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1、8TheDeathoftheRiverandtheRiverofDeath:TheMagdalenaRiverinElamorenlostiemposdelcóleraandLanoviaoscuraAnaMaríaMutisTranslatedbyPabloJ.Davis“Huancayo,”whichmeans“riveroftombs”intheYanaconatongue,wasthenamethepre-HispanicsettlersgavetotheupperbasinoftheMagdalenaRi
2、ver.Thisname,togetherwiththatof“Magdalena,”whichcallstomindthesorrowfulfigureoftheGospelsandthefloodoftearssheshedatthefeetofthecrucifiedChrist,seemcruelomensofthefateofColombia’smostimportantriver.TheMagdalenahassufferedtheonslaughtsofdeforestation1andofcontam
3、inationfromindustrialeffluents,urbanwaste,andoilspills.ButdeathvisitsthewatersoftheMagdalenanotonlyintheformofecologicaldestruction;italsodoessoinamoredirectandmacabreway:theriver’scurrentsoftencarrybodiesthathavebeencastintoitswaters—animagethathasbecomeiconic
4、ofColombia’sviolence.Theatrociouspracticeofthrowingthebodiesofvictimsofviolenceintotherivergoesbacktothecivilwarsofthenineteenthcenturyandcontinuesuptothepresentwiththepurposeofconcealingthetracesofcrimes—whetherbymakingthevictimsdisappearorbycarryingthemfarfro
5、mtheirhometerritories,impeding2determinationofthelocaleofthecrimeandthereforeitsinvestigation.Theimageofariverwhosecurrentbearshumandeadappearswith3somefrequencyinColombianliterature.Indeed,the“noveloflaViolencia,”whichevokesthehorrorsoftheconflictbetweenLibera
6、lsandConservativesduringthe1940sand1950s,hasasoneofitscentralimagesthatofcorpsesfloatingontheriver,reflectingacommonpracticeoftheperiodwhosepurposewastoterrorizetheruralpopulation(Oquist121).Withrespecttotheecologicaldestructionoftheriver,oneofthefirstTroubledW
7、aters:RiversinLatinAmericanImaginationHispanicIssuesOnLine12(2013)MUTIS♦146testimoniesappearstowardthemiddleofthenineteenthcenturyintheverseofCandelarioObeso(1849–1884).Nearertoourownday,Colombianliteraturewidelyrecognizesthat,inadditiontocadavers,theriverbears
8、refuseandcontamination;contemporarynarrativeisrepletewithnauseatingstreamsthatserveasdumping-groundsfortoxicdischargesandhumanwaste.IntheriversinElamorenlostiemposdelcólera(