Cenizas
Novel and Film Script.
Published by Debolsillo and Penguin Random House Mondadori.
XIX Premio de Letras Hispánicas, Universidad de Sevilla. 2014, Spain
«Una novela que ilumina nuestro sentido trágico de la vida. Damián Comas es un narrador preciso, duro, profundo. No hay que perderlo de vista»
Eduardo Antonio Parra
Cenizas is composed of a handful of complex characters who recognize their mistakes and virtues, having given their lives beyond their individual destinies. We all have a price, and in the case of a military dictatorship, it has nothing to do with money, but with suffering and panic as measures of our fragility.
This work poses great and radical questions in the midst of a whirlwind of sensations. Through a narrative of intertwined stories, the central figure is Julio, an artist and political prisoner of the Argentine dictatorship. After being released from prison, he escapes from house arrest. During his journey, Julio travels across America and questions, through intimate and raw reflection, the value of justice and integrity, the need for forgetting and forgiveness, and the meaning of this story that spans countries, addresses multiple extreme situations, evokes endearing moments, and recognizes in the most sui generis individuals the absurdity of life itself.
The story begins from a remote spot in the Tucuman jungle, where Jorge (Julio's brother) embarks on a silent journey to Buenos Aires when illness and age force him to abandon his hermit life. He reaches the National Congress to self-immolate in protest for a generation that lost everything under a military dictatorship.
Twenty years earlier, brothers Jorge and Julio are unexpectedly released from prison after years of torture as political prisoners. Jorge flees to the jungle, while Julio tries to rebuild his life. Julio discovers his wife and daughter are missing but receives a new identity from his friend Lemuel Smith to escape Argentina. Julio reaches Uruguay but is pursued by Officer Ferreira, a corrupt policeman.
In Uruguay, Julio meets Melleola, a fellow fugitive. Melleola shares his story, revealing connections to Julio's past. They devise a plan, kill Ferreira, and Julio escapes to Brazil. Julio eventually gains political asylum and moves to North America, writing to Lemuel in gratitude. Years later, Lemuel and Julio reunite in New York. Lemuel reveals that Jorge is alive in the jungle. Their conversation uncovers the harsh realities they endured, including the disappearance of Julio's wife and daughter.
