Según nos cuenta su autor, Gabriel Castillo, el proyecto cultural “Novela Gráfica Palma Sola” comienza en el año 2014 a raíz de la primera convocatoria de proyectos culturales del Ministerio de Cultura de la República Dominicana.

At that time, Gabriel and his father, Gerardo Castillo, began a strong research process to meet the goals and objectives of this project:

"Encourage reading and strengthen the process of social inclusion through comicbooks."

Gabriel Castillo

Index

1. What inspired Palma Sola?
2. Who was Olivorio Mateo?
3. My experience reading this Dominican Comicbook
4. The future of Palma Sola comicbook adaptation
5. 13th Japan International Manga Award

What inspired Palma Sola?

As explained by its author:

The Palma Sola Massacre is an important part of Dominican history, culture and idiosyncrasy. For this reason, the theme was chosen to be interpreted in this artistic genre with the aim of attracting the interest of the young generation to the reading of our history.

We knew what we didn't want to do. We did not want to make superheroes or ninjas or samurais, we understood that with that we could not reflect our culture. The inspiration came from looking for a Dominican story or event interesting enough to tell. In addition to this, we are also inspired by works of Latin American literature.

Gabriel Castillo

Gabriel Castillo and Gerardo Castillo explore this event in our history from its origins, recounting the exploits of Olivorio Mateo and connecting them to the events that years after his death culminated in the Palma Sola Massacre.

Who was Olivorio Mateo?

Olivorio Mateo fue un líder mesiánico y curandero milagroso que, al alzarse frente a la opresión ejercida contra los habitantes de las zonas rurales del sur, originó el ”Liborismo”. Según la Profesora Lusitania Martínez , autora del libro ”Palma Sola: opresión y esperanza”, el Liborismo tiene 3 dimensiones:

• Social protest.
• Recovery of cultural identity.
• Messianism.

Each of these dimensions were channeled by the followers of Olivorio Mateo through the religious, thus achieving revolutionary objectives. Olivorio Mateo's teachings were based on the promise of a return to a past of equality, peace and brotherly love.

My experience reading this Dominican Comicbook

Tener el honor de ser uno de los primeros en leer ”Palma Sola: El Origen” es una de las responsabilidades más grandes que he tenido. Digo esto porque cargar con el peso de comunicar a los dominicanos por qué creo deberían leer la obra de arte secuencial que marcó un antes y un después entre los artistas del cómic en República Dominicana, me obliga a hacer un esfuerzo por desprenderme de toda la emoción que siento por al fin poder leer un cómic que tenía ya bastante tiempo esperando.

Todo empezó poco antes de que Gabriel Castillo viajara a Japón para recibir la medalla de bronce del Decimotercer Concurso Internacional de Manga de de esa nación. Luego de que me invitara a su hogar en San Carlos, me miró seriamente y me pasó una copia física de ”Palma Sola”. Apenas 5 minutos después de abrir el libro, ya no podía siquiera despegar la mirada, sin darme cuenta me había sumergido en un mundo aterrador donde la luz de la esperanza apenas brillaba en la memoria de los campesinos.

The illustrations reflect the tragedies of the Liborists in such a heartbreaking way, you'll feel the injustice rip out your heart. The truth is I thank the author for not interrupting me while I read, since frankly I would have felt guilty for having ignored him while accompanying Liborio in what I believe was his last battle.

Palma Sola left its mark on my soul and this is why I can assure you that reading this work is the closest thing to being part of the original story that I have ever experienced. Likewise, this sequential work of art makes me believe that when it comes to magical realism, Macondo and San Juan de la Maguana have a lot in common.

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The future of Palma Sola comicbook adaptation

I cannot stop recommending this work. Gabriel has put and continues to put great effort into the development of this story. When I read the version of his work that earned him the bronze award at the Thirteenth Japan International Manga Award, Gabriel assured me that he will do what few Dominican sequential artists have done to date:

At the moment I do not plan to start working on any other comics. I will focus on working with Palma Sola.

Gabriel Castillo

To date, the story told in this comic recounts what Olivorio Mateo experienced between 1916 and 1922, then jumps forward to the 1960s to cover the prelude to the Palma Sola massacre. When we get to the 60s, the comicbook shows us what happened from the point of view of the detractors of Liborism. It is here that we meet twin brothers Romilio and León Ventura Rodríguez, famous for continuing the Liborist legacy in Palma Sola.

In a single paragraph we have just touched on more than 40 years of history. For this I applaud Gabriel's commitment to working on a single story. The cultural richness of these historical events can only be honored by giving them the time they deserve.

Tal y como mencionó el Dr. Leopoldo Figuereo, autor del libro: ”De Liborio a Palma Sola”, Liborio Mateo es el personaje folclórico del siglo 20 de la República Dominicana. Como tal y como parte crucial de la historia que rodea la Matanza de Palma Sola, se le hará justicia ante los ojos de la juventud dominicana a través de este cómic.

13th Japan International Manga Award

There is so much to say about the cultural richness of this project that it is not surprising that it managed to win the bronze award at the Thirteenth Japan International Manga Award. Here is the background of this contest:

The Japan International Manga Award was established in May 2007 at the initiative of the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Taro Aso, with the support of award-winning Manga creators who have contributed to the spread of Manga overseas. The Contest has been celebrated every year since then.

Embassy of Japan in the Dominican Republic

It should be noted that manga is the Japanese word for comicbook, another manifestation of sequential art . It is due to the interest in this enriching medium that the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs annually opens its doors to sequential artists from all over the world.

Recibir el galardón de bronce en un concurso abierto a todos los países del mundo es un gran paso para el cómic en República Dominicana. Pues a pesar de que trabajos como ”Duarte como nunca antes visto” de Moro Studio and ”Bazuka” de Alpaha Eve ya habían explorado personajes históricos dominicanos, esta es la primera vez que un cómic dominicano gana un galardón de esta envergadura a nivel internacional.