TAMIU Professor José Cardona-López's Acclaimed Novel, "La Vieja Inés" Translated to Danish
A short novel or nouvelle by Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) Regents Professor of Spanish American Literature Dr. José Cardona-López has been recently translated to Danish and published by Editorial Aurora Boreal, based in Gengofte, Denmark.
Titled, "La vieja Inés: (Todo sobre el caso Torres Villaquirán)," translated in Danish by Pia Sloth Poulsen as "Peter Anker (Alt om sagen Torres Villaquirán)," was recently released.
Originally written in Spanish and published by the Mexican publisher Ediciones Eón in 2022, the novel explores the oppressive and absurd Torres Villaquirán case in a serious and at the same time, comical manner, according to Patricia Méndez, who wrote the book introduction.
The story, according to Méndez's introduction, represents a satire against a society that favors killings. It is a mockery against expressions of power, which for its rigor and effectiveness, is based on the ambiguous and curly language usually present in its laws.
“I’m deeply honored that this found a new home in the Danish language,” said Dr. Cardona-López, “Translation opens possibilities for new conversations and interpretations, and I’m delighted that Danish readers will be able to engage with this work.”
The novel's plot centers around a man who is cheated on by his partner, whom he finds in a motel with a lover. Instead of reacting violently, the man brings pizza to their room. From then on, his life becomes entangled with the judicial system, since according to the law, he should have exercised his right to kill, blinded by rage and intense pain.
In the end, the man is convicted after a trial presented as a spectacle in which the accused, defense attorney, witnesses, prosecutors, and others play their roles in absurd and hilarious ways. The novel is narrated in the first person by the accused himself.
The Danish edition is now available under ISBN 978-87-93935-83-9.
Originally from Palmira, Colombia, Cardona-López has been a member of the TAMIU faculty since 1997. He earned his Ph.D. in Spanish from the University of Kentucky and an M.A. in Spanish from the University of Louisville in Louisville, KY. His B.S. in Agricultural Engineering was earned at the National University in Palmira.
Author of the internationally renowned novel, "Sueños para una siesta" (Dreams for a Nap) and several short story books, he received the prestigious Laurel Trilce de Oro (Golden Laurel Trilce), a Peruvian Award for his Lifelong Contribution to Literature and Culture, in 2015.
His book, "Teoría y práctica de la nouvelle" (Theory and Practice of the Nouvelle), is devoted to the study and discussion of the most important theoretical approaches to the "short novel," novella or nouvelle, a narrative genre that presently is having a revival in the United States and several Hispanic countries. His articles and essays on the Spanish American literature have appeared in prestigious academic journals.
Some of his short stories have been included in anthologies published in Canada, Colombia, Spain, the United States and Perú. Short stories and micro-fictions by him have appeared in printed and electronic magazines in Colombia and abroad.
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