Quince Duncan: Writing Afro-Costa Rican and Caribbean Identity

4. Dismantling the Myths: Final de calle and El trepasolo

4 Dismantling the Myths Final de calle and El trepasolo Y no puedes hallar la calle que da a tu casa — (And you can’t find the street that leads you home; Final de calle) The novel Final de calle (Dead-­End Street, 1979 [1981]) and Duncan’s only published dramatic text El trepasolo (The Lone Climber, 1993) present serious critiques of Costa Rican society by dismantling some of the myths of the nation. These two works, separated by almost fifteen years, are joined together in this study because they mark a departure from the author’s previous work. Rather than center on the descendants of West Indians in Costa Rica, these works are both his­ tori­ cal and cultural studies of Costa Rican society. They address themes of national identity and culture, particularly the myths of egalitarianism and democracy . Final de calle contends with the specific issues of democracy and the power of po­ liti­ cal fractions after the 1948 civil war and presents a “vision from below” that counters official versions of the conflict and its repercussions in Costa Rican society. El trepasolo portrays a more general examination of the subject of class mobility by unveiling the fallacy of social equality. Duncan offers a criti­ cal gaze at Costa Rica, exposing some of the fissures in the national discourse of equality and democracy. Final de calle In the 2004 presentation of Duncan’s Cuentos escogidos, Costa Rican literary critic Albino Chacón calls Final de calle (1979 [1981]) “his [Duncan’s] best known work . . . his book that is most reflective of the Central Valley and therefore the book that most clearly departs from the series of Afro-­ Caribbean literature” (Chacón 2006, n.p.). This is, however, one of Duncan’s least studied works by scholars outside of Costa Rica. Although Hombres curtidos, Los cuatro espejos, Dismantling the Myths / 153 and La paz del pueblo were lauded by critics and scholars, Chacón’s assertion that Final de calle is Duncan’s “best known work” perhaps holds true for Costa Rican national letters because it is the only novel in Duncan’s oeuvre that does not have an explicit Afro–Costa Rican theme, nor does it feature the life and culture of Limón. It is the novel that Duncan submitted anonymously to disprove critics ’ charges that his writing had little aesthetic merit and was published simply because he is black. The novel was sent to the Editorial Costa Rica and won the esteemed Aquileo J. Echevarría National Prize in 1978. Of the novels Duncan had published with the Editorial Costa Rica between the beginning of his career and the twenty-­ fifth anniversary of the publishing house (Los cuatro espejos, La paz del pueblo, Final de calle, Kimbo), Final de calle was selected for reprinting as part of its special commemorative collection of the texts that best represent the history of the press and national literature. Duncan admits that he was perplexed by the choice, since he is known for his treatment of Afro–Costa Rican themes in his work. Nevertheless, he was told by Costa Rican critic Víctor Julio Peralta that “Final de calle is more ours “ (“Final de calle es más nuestro; Duncan 2004, “Afrorealista Manifesto” n.p., my emphasis). Although the text proved that an Afro–Costa Rican can write on issues of national history, it also demonstrates that the literary establishment in Costa Rica, exemplified by the venerated Editorial Costa Rica, does not see the themes of Afro–Costa Rican culture as part of “lo nuestro” (“that which is ours”). Final de calle takes up the topic of the aftereffects of the 1948 civil war, a defining moment in Costa Rica’s contemporary history, from the point of view of its participants on both sides of the conflict. It is a novel published almost thirty years after the nation’s civil war and is among the few novels of the time that deals with the conflict. The author’s note at the beginning of the novel addresses some of the wounds the bloody conflict left: “Final de calle is above all a novel. It attempts to remain faithful to the events as they were told by its protagonists from the popu­ lar sector” (FC ix). In his efforts to “remain faithful to the events” and portray the popu­ lar voice, he also depicts “a people’s history” or an intrahistory of the conflict and its aftermath. Intrahistory (“intrahistoria”) is a term...