A Review of Más allá de las rejas
Más allá de las rejas (Mexico, Fondo de Cultura Economica, 2022)
The reading and interpretation of this book requires objectivity, César Montes has his share of admirers in Guatemala and internationally, but also his share of detractors—including some former members of the groups that he associated with. Any personal opinions need to be set aside in order to appreciate what a truly libertarian perspective from behind the Guatemalan jails is. Ordinary things to many but that when deprived or freedom such acquire un unimaginable importance. César’s daily entries in his diary remind one that Guatemalan poet Francisco Morales Santos, published a book, Cartas para seguir con vida (Letters to Keep Living) because César’s daily diary entries are precisely paragraphs to stay free.
He not only shares information about his daily survival but exposes the reader to his political vision and aspirations for a better, fair and dignified future for this and future generations.
César Montes finds a way in this book to expose and denounce the criminal disorder governing Guatemala, the one that has utilized his arrest and imprisonment to send a strong message threatening any intent of rebellion or disagreement with current policy. The book is also a freedom manifesto written behind bars. César Montes shows us that oppression can repress or kill the body but never the seeking of justice and freedom. Again, to fully appreciate the richness in this book, one has to renounce any personal opinion and or political prejudice, to allow the content to reach its objective. Only from a rigorous and critical perspective analysis, the reader will be able to appreciate the content of those paragraphs about freedom which does not have any political orientation but is a natural state of the human being and a right that should be respected and treasured.
Una Reseña de Más allá de las rejas
por Byron R Titus
Más allá de las rejas (Mexico, Fondo de Cultura Economica, 2022)
La lectura e interpretación de este libro precisa objetividad. César Montes tiene muchos admiradores a nivel nacional e internacional, pero también muchos detractores hasta de dentro de las filas donde milito. Para lo cual dichos lectores tendrán que poner a un lado estas opiniones personales para poder apreciar lo que es una perspectiva libertaria desde dentro de las cárceles de Guatemala. Cosas mundanas para muchos, pero que cuando se está privado de libertad cobran una importancia inimaginable. Las narraciones diarias de César Montes nos recuerdan que alguna vez nuestro poeta Francisco Morales Santos, publico un libro titulado “Cartas para seguir con vida” porque las modestas entradas diarias de Cesar en este libro son precisamente “párrafos para seguir con vida” pero más importante aún -párrafos para seguir libre. César Montes no solamente comparte su diario sobrevivir detrás de las rejas, pero expone su visión política y sus aspiraciones, para un futuro mejor; más justo y digno para esta y las generaciones futuras.
El libro retrata muchos de sus compañeros de cárcel, desde narcotraficantes a exmilitares. César Montes aprovecha otra manera de exponer y así denunciar el desorden criminal que gobierna a Guatemala, el cual se ha propuesto utilizar su figura para enviar un mensaje contundente de amenaza para continuar el intento de sometimiento de todo aquel que se atreva a no alinearse con ellos. Cesar Montes, en este libro que también es un manifiesto de la libertad escrito desde la cárcel, demuestra que la opresión podrá aprisionar o acabar con el cuerpo, pero nunca con el clamor de justicia y libertad. Repito, para poder apreciar la riqueza de su contenido diario, será preciso dejar por un lado cualquier asomo de prejuicio personal o político. Solo analizando desde una perspectiva crítica y rigurosa, será posible que párrafos iluminen el aprecio a la libertad que no tiene ninguna orientación política pero un estado natural y un derecho humano a venerarse y respetarse.
Byron R Titus is a Guatemalan named “distinguished Bostonian” in 2014 by the Boston Mayor’s office. With a Master’s in Education from Cambridge College and doctorate in Interdisciplinary studies and Public Policy from Union Institute & University, he currently writes for the Guatemalan magazine gAZeta.
Byron R Titus, guatemalteco nombrado “Ciudadano distinguido” por la alcaldía de Boston en 2014. Con estudios de maestría en Cambridge College MA. Y doctorales en estudios interdisciplinarios y Política Publica de Union Institute & University OH. Actualmente escribe para la revista guatemalteca gAZeta.
Related Articles
A Review of Lula: A People’s President and the Fight for Brazil’s Future
André Pagliarini’s new book arrives at a timely moment. During the summer of 2025, when the book was released, the United States began engaging in deeper debates about Brazil’s political situation. This shift was tied to the U.S. government’s decision to impose 50% tariffs on Brazilian products—the highest level ever applied to another country, matched only by India. In a letter to President Lula, Donald Trump’s administration justified the measure by citing a trade deficit with Brazil. It also criticized the South American nation for prosecuting one of Washington’s ideological allies, former president Jair Bolsonaro, on charges of attempting a coup d’état. Sentenced by Brazil’s Supreme Court to just over 27 years in prison, the right-wing leader had lost his 2022 reelection bid to a well-known leftist figure, Lula da Silva, and now stands, for many, as a global example of how a democracy can respond to those who attack it and attempt to cling to power through force.
A Review of The Archive and the Aural City: Sound, Knowledge, and the Politics of Listening
Alejandro L. Madrid’s new book challenged me, the former organizer of a musical festival in Mexico, to open my mind and entertain new ways to perceive a world where I once lived. In The Archive and the Aural City: Sound, Knowledge, and the Politics of Listening, he introduced me to networks of Mexico City sound archive creators who connect with each other as well as their counterparts throughout Latin America. For me, Mexico was a wonderland of sound and, while I listened to lots of music during the 18 years I explored the country, there was much I did not hear.
A Review of The Interior: Recentering Brazilian History
The focus of The Interior, an edited collection of articles, is to “recenter Brazilian history,” as editors Frederico Freitas and Jacob Blanc establish in the book’s subtitle. Drawing on the multiplicity of meanings of the term “interior” (and its sometimes extension, sometimes counterpart: sertão) in Brazil over time and across the country’s vast inland spaces, the editors put together a collection of texts that span most regions, representing several types of Brazilian interiors.
