Judíos en el Trópico

Abstract

In Latin America, immigration as a phenomenon has been crossed by the adventure and the finding of new opportunities, as well as by tragedy, identity and culture. Browsing throughout the narratives of the 20^th century, features such as the urban growth, the exile, the social mobilization, crises and even multiculturalism can be found. However, the common feature in these stories, is immigration as an-always-present principle in each of these processes. The immigrant is not envisaged as an extra-ordinary inhabitant who sees a country to grow from far and away but, against all odds, a builder of realities who observes the world from the multiplicity of cultures and structures that inhabit and transform him/her. Literature has been a key tool to understand the immigration since the reality and fiction are basic for describing adverse, exciting and picaresque situations.  This article presents a comparative exercise of two literary works in the context of Jew immigration in Costa Rica and Colombia through  Hitler in Centroamérica, by Jacobo Shifter and, El rumor de Astracan, by Azriel Bibliowicz.