[miked]

> Rest in peace.

I, on the other hand, hope that the three men that Marquez's close friend Castro had executed for trying to get to the US on a boat will rest in peace. Not to mention all the dissidents who died in his prisons.

Marquez lived in Cuba and for decades witnessed the daily suffering and poverty of the Cuban people. The endless monitoring of Castro's secret police. The constant rationing of basic necessities (though not for Castro or Marquez, who lived lives of luxury).

He was a master of writing about the lives of the people of Latin America. But he walked the streets of Havana, saw what anyone could see, and never wrote about any of that. Perhaps he was too busy sharing a fine repast with Fidel and Raul to get around to it.

[Uhhrrr]

I have no love for Castro (maybe some contempt), but I think Marquez here is approximately as culpable as Shostakovich, which is to say not. He was a writer, not a reporter, and if we try to pull an artist down to the level of politics it's a lose-lose if we're successful.

[mcguire]

On one hand, I largely agree with you, about the utility of holding someone responsible for what they didn't do, which would have been at great personal cost.

On the other hand, I believe Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn would like to have a word with you. Out back, in the alley.

[pseingatl]

Marquez pointed out that he was able to assist some political prisoners but he knew that with Castro he could only go so far.

[tremols]

Seeing your comment downvoted just shows this cliched simpathy for the left that was a fad in the 60's and 70's for anyone who wanted to be perceived as an intellectual (sure it worked to get chix by then); its still kicking and alive it seems. By that time you could sell a scam that steals a nation resources as love for the poor.

But today after we know what happened in Cambodia, Ethiopia, North Korea - to cite a few - under comunist regimes; being a simpathizer of communism just can evidence either ignorance, lack of empathy and sensibility or attachment to an old hungover hipster fad.

That said, I enjoyed reading cien años de soledad but I also know that Macondo would be no better under communist rule.