Lather, and Nothing Else
by: Hernando Tellez
“They kept saying that you would kill me. I
came to find out if it was true. But killing’s not
easy. Believe me, I know."
Hernando Tellez
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(b. 1908)
Born and educated in Bogotá, [Columbia]
Téllez entered into the world of journalism early in life
He is primarily identified with having been on the staff of
some of Colombia's most popular newspapers and
magazines.
• It was not until 1950 with the publication of his shortstory collection Cenizas al viento, that his name became
more widely known.
• “His tragicomic tales evidence the keen and extremely
sensitive observer of contemporary life and more
particularly of the anguishing reality of his native
country.”
Columbia
Hernando Tellez—La Violencia
Columbian Political History Since 1930
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La Violencia originated in an intense political feud between Liberals and
Conservatives in the early 1930s and continuing through the years of World War II
The feud had little to do to do with class conflict, foreign ideologies, or other matters
outside Colombia.
Authoritative sources estimate that more than 200,000 persons lost their lives in the
period between 1946 and 1964 immediately following the turbulent political feud.
The most spectacular aspect of the violence, however, was the extreme cruelty
perpetrated on the victims, which has been a topic of continuing study for
Colombians.
La Violencia intensified under the regime of Laureano Gómez (1950–53), who
attempted to introduce a fascist state. His excesses brought his downfall by military
coup—Colombia's first in the 20th century.
General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla assumed the presidency in 1953 and, aided by his
daughter, María Eugenia Rojas, began an effort to end La Violencia and to stimulate
the economy. Rojas was a populist leader who supported citizens' demands for the
redress of grievances against the elite.
Support for Rojas began to collapse when it appeared that he would not be able to
fulfill his promises. When he showed reluctance to give up power, and when the
economy faltered as a result of a disastrous fall in coffee prices in 1957 he was driven
from office by a military junta.
Hernando Tellez—La Violencia
Hernando Tellez—La Violencia
Hernando Tellez—La Violencia
Hernando Tellez—La Violencia
Hernando Tellez—La Violencia
Hernando Tellez—La Violencia
Hernando Tellez—La Violencia
‘La Violencia’
“Colombian writers have striven to explain
'la violencia' - the violence in Colombian
history and society. Here, in interviews and
extracts, they explore the roots of this
violence, and how it influences their
writing.”
The Institutionalization of La
Violencia
"We have a very long tradition of the use of violence as the only
means to solve conflict. So many conflicts are solved through the
use of force and violence.
It has become institutionalized. In the case of Argentina, Chile,
Uruguay, Brazil in the 70s and 80s it was the state using the
violence. In Colombia, it's almost anybody and everybody.
Colombia is the only country in the world that has a completely new
social science: violentology, it studies violence"
Professor Erna von der Walde, New York University
"In Colombia the God of death rules."
Author, Fernando Vallejo
"The question of 'La Violencia' in Colombia is hard to
answer. There have been so many studies of this. I think
it's a mixture of a very weak state and some sort of
facility about killing; an indifference about feeling for
your fellow citizens, but I haven't read a convincing
explanation.
Some people say it began in the 1940s but it's still there.
It happens. It's in the street life in Bogota. I'm totally
puzzled, as a foreign observer, what is specific to
Colombia and not the rest of Latin America."
Professor Jason Wilson, University College London