Stories

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One of my favorite authors, Gabriel Garcia Marquez won a nobel prize for his amazing novel, 100 years of solitude in which he perfected the magical realism style of writing. However, living here, it is clear that he didn't invent it. So many of the stories I hear living here seem like they could have come straight from Macondo and even some of my own experiences so far seem like they could have come straight out of the book.



First of all, if you haven't read the book, do yourself a favor and read it. It's fantastic.



I'll paraphrase just a few so you can get the jist...



"She grew up by a river. They had no electricity or running water so they had to come out the river to bathe and wash things. She grew up with her grandmother, because in those times, you were either a conservative or a liberal. The conservatives killed all the liberals in conservative towns and the liberals killed all the conservatives living in liberal towns. Her mom and dad were conservatives and her grandmother was a liberal so she went and lived with her grandmother"



"I won't go in that bar, I heard a story of a man with devil horns who was dancing with a girl. They went into the girls bathroom together and the man came out with the girl's clothes and the girl came out naked and crying and her face was red and then the man with devil horns started laughing and just disappeared in front of a crowd of people. The bar was closed for 3 months after that!"



"A pregnant lady came into the doctor's office at 7 months to get an ultrasound to make sure her baby's sex hadn't changed because at 7 months, sometimes that happens, you know."



"Women on their period's can't go out at sunset because it will make them sick"



No wonder he had so many things to write about, right? Obviously, I'm paraphrasing and for the same reason Garcia Marquez's books are better in Spanish than when translated is for that very reason. It's very interesting being here and hearing all of these stories, told so matter of factly, it makes you believe them. Just like you believe in all the crazy things that happen in 100 years of solitude. In a way, I feel like I'm getting the chance to live the story, which is what everyone wants from the books they love. Now I gotta get my hands on that book again!

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