The Satire in the Parliamentary Chronicles of Abraham Valdelomar

Abstract

The Peruvian writer Abraham Valdelomar is one of the most important representatives of the literature of his country. He excelled in short stories, poetry, novels, essays, etc. Likewise, he developed an original journalistic work in which his beautiful and varied chronicles stand out, that literary genre that was born in the newspapers. As if that were not enough, he was a fine humorist of the Peruvian political class. Precisely, this article aims to analyze the use and function of satire in his parliamentary chronicles, which have been little studied. Published in La Prensa newspaper, from 1915 to 1918, in the “Words ...” section, they masterfully combine both literary and journalistic discourse. First, a link will be established with the author's satirical work: his political cartoons and his Chinese Tales. Second, the socio-political context in which “Words…” appeared will be described. It is concluded —from the typology of Ignacio Arellano— that Valdelomar’s parliamentary chronicles are burlesque satires, since politicians are not only caricatured, but also criticized. This was most clearly felt in 1915, during the provisional government of Colonel Oscar Benavides. However, from 1916, under President Jose Pardo’s term, the censorship function decreases and the laughing tone of derision becomes more evident.