The Subaltern Consciousness and Juridical-Christian Modulations in the Novel A Day in the Life of Manlio Argueta

• Autor: López Contreras, Daniel
• Formato: artículo
• Fecha de Publicación: 2023
• Institución: Universidad Ricardo Palma
• Repositorio: Revistas - Universidad Ricardo Palma
• Lenguaje: español
• OAI Identifier: oai:oai.revistas.urp.edu.pe:article/5894
• Enlace del recurso: http://revistas.urp.edu.pe/index.php/Inkarri/article/view/5894
• Nivel de acceso: acceso abierto
• Materia: conciencia subalterna; teología de la liberación; pluralismo jurídico; narrativa testimonial; violencia colonial; subaltern consciousness; liberation theology; legal pluralism; testimonial narrative; colonial violence

Manlio Argueta’s testimonial novel Un día en la vida (1980) provides a literary response to the question about the formation characteristics of a subaltern peasant consciousness in the insurrectionary movements before the civil war in El Salvador. In this case, the literary treatment of the voices of Lupe, Adolfina, and Chepe, a triad in tension with the appearance of La Autoridad, reveals features of understanding regarding the historical situation experienced by peasant groups in El Salvador, as well as containing modulations that reflect the discourses circulating at the time. A synthesis between the premises of liberation theology and juridical pluralism -allegorised in the testimonies of Lupe and Adolfina, respectively- reveals a literary proposal to delve into the stages before the Salvadorian civil war (1972-1992). Therefore, the juridical-Christian modulations of these authors allow us to outline elements of conscious leadership in the Salvadoran insurgent movements. Ultimately, the literary register makes it possible to identify features of a subaltern consciousness constructed on the basis of negotiation with the colonial violence inherent in Central and Latin American societies.