Faith , Liberation , and Revolution in Fire From the Mountain by Omar Cabezas

Publicado en 1982, el testimonio La montaña es más que una inmensa estepa verde (La montaña) de Omar Cabezas sigue generando interés en el campo de la literatura latinoamericana, particularmente entre la crítica que se dedica al testimonio y el posttestimonio. Reconocida como una de las obras fundamentales del testimonio contemporáneo, La montaña describe el despertar político e ideológico de Cabezas antes de la revolución sandinista (1977-1979) en Nicaragua, los orígenes de su relación con el Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional y sus esfuerzos en la lucha contra la dictadura de Anastasio Somoza. A lo largo del texto hay frecuentes referencias a la propia fe del narrador, el catolicismo y Dios a la vez que llega a comprender la realidad del pueblo nicaragüense y considera la autoridad moral de la revolución al intentar destituir a Somoza. Nuestra intención es demostrar que, en La montaña, Cabezas implícitamente considera la influencia de su fe, el catolicismo y Dios en la lucha revolucionaria. Primero contextualizaremos nuestro estudio dentro de las discusiones sobre el testimonio latinoamericano y procederemos a aproximarnos a La montaña desde una perspectiva liberacional que emplea la teología de la liberación como punto de referencia teórico.

seem to suggest that the text exhibits an osmosis, capable of absorbing the most significant characteristics of a representative life and, through the intervention of a transcriber that aids in (re)telling the story, transforming it into something familiar to those audiences unfamiliar with the political or historical context. As we continue to examine the ability of testimonio to reconstruct the relationship between literature and the public and to survey the varied relationship between popular culture and canonical aesthetics, the substantial characterizations of the genre expressed by critics such as John Beverley and George Gugelberger have today been surpassed by multiple discursive considerations. The post-Stoll reckoning of the testimonio has allowed the genre to be more effective in its efforts to encourage change through an attentiveness to the relationship between social issues and literary aesthetics. As Cabezas declared in 1983, "El testimonio tiene que estar sirviendo para allanar el camino, para hacer más fácil el camino, para ayudarles a otros a caminar.
In Nicaragua, the testimonio has enjoyed a rich and varied history that, in the opinion of Verónica Rueda Estrada, began with the publication in 1930 of Maldito país by José Román (147), a work that transcribes a number of conversations that the author had with an Augusto Sandino "que siempre tuvo presente en su ideario que era el servidor de una causa y de una fuerza superior" (Midence 9). This revolutionary spirit continued to inspire national events and contributed to the foundation of the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional in 1961 and the victory in 1979 of the Sandinista Revolution (also known as the Guerra Popular Sandinista) against the government of Anastasio Somoza. The establishment in 1979 of the Ministry of Culture and of the Instituto de Estudios del Sandinismo, in which "los testimonios de ex guerrilleros, militantes, colaboradores y bases de apoyo serían determinantes para la elaboración de 'la nueva historia de Nicaragua'" (Rueda Estrada 150), would lead to multiple thematic Vol 8, Nº 14 (2020)  today more than ever the Church will be at the side of the people, those who have no voice, those who don't have the strength to ask for help" (Baez).
In Fire From the Mountain, the role of religion and personal faith in the enunciation of a liberational or revolutionary narrative has been largely unexamined and the position of Cabezas as unwitting theologian has gone undetected. Instead, the majority of critics and reviewers of the work have examined the construction of a revolutionary discourse (Barbas Rhoden, Hernández Novas, Jones, Mantero, Ross, Tirado), the boundaries of testimonio (Hood, McAlllister, Ward, La resistencia cultural), the latent or changing machismo in the text (Orr), or its ecological implications (Quin). Critics have also examined the language employed by Cabezas, particularly the role of orality and the tension between the spoken and written word. Claire Pailler, for example, indicates that oral devices throughout the work "allowed flexibility in writing" (210); Raúl Hernández Novas affirms that "The narration quickly wins us over because of its rigor, freshness, and sponteneity, due precisely to its conversational character and to Cabezas being an extraordinary storyteller" (131); Seymour Menton indicates that "The colloquial conversational style, sprinkled with an occasional poetic image, is most effective in providing the reader with an overall view of the revolutionary movement within" (437); and Stephen Legeay insists that it employs "a 'language of liberation'" that transcends the writer's individual circumstances (353). As David Bray summarizes, "What he told the tape recorder emerges between book covers as an engaging, sensitive, and romantic memoir, complete with the sound effects of spoken language" (48). The importance of progressive Catholic/Christian ideals for the Sandinista Revolution, however, cannot be Ud. estar convencido, que el grande amor a mi patria y el deseo de verla libre, así como la fe en Dios, sabrán alentar a mi ejército y a mí para seguir luchando contra los invasores de mi patria, hasta castigarlos sangrientamente y arrojarlos fuera de nuestro territorio" (153-154).
