Resulta increíble ―mientras se leen con los nervios de punta y el corazón en la mano los tres relatos que componen Angelitos empantanados― que el escritor colombiano Andrés Caicedo no siga con vida. No solo porque haya perdido joven esa batalla contra la muerte que dan sus personajes de fiesta en fiesta, de paisaje en paisaje, de película en película, sino, sobre todo, porque parece estar revelándoles las miserias y las glorias de la vida a los lectores de los tiempos de los blogs, las redes sociales y las listas de canciones. Por esta tríada de historias que están entrelazadas de manera vital, por las ya clásicas «El pretendiente», «Angelita y Miguel Ángel» y «El tiempo de la ciénaga», pasa un grupo entrañable de personajes trágicos e irresponsables que comparten el devastador y alucinante lujo de la adolescencia: un grupo de ángeles caídos, cercados por sus propios hastíos y arrinconados por sus sensibilidades infinitas, que sin duda no estaban preparados para la sobrecogedora experiencia de encajar en una sociedad de adultos que los decepciona con insistencia.
Author
Luis Andrés Caicedo Estela was a Colombian writer born in Cali, the city where he would spend most of his life. Despite his premature death, his work is considered one of the most original in Colombian literature. Caicedo leaded different cultural movements in the city like the literary group "Los Dialogantes" (Those who speak), the Cinema Club of Cali and the "Ojo con el Cine" Magazine (Attention to the Cinema). In 1970 he won the First Literary Contents of Caracas with his work "Los dientes de caperucita" (The Teeth of Little Red Riding Hood) that opened the doors of national recognition for him. Some sources say that he used to say that to live more than 25 years was a shame and it is seen as the main reason of his suicide on March 4, 1977 when he was that age. Caicedo's work has as its context the urban world and its social conflicts, especially those of young people. Contrary to the school of magic realism, the work of Caicedo is grounded completely in social reality. Therefore, some scholars give importance to his work as an alternative in Latin America to prominent figures such as Gabriel García Márquez, especially through the research of the Chilean journalist, writer and movie critic Alberto Fuguet who called Caicedo "The first enemy of Macondo". Despite his fame in Colombia, Caicedo is little known in Latin America, maybe for his early death. However his work is becoming known thanks to the influence of his works in new writer generations such as Rafael Chaparro, Efraim Medina Reyes, Manuel Giraldo, Octavio Escobar and Ricardo Abdahllah.
