de Indias, inclusive Garcilaso de la Vega, Betanzos da una versión totalmente incaica utilizando como fuente a los quipu Kamayoc. El manuscrito trata de la formación del Cuzco y de los gobernantes; la organización social programada por Pachacutec en el Tahuantinsuyo; la historia de los dos hijos ilegítimos de Huayna Cápac, Atahualpa y Huascar; y la guerra sostenida entre ambos por la posesión del trono cuzqueño. También Betanzos escribe sobre Francisco Pizarro y la muerte de Atahualpa, entre otros asuntos, aportando datos hasta ahora desconocidos. Según la historiadora Mari Carmen Martín Rubio, «Betanzos bebía de fuentes originales» y el manuscrito descubierto en Mallorca es fundamental para conocer la cultura y la vida de los incas. [El País, 3 de agosto de 1987]

Lee A. Daniel

Texas Christian University

The farms, factories and favelas of Brazil taught me a lesson in economics I shall never forget. I was able to visit these places through an educational exchange program sponsored by the Rotary International Organization. My travels centered on the state of Parana, a largely agricultural region in Southern Brazil.

Current economic conditions have rocked Brazil and sent shock waves through major American banks. Brazil's foreign debt now exceeds $108 billion and continues to soar. A number of factors have contributed to the crisis.

Historically, Brazil is no stranger to debt. As a condition for receiving independence in 1872, Brazil had to assume some of Portugal's debts to England. Even today Brazil is not independent of foreign financial powers. Debts to such U.S. banks as Citicorp, Chase Manhattan and Bank America total more than $10 billion. Brazil has stopped payment of interest as well as principal on these loans.

Inflation fuels the debt crisis. During the month of April, 1987 consumer prices rose more than 19 percent. At this pace, the rate of inflation could compound to more than 800 percent in one year. Such hyperinflation threatens to destabilize the nation.

«I cannot plan on much except to say that my business may not exist in a year or two», remarked Teofilo Boiko, the Director of Expresso Nordeste, a bus company in the state of Parana. His cost for tires increased 200 percent since 1985 and diesel fuel prices increased 40 percent in just one month. Like Boiko, most Brazilian businessmen cannot plan, budget, or forecast. «Why invest in new equipment and repairs when my money in the bank earns more each month», said Igarassu Lauzada, the General Manager for the Cartola Clothing Factory in the city of Londrina.

Runaway inflation would not be so harmful if wages were able to keep pace with prices, but this is hardly the case in Brazil today. Wages for a clothing worker at the Cartola Factory, for example, average $150 per month, and a shirt manufactured there costs $10 to $30 U.S. dollars. I discovered food costs to be below North American prices, but most restaurant prices were similar to those in the U.S.

Clearly, Brazil's lower classes are suffering, and members of the middle class are quickly joining in. «We all five in a restaurant, yet we are starving»; commented Walmor Macarini, editor of the Folha De Londrina one of Brazil's largest newspapers. Macarini explained that although Brazil exports coffee, sugar, soy, oranges, cotton, and wheat to nations around the world, the government is still starved for foreign currency to pay its mounting debts.

Coffee is still the export Americans buy most, and Brazil is trying to find new customers by introducing coffee bags to tea drinkers in England and coffee sticks to the Japanese. Although coffee is still king, Brazil's effort to diversify its agriculture is noteworthy. Cattle, soy, sorghum, and even silk production have displaced coffee on many Brazilian farms. Now fewer farmers are victimized by a single frost or plunging prices than when they relied solely on coffee.

This diversification has caused hardships too. Thousands of workers whose livelihood depended on coffee now five in slums that ring major cities in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Clearly 30 million of the 138 million people in Brazil live in poverty. The government realizes that land distribution to the poor is essential, yet the uneducated are ill equipped to utilize the land. «God gives us land in Brazil, but cant provide roads, hospitals, schools, or housing»; said Odesio Francis, a former district governor of the Rotary International Club.

Political corruption aggravates the problems of the poor in Brazil today. Tax money for social programs is misspent causing widespread disenchantment with the political process in general. When General Humberto de Alencar Castello Branco engineered a military takeover of Brazil in 1964, the nation was horrified, yet inflation declined and productivity rose. Many Brazilians may be secretly hoping for a return to the «bad old days» of Castello Branco as a means controlling an unstable economy.

Should the military solve Brazil's economic problems? «When a man is drowning, he cannot afford to choose who will save him»; answered Augusto   —125→   Gaiosku, who teaches English to grade school children. But Gaioski added that the generals also contributed to Brazil's current economic problems. Many of the present debts were incurred during the 1970's when the military embarked on overzealous and sometimes impractical modernization projects that Brazil could ill afford.

The national effort to conserve energy over the past ten years is one of Brazil's outstanding achievements. Brazil's conversion from gasoline to alcohol, a derivative of sugar cane, rather than gasoline, to power automobiles is widespread and very successful. This project makes Brazil one of the few nations in the world to free itself from dependence on gasoline for automobiles. The development of a massive subway system in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro has also lessened the nation's dependence on autos and oil.

Brazil struggles daily with finding solutions to its economic problems. The current civilian president, Jose Sarney, introduced a plan in 1986 to shrink the nation's money supply by issuing new currency. The new denomination (cruzado) is essentially the old denomination less several zeros. The plan reduced the amount of paper money in circulation and virtually eliminated the value of old coinage. For several months after devaluation, prices stabilized and pent up consumer spending was unleashed. Shortly thereafter inflation took hold once again. Drastic structural reform, not currency reform, is clearly needed today if Brazil is to curb inflation.

From my observation, several measures might be taken to help relieve the current crisis in Brazil.

1. Brazilian farmers must become more enterprising and independent. Coffee, for example, is stockpiled in government warehouses while corn is imported. Farmers must be motivated to diversify rather than rely on traditional price supports for king coffee.

2. Wage and price controls must be enforced fairly. Businesses are happy to control wages, but not as eager to control prices.

3. Brazil must do more to stimulate technical production. A hard-working and inexpensive labor force could make Brazil the Japan of South America, but no real incentives currently exist to shift from heavy industry to high technology.

4. Brazil must curb protectionist trade policies. After years of high tariffs and trade barriers, the Brazilian consumer has not really benefited. Many Brazilians flock to free-market border towns in places like Paraguay to buy video recorders or microwave ovens not currently produced in Brazil.

5. Corruption in government must be controlled. Political office in Brazil has for centuries been viewed as a means to wealth rather than public service. Mayors, for example, routinely receive a percent of the fees they are able to procure from outside contractors.

6. The money supply should be severely restricted, although this would cause temporary recession and economic hardship.

7. U.S. banks should rewrite loan terms to reflect current economic conditions, but also demand a major voice in shaping future Brazilian commercial projects.

8. Property taxes as a source for government revenue should be increased. Relative to the United States's property taxes, Brazil's are minimal. Homes valued at $80,000 U.S. dollars, for example, yield less than $300 per year in taxes.

9. Brazil should make debt payments using surplus agricultural products. As long as coffee is being stockpiled by government and foreign currency is scarce, the nation could arrange to make debt payments with commodities instead of dollars. This is not a farfetched idea. The United States Agriculture Department, for example, now offers price supports to U.S. farmers with surplus products it has already stockpiled.

South American nations are inextricably linked socially, politically, and economically. If Brazil takes the lead in controlling inflation and stabilizing its economy, neighboring countries will also follow a path to economic recovery.

Peter N. Pero

Marian College

Hispania [Publicaciones periódicas]. Volume 71, Number 1, March 1988