Manuel Puig

Manuel Puig (1932-1990), Argentine novelist, known internationally for his novel El beso de la mujer araña (1976; translated as Kiss of the Spider Woman, 1979). Born in Buenos Aires, he learned English through watching dozens of American motion pictures. Puig studied architecture and philosophy at the University of Buenos Aires and in the late 1950s undertook film studies in Rome, Italy. When his film scripts were rejected, he began writing novels.

In 1968 Puig published his first novel, La traición de Rita Hayworth (translated as Betrayed by Rita Hayworth, 1971), which was warmly received by critics. The semiautobiographical book, set in the 1930s and 1940s, tells of a boy whose worldview is heavily influenced by the romantic, idealized version of life presented in American movies at that time. Boquitas pintadas (1969; Heartbreak Tango, 1973), Puig’s next novel, was also highly praised by critics and became a best-seller. Also set in the 1930s and 1940s, it parodies serialized novels and other elements of popular culture, primarily through the use of clichéd language. The Buenos Aires Affair: Novela policial (1973; The Buenos Aires Affair: A Detective Novel, 1976) is a psychological study of its two main characters.

In El beso de la mujer araña, Puig portrays the changing relationship between polar opposites who share a jail cell. One is a homosexual dreamer who substitutes movie glamour for real life; the other is a macho political activist who believes that only real changes can better people’s lives. The novel, which condemns political and sexual oppression, was successfully adapted for the stage and the screen. Puig’s later works include Maldición eterna a quien lea estas páginas (1980; An Eternal Curse on the Reader of These Pages, 1982) and Cae la noche tropical (1988; Tropical Night Falling, 1991).