In these examples, the references to a "deber sagrado," to his faith in God and to Mary Magdalene speak to an authority that transcends earthly matters and manages to connect the struggle against the United States to a larger responsibility that articulates a concern for the less fortunate of Nicaragua yet predates the formulation of the principles of liberation theology by some forty years. Even his language contains hints of the Old Testament and of a national crusade inspired by faith, as he proclaims that he will "seguir luchando" and that he will punish "sangrientamente" those "invasores de mi patria" and "arrojarlos fuera de nuestro territorio." While the biblical language and vivid images of the struggle may aid in portraying the enemy, the construction of a political platform requires the amalgamation of passionate designs and concrete measures. In this respect, religious or spiritual faith may empower this process. Writing a few years before his death in 1989, Ignacio Ellacuría declared: finally it stimulates to effective actions and, therefore, support of those undertakings that can combat injustice and institute a new social order. It is faith that keeps one from belonging to parties that justify the status quo, in one form or other, and it is faith that gives one the stimulus to put oneself at the service of the parties that combat the status quo and that try to substitute for it whatever will support the causes and rights of the people.
( 28-29) There is a tone present throughout however, reveals a deeper potential bond that represents the beginning of an operating theology inclusive of both the traditional elements of Catholicism (the celebration of mass, the eucharist, solemnity) and of the revolution (class consciousness, political and military activism). In this first chapter, the author also indicates that "a code name for the Frente" was the "Church" (10), bringing together the Nicaraguan revolutionary effort and a sense of spiritual purpose that typically characterizes a church community. Over the course of these initial pages the reader comes across the first of many exclamations that originate in Christianity and, specifically, in Catholic spirituality. When his friend Juan José Quezada asks him if he wants to join the Frente, Cabezas indicates that his first reaction was to exclaim "Blood of Christ!" (9). This expression in Spanish, "¡Sangre de Cristo!", draws attention to an unexpected element of the moment, not unlike the use of "Holy" in English expressions such as "Holy cow" or "Holy smokes" to convey surprise or astonishment.  As he is acknowledging those conflicting moods, he also realizes that the broader impression was much more abstract, more optimistic: A "faith" that there were multiple sides that could help support the struggle and that he potentially   In essence, his musings exemplify the theology and philosophy of liberation that took hold of some sectors of the Catholic Church during the 1970's and the intimate relationship between history and faith. According to the historian and theologian Evangelista Vilanova, "[la fe] nunca dejará de ser reinterpretada en función de las nuevas cuestiones de los hombres, cuestiones que no son fortuitas, sino que son un aspecto de la revelación de Dios en la historia" (499). As history serves to frame our actions and to condition our responsibilities, unimportant objects come to own past. His newly-found revolutionary mysticism uses as his touchstone a rebirth, freed from mundane and selfish concerns. Only upon emancipating himself from his past can he prepare himself to fight for others and to promote the goals of the revolution ahead of his own. In essence, his faith in the revolution has allowed his own struggle for justice and the struggle of fellow Nicaraguans to free themselves from Somoza to become one and the same. analysis of the commonalities between religious faith and revolutionary action during the Sandinista uprising. As Ignacio Ellacuría wrote, "The promotion of justice through a political option need not be separated from faith, nor even less need it entail a diminishment of faith. Rather, both in principle and in ideal, the more vigorous and incarnated that faith is, the greater will be its contribution to the cause of justice" (28).