Carlos Francisco Chang Marín

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Carlos Francisco Chang Marín or Changmarín (born February 26, 1922) is a Panamanian folklorist, painter, musician, journalist, activist and writer (poetry, essays, children's literature, among others).

His writing, which has been described as close to the people's voice more often than not, portraits the class struggle and the search for social justice of the country men and working class people of the world. Most of the time, his work manages to mix magical descriptions of the Ibero-American countryside and simple life beauty, naive humour and optimism with proletarian revolution conclusions and tone, making his work very popular among the intellectual middle classes and the working classes, specifically between the campesinos (countryside people) which identify themselves with Changmarín's personality and language. Changmarín was himself born and raised in the countryside of Panama.

Politically persecuted in the past, Changmarín's contributions to the Panamanian culture and folklore added to his internationally-recognized talent, and forced the otherwise antagonistic government of Panama as well as several groups and institutions who once opposed and generally promoted policies against his ideas (free market capitalism, etc.), to recognize his achievements and contributions through several national awards (see Awards below) and to place his works and persona as a cultural icon of Panama.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Writings 2.1 Poetry 2.2 Short Stories 2.3 Novels 2.4 Children's Literature 2.5 Essays 2.6 Journalism 3 Music 3.1 Décima 4 Activism 4.1 Political 4.2 Ecological 5 Works 5.1 Poetry 5.2 Short Stories 5.3 Novel 5.4 Children's Literature 5.5 Essays 5.6 Discography 6 Awards 6.1 Ricardo Miró National Award 6.2 Other Awards 7 References

[edit] Biography

Changmarín is the artistic name used by Carlos Francisco Chang Marín, which comes from merging both of his surnames (from his paternal surname "Chang" and maternal surname "Marin") and defines the mixed (Chinese and Creole) heritage of this author.

Changmarín was born in Santiago de Veraguas, Panama, being the second son of an out-of-wedlock union between Carlos Chang, a rich, Chinese-Panamanian merchant and Faustina Marin, a campesina from humble origins. He grew up among his mother's family, being unable to be acknowledged in public by his father under the conservative values of Panama's countryside of the early 1920s. He enjoyed a very simple life with idyllic exposure not only to the countryside's natural beauty, but also its art and culture, since these were intrinsically interwoven with the Panamanian countryside people.

Changmarín's father decided to take him from his mother when he was still a child, and sent him to live with a paternal aunt. His aunt was brutally abusive, treating him basically as a slave, constantly humiliating his mixed heritage and his mother's social status. His father, if not actually participating in the abuse, provided no protection from, and in some cases, promoted this behavior.

At some unknown moment, Changmarín left his aunt's house and went to Panama City, where he did a series of odd jobs. One of these jobs included working at the Panama Canal construction under the supervision of U.S. managers, where he witnessed the unfair and abusive conditions between the U.S. personnel and the non-U.S. workers. This added to similar experiences he underwent while living with his aunt, who belonged to the richer sector of her hometown. He became determined to establish his proletarian struggle visions and political activism.

Changmarín returned to formal education at the Juan Demostenes Arosemena Normal School (founded in 1938) and mentored by intellectuals from South America and Europe, most of whom were victims of the rampant European fascism, which helped to consecrate and refine his ideals. He also undertook brief studies in the Panama National Conservatory of Music, which he did not complete.

Between 1940 and 1950, Changmarín worked as a teacher in several provinces, where he organized the student movement in several strikes to denounce several key issues regarding the country's social problems, which resulted in his being fired from his post.

During this period, he was incarcerated several times, but this did not stop him from working in several jobs whhile in prison. After being in and out of prison under political charges, Changmarín was finally exiled to Chile in 1968. While living there, he studied painting in the Universidad National de Chile and became very active in the Salvador Allende presidential campaign.

Once he was allowed to return to Panama, Changmarín established himself in several leadership and organizational roles within the Communist movement. He continuously worked in his artistic endeavours to deliver social and cultural messages. This period resulted in his national recognition as being one of the persons responsible for the Panama Canal struggle against the United States. This struggle ended with the United States returning the operational control of the once-forbidden (for Panamanians) Canal Zone.

