Interview with Jorge Galán. November the novel that reopens the possibility of justice in El Salvador

Abstract

This interview with Salvadorian writer and keynote speaker, Jorge Galán, took place within the context of the International Conference "Libertad de Expresión: diálogos y reflexiones desde el derecho y la literatura", held in Quito, in June 2018. In this dialogue the author"™s thoughts are explored through his most recent novel, November, a significant picture of El Salvador in one of its most violent and uncertain periods of time, the 80"™s. The novel reflects on a famous case: the assassination of José Simeón Cañas (UCA), a member of the Jesuit congregation of the Universidad Centroamericana. In fact, this literary text solves a crime that the Salvadoran judicial system left in impunity. The interview also reflects on the impact of the novel, the writing process, the encounter between literature and law, impunity as a form of injustice, and the power of testimony as the only way to give voice to those who have been silenced.