La Configuración del pícaro en la novela Tragicomedia de burócratas de César Rivas Lara

Abstract

This article, framed within the universe of cultural studies, will show how Rivas Lara appropriates the classic elements of the Spanish-American "La Picaresca" and then subverts them by configuring, in his novel "Tragicomedia de burócratas”, a rogue model through the vices of a despotic political class indifferent to the needs of  Afro-Colombian community. First, a broad overview of the work will be presented, summarising its plot, characterising its language, establishing points of convergence with productions in Colombian and Latin American literature. Then, we will review the characteristics of "La Picaresca" in Spanish-America based on the rigorous study of the Madrid researcher María Casas de Faunce, converging and contrasting with the contributions of Gustavo Correa, Alonso Zamora, Mireya Suárez, among other researchers. The aim is to find the meaning of the aesthetic elements that Rivas Lara appropriates and which he then invests with Afro-Colombian identity in his novel. In the third part, we will explain how this subversion is carried out: the configuration of the rogue, his relationship with the environment where the events take place, the social framework that is constructed and criticised, the use of humour, irony and satire as vehicles not only to satirise, but also to show aspects of the popular culture and language of Chocó, while at the same time the moralising reflections that the novel seeks to convey.