Overview

Award-Winning Author (AWA) in the Best Novel - Historical Fiction (English) category and Honorable Mention in the Best LGBTQ+ Theme Book at the Latino Book Awards 2023 (ILBA) 25th Edition, God's Punishment is a powerful love story depicting the struggle against the church and God himself. Recreating the Colombia of the early twentieth century, the novel tells the story of a small town nestled in the mountains of Colombia that became a concentration camp run by the state, the church, and the medical community. Editorial Note: Since 2000, composer Julián De La Chica has been researching Agua de Dios, Colombia, and its history as a town forcibly confining leprosy patients and those suspected of having leprosy. For his research, De La Chica visited the community and interviewed persons with information about those who crossed the Puente de Los Suspiros (Bridge of Sighs) over the Río Bogotá and into the concentration camps. Those inmates, who were forced by the Colombian government to relinquish their rights as citizens-their identities, possessions, and families-numbered into the tens of thousands until the leprosarium was closed in 1961.

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9780578993775

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God's Punishment is not just about a painful past. Even now, people often suffer not as much from the health conditions they have as from the public health measures that are supposed to manage those conditions. The fate of people affected by leprosy, and its impact on entire generations, is one of those sad stories. With powerful language, author Julian De La Chica reminds and warns us of what can happen when human rights are taken away from people. -Professor Dainius Puras, MD, Psychiatrist and human rights advocate (Former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to health) Julian de la Chica listens to the wounds, the disease, the flesh that rots and falls off, stringing together testimonies of amputated lives. -Susan Campos-Fonseca, PhD, Musicologist, writer and composer

God's Punishment is not just about a painful past. Even now, people often suffer not as much from the health conditions they have as from the public health measures that are supposed to manage those conditions. The fate of people affected by leprosy, and its impact on entire generations, is one of those sad stories. With powerful language, author Julian De La Chica reminds and warns us of what can happen when human rights are taken away from people. -Professor Dainius Puras, MD, Psychiatrist and human rights advocate (Former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to health) Julian De La Chica listens to the wounds, the disease, the flesh that rots and falls off, stringing together testimonies of amputated lives. -Susan Campos-Fonseca, PhD, Musicologist, writer and composer Beautifully lyrical, De La Chica brings to life a near-forgotten chapter of Colombian history in this startling debut! Told as a series of drifting, recorded interviews with an old man about his past, and present day interludes with the young men who have been recruited to tell his story, there is a languid quality to God's Punishment that is well suited to the tale being told. Though fictional, De La Chica conducted extensive research, including interviews and trips to Agua de Dios, the Colombian lazaretto at the heart of this story. This background work shines through in the small details of time, place, pain, and joy, as three generations of characters slowly take shape, and their many-woven connections are brought to light for both the reader, and the documentarian, Leonardo, who is trying to pull this whole story together. -Jennifer deBie, PhD, writer and poet

"""God's Punishment is not just about a painful past. Even now, people often suffer not as much from the health conditions they have as from the public health measures that are supposed to manage those conditions. The fate of people affected by leprosy, and its impact on entire generations, is one of those sad stories. With powerful language, author Julián De La Chica reminds and warns us of what can happen when human rights are taken away from people."" -Professor Dainius Pūras, MD, Psychiatrist and human rights advocate (Former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to health) ""Julián De La Chica listens to the wounds, the disease, the flesh that rots and falls off, stringing together testimonies of amputated lives."" -Susan Campos-Fonseca, PhD, Musicologist, writer and composer ""Beautifully lyrical, De La Chica brings to life a near-forgotten chapter of Colombian history in this startling debut! Told as a series of drifting, recorded interviews with an old man about his past, and present day interludes with the young men who have been recruited to tell his story, there is a languid quality to God's Punishment that is well suited to the tale being told. Though fictional, De La Chica conducted extensive research, including interviews and trips to Agua de Dios, the Colombian lazaretto at the heart of this story. This background work shines through in the small details of time, place, pain, and joy, as three generations of characters slowly take shape, and their many-woven connections are brought to light for both the reader, and the documentarian, Leonardo, who is trying to pull this whole story together."" -Jennifer deBie, PhD, writer and poet ""An excellent read, cover to cover! Based on real life events that took place in Agua de Dios, Colombia at the turn of the 20th Century, ""God's Punishment"" is a story of pain and suffering, of courage and injustice. Maestro Julián De La Chica does not shy away from taking the reader through a detailed tour of of what was arguably one of Colombia's darkest moments, and (through a style of writing that almost feels like one is watching a documentary) making us aware of what can happen when fear and greed replace love and reason."" -José Heredia, Tenor"

Author Information

Award-winning Colombian composer Julián De La Chica is a multidisciplinary artist based in Brooklyn, NY, whose influences range from minimalism & post-minimalism to the alternative electronic scene. His work is often inspired by everyday images, the search for personal spiritual reflection, and inner darkness. It mixes piano, strings, and classical singers, with electronic keyboards and controllers, crossing over from classical to ambient, post-minimal and electronic music. His music has been recorded by artists around the globe and his discography includes more of 6 solo albums and 14 collaborative projects, some of which have been included by Spotify's ""Classical New Releases"" playlist worldwide.

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