The revolutionary passion: love, war, faith and redemption in Retrospective. A Novel

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5209/ecao.105753
Keywords: Juan Gabriel Vázquez, revolutionary passion, Cultural Revolution, China, Latin American narrative

Abstract

This article analyzes Juan Gabriel Vásquez's novel Retrospective. A Novel, based on the biography of Colombian filmmaker Sergio Cabrera, from a central theme: revolutionary passion. Being a literary work of great testimonial value, this novel faithfully and masterfully recreates a true story of love, war, faith, and redemption set in China’s Cultural Revolution and guerrilla life in the Colombian jungle.

Author Biography

Cheng Li, Complutense University of Madrid

PhD in Artistic, Literary and Cultural Studies from the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM), he is currently professor at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM). His main lines of research are: 1) Relationship between discourse and society, with special attention to the collective imagination; 2) Rhetoric, translation, and discursive manipulation; 3) Cultural Rhetoric and editorial design. He has worked in universities in China, Spain, and Mexico, teaching Spanish language, Chinese language, and translation. He was director of the Confucius Institute of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (IC-UNAM) between 2016 and 2020. In addition to academic and teaching activities, he also has professional experience in simultaneous and consecutive interpretating, literary translation, cultural and editorial management, etc.

View Citations

Format

Crossmark

Metrics

Published
2026-09-28
How to Cite
Li, C. (2026). The revolutionary passion: love, war, faith and redemption in Retrospective. A Novel. Estudios Complutenses de Asia Oriental, 2(2), e105753. https://doi.org/10.5209/ecao.105753
Issue
Vol. 2 No. 2 (2026)
Section
Cultura china

License

In order to support the global exchange of knowledge, the journal Estudios Complutense de Asia Orienta is allowing unrestricted access to its content as from its publication in this electronic edition, and as such it is an open-access journal. The originals published in this journal are the property of the Complutense University of Madrid and any reproduction thereof in full or in part must cite the source. All content is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 use and distribution licence (CC BY 4.0). This circumstance must be expressly stated in these terms where necessary. You can view the summary and the complete legal text of the licence.