A short life of the author
Manuel Puig (1932–1990) was born on 28 December 1932 in General Villegas, a small town in the Argentine pampas. He studied filmmaking in Rome before turning to fiction.
Life and Career
La traición de Rita Hayworth (Betrayed by Rita Hayworth, 1968) — constructed entirely from dialogue, internal monologues, diary entries, and letters — draws on the popular culture (especially Hollywood films) that shaped life in provincial Argentina.
El beso de la mujer araña (Kiss of the Spider Woman, 1976) — about Molina, a gay window dresser imprisoned for corrupting a minor, and Valentín, a Marxist political prisoner, who share a cell in Buenos Aires — is his masterpiece. Molina retells the plots of old films to pass the time; the novel explores the politics of storytelling, sexuality, and the relationship between popular culture and resistance. It was adapted into an Oscar-winning 1985 film and a Broadway musical.
Major Works and Themes
Puig wrote about popular culture, gender, sexuality, and the lives of ordinary people in Argentina. He rejected the “high literary” tradition of the Boom in favor of popular forms.
Key Works
- Kiss of the Spider Woman (1976)
- Betrayed by Rita Hayworth (1968)
Collecting Puig
Spanish originals bring $30–$80 for early editions. English translations (Knopf, Vintage) bring $10–$25. Puig died in 1990.