Changmarín is currently living in his birthtown of Santiago de Veraguas. With his companion Eneida Romero, he continues to write, paint and participate in political and ecological commentary and activism. The couple gave birth to five children, with four of these still living. In addition, it is well known that Changmarín has a strong passion for nature in general, with a predilection for orchids.

[edit] Writings

As one of the main Panamanian writers, his work in literature is prolific, as he touched on different genres and styles, over the development of his career and artistic evolution.

[edit] Poetry

Changmarín started writing poetry by the time he was in college (Juan Demóstenes Arosemena Normal School), mentored at that early period of his artistic life by South American and Europeans teachers, the latter mainly being expatriated victims of the fascist Spanish Franquism. While still in college, he received an honored mention for his participation in the 1942's Ricardo Miró National Awards with a submission of a book containing poetry entitled Punto e' llanto.

At this stage in his career, his work was considered to be part of the Ibero-American's post-varguandists Second World War authors according to several scholars. Being under the vanguardist influence, his poetry developed a tone of despair with a very obvious revolutionary intent^[1].

Dimas L. Pitty, in his book Letra Viva, describes Changmarín's work as a creation where “the art is not the reality, but reality's reflection as an artistic image, marked with the author's subjectivism and ideological views; it is also his fiction".

As a writer, poetry is basically Changmarín's fundamental tool of expression. Once established as a consecrated poet, he reached an outstanding moment in his creation with the book of poetry entitled Poemas Corporales (Corporeal Poems), which was awarded the Ricardo Miró National Award in 1955. With this work, Changmarín showed himself as a developed poet, achieving great control over this literary form. Changmarín leaves out, as much as possible, the fashionable and purely aesthetic trends of the time. This allowed his work to enjoy clarity to serve as a method to deliver the social and political messages, as most of his works are fundamentally.

His mastery of the decasyllable writing imprints Poemas Corporales with a classical accent comparable to the Quevedo Verses.

[edit] Short Stories

The short stories compendiums produced by Changmarín are quite numerous and touch several themes and scopes. In these compendiums, he tries to recreate the countryside storytelling and atmosphere in a refreshing and uncomplicated style. He uses this particular medium to expose the land ownership problem and exploitation suffered by the countryside people under the, still very common in Ibero-America, latifundia endorsed by the government, religious and right-wing policy-makers, which generally represent the rich sectors of the society and transnational corporations ^[2].

As most of his works, it is highly political in nature, describing and portraiting historical events, as seen in his compendium Noche Buena Mala where he writes shorts stories related to the events of the 1989 U.S. Military invasion of Panama (December 20, 1989).

When not being used as a way to deliver and expose political, historical and eco-humanistic paradigms, his short stories have been described to be highly emotional and profoundly radical in form. An example of this is his work Seis Madres, possibly being the most researched and analyzed of his works in this genre, having been described as been written by bursts of raw emotions^[3]; an anti-story^[4], and as the first Panamanian short story that could be used to formulate a theory regarding the creative writing process ^[5].

[edit] Novels

Changmarín has published three novels in his artistic career. In this genre, he writes mainly in a historical narrative style which has been praised by critics for its attention to detail in the description of the physical frame (flora, fauna, geography) as well as the cultural^[6].

His latest novel, targeted mainly to young readers, "Las Gracias y las Desgracias de Chico Perico" (2005), had a more autobiographical approach.

[edit] Children's Literature

Having published several books dedicated to reach the youth, Changmarín tries to deliver his social messages in order to promote human sensibilities and awareness to all ages. Through the children's literature expression as a medium, he takes advantage of his pedagology formation by creating an envelop using a profound knowledge of the popular and simple art and language.

Using attractive illustrations (hand-drawn by himself) and a short-chapter format to ease the interest of young readers, Changmarín has published in several fields, from poetry to history books. Many scholars consider his children's literature works an expression of his tender side without losing his strong message, and they place many of his works in this area as jewels of Panamanian literature^[7]. Part of his creation in this field is inspired by his own experiences as a child and by the constant interaction with his own grand- and great-grandchildren, for whom most of these books have been dedicated.

