A fuego lento

Published in 1903, A fuego lento (Slow Burn) by Emilio Bobadilla is a vibrant roman à clef dissecting the corrupt and sensual atmosphere of late 19th-century Caribbean society. The novel’s first part is set in “Ganga”—a thinly veiled Barranquilla, Colombia—a city rapidly evolving but still marked by political instability and an unquenchable sensuality. Into this setting, Dr. Baranda, an exiled Dominican physician educated in Paris, arrives. His refined background attracts the local elite, but his entanglement with Alicia, a beautiful and sensual mestiza coveted by a local strongman, leads to his forced exile with her to Paris.

The novel’s subsequent parts unfold in Paris, where Alicia’s “tropical excesses”—her social ambition and materialism—clash with Dr. Baranda’s aspirations, leading to his psychological and physical decline. He slowly perishes “by slow burn,” a poignant metaphor for his demise, having chosen to remain with Alicia despite the presence of a more suitable French admirer. **Bobadilla’s** agile prose masterfully delivers a tragicomic portrayal of a landscape where pervasive heat and humidity corrupt all, foreshadowing the modern Latin American narrative with its exploration of carnal desires and tropical barbarism. This edition offers a critical re-evaluation of this seminal work, highlighting its sharp social critique and psychological depth as a key text of Peninsular Modernism.