Indie Publishers Association of Taiwan

   If you are the reader of Senhor Embaixado, you could not miss another classic, El señor Presidente .

   El señor Presidente is not only the fundamental work of Magic Realism, but also one of the most important long Fictions of the Fiction Literature Prize winner, Miguel Angel Asturias. The title character in the story is constructed on the image of Manuel Estrada Cabrera, who owns the presidency from 1898-1920. Asturias uses the comic-like, exaggerate way to create this vulgar, eccentric, tricky, fierce and dictatorial tyrant; simultaneously, he describes the foolish, poor, miserable and horrifying atmosphere hovering in the country under tyrant’s dictatorship. After publishing for half a centry, based on what this Fiction brings out the reality of social problems and shows out the virtues of Magic Realism, El señor Presidente is still delivering the very important social values and recognition to the public. Undoubtedly, this book has become the classic Fiction of Central and South American Literature.

    This grand, tragic irony critically shapes the prototype of Latin American dictators. In the beginning of twenty century, these dictators keep appearing in everywhere, and the tyrannic imperialism accelerates the emergence of dictatorship. Meanwhile, ordinary people can only live in the hell under the oppression. The author tries to recall the aura whilst the society is imbued with terrors and doubts with his passion and strength. However, this Fiction is a challenging task and also the embodiment of the precious aesthetic.

   Asturias attempts to resist the darkness of reality with a little bit touch of ‘noir’ in El señor Presidente. By his strong passion, his narration toward the dim light may spur more people to feel and experience more. Nevertheless, Asturias also has an artistic talent to balance the dark and the light, fighting against the violence, injustice, slavery, and arbitrary. He turns the burning indignation into respectful art of literature, and that is why he deserves our respects.