Entrevista Con Santiago Roncagliolo

In the grand tapestry of human history, we often find ourselves revisiting the past to unlock the secrets of our present. What if we were to journey back several centuries, all the way to the year 2600, to tell a tale of a birth – the birth of a demon? You might wonder, why delve into such ancient history, and what could it possibly reveal about our contemporary world?

Our fears, my friends, are not confined to violence or abuse. They extend to those unspoken terrors lurking within us, shaping our lives in unimaginable ways. This led me to the enigmatic world of witches, a reflection of masculine fears. As I embarked on this journey, I stumbled upon a manual known as "The Malleus Maleficarum" (The Hammer of Witches). This sinister document claimed that if a man lay with a witch and failed to achieve an erection, it was not his fault but rather the witch's doing. It stated that if a man fathered a child with a woman while under the influence of a demon, the child was not his but the demon's. This absurd scapegoating intrigued me.

Witches and Demons: A Portal to the 17th Century

As I delved deeper into the world of witches and demons, I discovered a fascinating universe from the 17th century. This was a time when everything hung in the balance between the divine and the diabolical. Rationality had not yet asserted itself, and the world was shrouded in mysticism. It was a realm where God and the Devil held the strings, and reason was still in its infancy. This irrationality and uncertainty made it the perfect backdrop for my novel.

I felt a magnetic pull towards this era, and it all came together when a child was born with two heads, a phenomenon we might label conjoined twins today. Yet in the 17th century, such a birth was perceived as the work of the devil. I yearned to craft a thriller, but I didn't want my characters to converse and think like modern individuals within a 17th-century setting. Instead, I envisioned an investigation in that era, where people would have questioned why this demon-like birth occurred and what it signified about their society.

In this narrative exercise, I uncovered a multitude of contemporary themes. Beyond the portrayal of women's roles, the novel also delves into the issues of crime, corruption, and power struggles within our communities. The same themes that plagued society in the 17th century still haunt us today. Consider, for example, the blame often placed on women for violence perpetrated against them. This issue remains a legal and cultural challenge, with no end in sight.

The Corrupt Foundations of Power

The theme of corruption, which seems interminable in Latin America, can be traced back to the arrival of viceroys. These colonial rulers brought their families and entourages, filling all positions of authority and power. This nepotism led to a society where everyone sought to marry into these influential families, perpetuating a cycle of corruption. The power structure was never grounded in laws but in family connections, laying the foundations for rampant corruption that still plagues us.

While the appearance of our cities has transformed with concrete buildings and glass windows, the inner workings of our minds and hearts have exhibited a profound continuity with the 17th century. At its core, the battle between good and evil persists, and the distinction between the two remains as elusive as ever.

The Enduring Dilemma of Good and Evil

The distinction between good and evil has always intrigued me, even more so in a time when reason had not yet solidified its dominance. In the 17th century, everything had to be explained as a manifestation of God or the Devil. There was no room for rational analysis. In my novel, the character of Isabel Flores becomes the subject of a letter to an inquisitor, an attempt to decipher whether she is a witch or a saint. In this era, rational analysis was scarce, and everything had to be attributed to divine or diabolical forces.

Ultimately, Isabel Flores was declared a saint, but her companions and other devout women faced persecution for similar actions. Her strategic choice to don the habit of the Dominicans granted her the support of the Dominican Order, which defended her as a saint. This differentiation between a saint and a witch rested on the simple act of wearing a particular religious habit.

While I may not be a staunch advocate for any religion, my fascination with exploring the unknown and what terrifies us remains. Religion often grapples with the mysteries that elude our understanding, particularly the afterlife and the incomprehensible. The essence of religion, be it Catholicism or any other, involves addressing the unexplained and the ineffable. Thus, it remains a compelling theme in my work, as I am a novelist who delves into the realm of terror and the unknown.

The Erosion of Democracy: The Return to the Age of Polarization

Stephen King once opined that the monsters of each era reflect the prevalent fears of that time. In today's world, we find ourselves once again haunted by the specter of fear – fear of those who think differently, those who believe in alternative ideologies. The monsters of our time are none other than each other.

We are witnessing the gradual erosion of trust in democracy. The democratic system is a testament to the belief that people can think differently and coexist peacefully. However, this faith in democracy is waning, replaced by a binary narrative of good versus evil. We are returning to a time when polarization is the norm, when there is no middle ground. Democracy requires the willingness to debate, to disagree, and to find common ground. What we are witnessing now is the abandonment of this principle.

The digital age has provided us with platforms to judge and condemn, to label others as good or evil. We have replaced the manual of inquisitors with social media, where we relish in passing judgment and insisting that anyone who doesn't conform to our beliefs is a liar. Physical violence may be absent, but the psychological harm is no less devastating. Our anxiety and rage continue to grow, fueled by our inability to coerce the truth from others.

This shift signifies our insecurity and our inability to engage in fruitful discussions or compromise. We no longer possess the skills to engage in constructive dialogue, win arguments through reason, or accept defeat gracefully. We have become trapped in a binary world where our side is the good one, and anyone who deviates from our perspective is automatically labeled as malevolent.

In essence, this return to a polarized state is a crisis of faith. We are losing faith in the principles of democracy, a system that allows us to think and live differently. The monsters of our time are one another, and this new binary paradigm is driving us toward the precipice.

Seeking Reconciliation in a Polarized World

As we look at the world today, we are left wondering: how can we achieve reconciliation in such a deeply divided society? The solution is elusive, and I wish I had the answer.

To begin, we must seek leaders who do not belong to criminal organizations, who are not murderers, rapists, or harassers. Our democracy is not inherently flawed; it is our choices that have led us astray. We have allowed mafias to infiltrate the political landscape, manipulating and reshaping our system until it no longer