Short stories
El rey del tango
Not translated into English
Eliseo Pérez Cadalso · 1964
Synopsis
Stories set between Honduras and the cities of Colombia. In the title story, the myth of Carlos Gardel haunts the streets of Bogotá and Cali; elsewhere, a man who sees animals as humans looks for a fish named Wiri-Wondra, a son plots his revenge, two women love and envy each other beyond death, and a Gypsy tried for the murder of his wife sees his case settled by music.
Context
The first edition, from 1964, contains only two stories, the title story and “La catarata”, in about forty pages. The author took it up again and expanded it: the 1980 edition, published by Costa-Amic, brings together eight stories, two of them taken from earlier collections. Critics see it as a transitional work, still tied to criollismo, which heralds new forms in Honduran prose.
Who it is for
Short tales, in Spanish, with no French or English translation; the expanded version is the most complete.
Prizes and reception
Revised and expanded by its author in 1980, the collection has been reprinted on demand since 2014.
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