Political activism, identity and anti-imperialism in the play Fulgor y muerte de Joaquín Murieta by Pablo Neruda

Abstract

In 1967 Pablo Neruda wrote his only work of theater, Splendor and Death of Joaquín Murieta. This theater piece is about the deeds of the famous bandit during the Gold Rush in California, in the middle of the 19th Century. The adventures of this bandit served as sort of a stage to denounce the outrage of the USA on Latin America. This paper presents a reflection about the meaning of the figure of Murieta and the forms to re-interpretate the past.