Highly recognized in this area are his poems Las Tonadas y los Cuentos de la Cigarra (1975) and La Muñeca de Tusa (2001), and the novels El Cholito Que Llegó a General (1978) and Las Gracias y las Desgracias de Chico Perico (2005).

[edit] Essays

Changmarín's works in the field of essays concentrate in the folkloric, artistic, historical and political areas. Many of his essays have been published in international magazines and newspapers.

Most of his political essays deal with the relations between the United States of America's (U.S.A.) policies toward the Panama Canal and Panama in general, as well as its economic models and the impact these have in the region.

As a strong proponent of socialism, Changmarín's conclusions portrait a critical view to the current international policies of the United States and other pro-globalization countries and organizations (WTO, IMF, World Bank, etc.).

[edit] Journalism

As a journalist, Changmarín has a long history contributing to this field with his commentaries and opinions appearing in several Panamanian and international newspapers, specially the Cuban newspaper Granma. He is highlighted among several others (Milciades Amores C, Mario Riera Pinilla, Alejandro Chock Valdés, Gonzalo Castro, René González and Eustolio Darío Him) as a pioneer of the Prensa Chica (small press) movement in Panama, with his participation in El Cholo newspaper.

Later, he had a newspaper column, Las Famosas Cartas a Tula (The famous letters to my Aunt Tula), for several years in one of the most circulated Panamanian newspapers, La Critica. His column enjoyed much popularity due to his humorous approach to critical problems.

Parallel to his contributions to the mainstream media, Changmarín founded and directed the weekly bulletin Unidad, an information bulletin publication for the Panamanian Communist Party.

[edit] Music

In the field of music, Changmarín has produced a long list of musical compositions, both in writing lyrics and creating the musical arrangements. One of his most well known creations is the lyrics for Tio Caiman, made famous by the Chilean group Quilapayún. The piece has also been recorded in Colombia, Nicaragua, Cuba, as well as Panama, by several musical groups. Paradoxically, by being well-known, the piece is sometimes sung by spectators in football (soccer) matches and performed at music concerts across Ibero-America. Changmarín is hardly known as the creator, but this is a credit that he does not pursue, which shows his commitment to cultural contribution rather than to monetary or personal gain. The Panamanian Birthday Song, recorded by the DEXA orchesta directed by Edgardo Quintero, is also one of his creations, and is considered to a unique contribution to the Panamanian culture and identity.

Another of his major contributions in the musical field is Alma Panameña, a record produced as part of the cultural development programs of the European Union and PROAPEMEP.

[edit] Décima

Changmarín is a broadly recognized décima composer in Panama. His interest in this field is related to his folklore research, and he has been promoting the recognition of this form of expression from the countryside people for more than half a century. As the main coordinator for the Veraguas delegations in the Mejorana National Festival (1950 to this day), he has become a one-man cultural institution in this art form.

Changmarín is the only Panamanian décima composer who has published three books dealing with the décima composition as well as décimas compilations. The books “Socabón, Décimas Populares para Cantar” (1959), “Los Versos del Pueblo” (1973) and “Cantadera, 130 Décimas para Cantar” (1995) have been used as references and inspiration to several generations of décimas performers.

His intimate relationship with the countryside, its essence and ways, as much as his own family's influence (his mother's family belonging to a long line of musicians and performers) and his education as a teacher, have opened a path to allow him to provide mayor contributions in this field, from the composition to the research of the complex sociological interactions of this expression.

[edit] Activism

[edit] Political

Changmarín's political activism reached one of the most definitive moments in his life with the foundation of the Panamanian Communist Party (Partido del Pueblo) in 1950. Since communism was outlawed at that time by Panamanian law, this initiative was forced to be conducted under the veil of secrecy.

The Panamanian government reacted to the growing dissent and communist organization in the countryside by increasing the repression mechanisms, reaching the extremes of perpetrating political assassinations and, the later to be infamous, disappearances.

Changmarín, in his writings, which is used as his main weapon, describes the countryside people and proletarian struggle, the resistance against Western imperialism, the national and regional liberation and as he clearly expressed "A Panama Canal for peace and not for war".

For years, he used politically-charged décimas as means to educate the people about identity and the struggle at hand. “Que se vayan del Canal” (I wish they would just leave from the Canal) and “Quiero Sembrar un Maíz” (I want to plant corn [in the Canal Zone]) were the songs of the protests against the constant abuse by the United States.

His writing form, being very direct and clear, but with heavy traces of symbolism, serves as a tool for the constant struggles and protests that were taking place in Ibero-America during the 1970's and 1980's. The décima, having a bard-like effect as an artistic expression and Changmarín having mastered the form, managed to merge it with the social angst-ridden echoes of the dispossessed and the nationalist feelings of the people to "incense a protest in each fist and a march in each step"^[8].

[edit] Ecological

Changmarín is a strong proponent of environment friendly way of living and critic of the consumer-oriented free market and industrialization. Having a strong emotional connection with the countryside environment, he actively participates in radio shows commentaries about the topic.

He expresses an integrated relationship between culture and nature, rejecting the industrial Western concept of progress, and promoting the philosophy of simple life. Although he has never openly endorsing Anarcho-Primitivism, there are clear correlations between his views and the movement.

[edit] Works

[edit] Poetry

• Punto ‘e llanto. 1942
• Poemas Corporales. 1956
• Socabón. Décimas para Cantar. 1959
• Los Versos del Pueblo. Décimas. 1972
• Versos para Entrar a la Zona del Canal. 1972
• Crónica de Siete Nombres Memorables. 1980
• El Gallo de las Horas. 1993
• Cantadera – 130 Décimas para Cantar. 1995

[edit] Short Stories

• Faragual y otros cuentos. 1960
• La Mansión de la Bruma, Cuentos de la cárcel. Publicada en ruso. 1965
• Nochebuena Mala. 1995
• Las Mentiras Encantadas. 1997
• Cuentos para Matar el Estrés. 2002

[edit] Novel

• El Guerrillero Transparente. 1982

[edit] Children's Literature

• Versos de Machachita. (Poetry) 1974
• Las Tonadas y los Cuentos de la Cigarra. (Poetry) 1975
• El Cholito que Llegó a General. (Novel) 1978
• Las Tonadas y los Cuentos de la Cigarra. (Poetry) 1993
• La Muñeca de Tusa. (Poetry). 2001
• Muñeca de Tusa. (Poetry) 2003
• Las Gracias y las Desgracias de Chico Perico. (Novel) 2005

[edit] Essays

• Base Social de la Décima en Panamá. 1965
• Algunas Áreas Folclóricas de Veraguas. 1975
• Panamá 1903-1970. 1979
• Victoriano Lorenzo, Primera Víctima del Canal Norteamericano. 1980
• Vigencia de la Décima en Panamá, en Itinerario de una Nación 1903-2003. 2003

[edit] Discography

• Tío Caimán.
• El Cumpleaños Panameño.
• Alam Panameña.

[edit] Awards

[edit] Ricardo Miró National Award

• 1942 Honorable mention: Punto ‘e Llanto. (Poetry)
• 1956 Second Prize: Poemas Corporales. (Poetry)
• 1959 Second Prize: Faragual. (Short Story)
• 1981 First Prize: El Guerrillero Transparente. (Novel)

[edit] Other Awards

• 1976 Special Prize at the Cuban Workers Centre's Rubén Martínez Villena Awards, in the poetry category.
• 1998 Dora Zàrate Award for his contribution promoting the national identity and culture.
• 2002 Ester María Osses Award from the INAC (Instituto Nacional de Cultura / National Culture Institute, Panama), in the *Children's Literature category.
• 2002 Universidad 2002 Award from the Universidad de Panamá.
• 2002 Medal of Honour from ANAPODE (Asociación Nacional de Poetas de la Décima / Décima Poets National Association, Panama).
• 2003 Labour And Effort Award and recognition in the Chinese-Panamanian community from ACHIMPA (Asociación China de Mujeres Profesionales / Chinese Association of Professioanl Women, Panama).
• 2003 Recognition from the Santiago de Veraguas Municipal Council.
• 2004 Medal and recognition from the Cuba Republic State Council.
• 2006 Omar Torrijos Herrera National Order from the Panamanian government.

In addition to these awards, several libraries, both private and public, have been named after Changmarín.

[edit] References

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