The story is set in a small town in Argentina called Puente Viejo during the 1970s after a period of political upheaval and the rise of authoritarian rule. A young stranger pitches a tent at the edge of town and begins frequenting one of the town's two rival barbershops, owned by Cervino. Cervino's wife, known only as the "French Woman", entices customers with her beauty but also unsettles them. Both the young man and the French Woman suddenly disappear one day. The townspeople, led by a gossiping widow, begin digging in the sand dunes and make a gruesome discovery - a mass grave containing bodies from the country's violent past

1. Harrison Cox
WCS100L
Research Paper
Authoritarian Argentina as Shown in Vast Hell
Word Count: 924
In the 1970’s, the country of Argentina experienced incredible
political upheaval. The “Argentine Nationalists” were on the
rise and attempted to reconstruct a government that represented
conservative authoritarian government. This uprising resembled
the movement led by Franco during the Spanish civil war
(Rock). Argentinian Nationalists believed that they were the
opponents of capitalism and communism; their belief concluded
that the modern age was entrapping human beings to become
“automatons” (Rock). However, with this movement came
extreme violations of human rights and tens of thousands of
Argentinians disappeared. These people are introduced in Vast
Hell, by Guillermo Martinez, a short story about the atrocities.
It was apparent to the United States government that before
March of 1976, the situation in Argentina was deteriorating.
Political instability was rampant; on March 24th, 1976, the
Argentine military junta forcefully removed Isabel Peron from
power (Thomas). Furthermore, developments of human rights
issues were occurring within the country. The American
embassy in Buenos Aires continued to collect information
regarding human rights abuses and was documenting 9,000
kidnappings and disappearances (Thomas). The military
dictatorship called themselves the “Process of National
Organization”, or “Proceso”. This conflicting time in
Argentina’s history is known as the Dirty War. Citizens
suspected of alignment with socialist or leftist ideals were
incarcerated, tortured, or ultimately murdered during this
horrible period. An estimated thirty thousand Argentinians were
kidnapped and disappeared by the military junta (Blakemore).
In Spanish, these people became known as “desaparecidos”.

2. Family and friends were searching desperately for their loved
ones; the disappeared included children and pregnant women
whose babies were forcefully taken (Blakemore). Other targets
of the military junta included social workers, students, writers,
journalists, artists, and suspected left-wing activists. Their
outcome, if not murdered, were left detained in secret
concentration camps throughout Argentina to silence the
political dissidents (Hall). This was not a just war; the acts
committed by the military junta were human rights violations
and complete negation of the rules of war.
During this time in history the Marxist and Leninist ideals were
popular. The military junta’s mission was to preserve
Argentina’s “national being” against these leftist ideals
(Gugliotta). Even after the military phase ended the
commanders retained much of their power over the people of
Argentina. The military commanders envisioned themselves as
crusaders among the country’s people and were rescuing them
from the horrible ideals of the leftists. These commanders set
the precedence for the disastrous of the Falkland Islands in
1982 which concluded with the collapse of the Argentinian
“Dirty War” (Gugliotta).
An Argentinean proverb claims “A small town is a vast hell.”
The title of the short story, written by Guillermo Martínez, is
set in a small town named Puente Viejo. Guillermo Martínez’s
story leaves one with perplexing questions. Puente Viejo is a
sleepy and boring small town. This story highlights the negative
aspects of the aftermath of the military junta. At first glance,
Puente Viejo seems like a normal and quiet place to reside;
however, through deeper analysis and more reading, the town
has dark secrets from its past. The reader is introduced to a
character known as the “French Woman” who becomes the town
gossip. When the “French Woman” departs the town to tend to
her father’s illness and should return in one week. The French
Woman is an incredibly intriguing character to the inhabitants
of the small town. She dresses scandalously and is described as
“not wearing a bra”. The French Woman symbolizes sexuality

3. and attractiveness. The men in the town lust for her intensely.
She is seen as “unholy” in their eyes because of her beauty and
acts with the unnamed boy. She represents sinful nature to the
small town. Furthermore, the reader is allowed to explore their
imagination to analyze the French woman and Puente Viejo. It
is possible that the townsfolk of this small, boring town are
delusional and are creating illusions for themselves.
The ending of Vast Hell is incredibly dark and perplexing.
When the French Woman has not returned in time from tending
to her father, rumors begin that she may have been murdered.
Rumors begin to flow around the small town as to the
disappearance of the French woman. Villagers begin to dig in
the sand dunes not too far from the small town; they discover
something so horrible and gruesome from the country’s past just
below their feet. Bodies began to emerge from the dedicated
digging of the small-town folk. Closer analysis from the
townsfolk revealed that some bodies had bullet holes, and one
was even blindfolded. Then came the realization of what was
unfolding in front of them. The detective that was with the
townsfolk hurried back inside Puente Viejo to receive
instructions; the dog continued to bark and make unnecessary
noise. The detective killed the dog with his weapon and
instructed the townsfolk to bury the dog. It was clear that this
act was a warning to everyone witnessing that this was the
outcome if anyone discussed the raising of the bodies.
The country’s past still resonates with the members of Puente
Viejo; the past was literally and figuratively buried. The “Dirty
War” ended in 1983 when democratic elections resumed after
the military junta embarrassingly surrendered power.
Furthermore, the legacy of horrendous human rights abuses and
violations continue in the everyday and small townsfolk alike in
Argentina. Although Authoritarian Argentina has ended, many
people that went missing are remembered by their loved ones
who are depicted in Vast Hell. “A small town is a vast hell”
reigns true for Puente Viejo because of the horrid buried past.

4. Works Cited
Blakemore, Erin. “30,000 People Were 'Disappeared' in
Argentina's Dirty War. These Women Never Stopped Looking.”
History.com, A&E Television Networks, 7 Mar. 2019,
www.history.com/news/mothers-plaza-de-mayo-disappeared-
children-dirty-war-argentina.
Gugliotta, Guy. “Argentina's Dirty War.” Alicia Patterson
Foundation, 2011,
web.archive.org/web/20170129015852/aliciapatterson.org/storie
s/argentinas-dirty-war.
Hall, Nigel. “Social Work Action.” International Federation of
Social Workers, 23 Apr. 2018, www.ifsw.org/argentina-and-los-
desaparecidos/.
Martínez, Guillermo. “Vast Hell.” The New Yorker, 2009,
www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/04/27/vast-hell.
Rock, David. Authoritarian Argentina: The Nationalist

5. Movement, Its History, and Its Impact. University of California
Press, 1993.
Thomas, Michael D., and National Intelligence. “Argentina
Declassification Project: History.”
www.intelligence.gov/argentina-declassification-project/history.
The Vast Hell
t At the end of the story the town is searching for the French
woman and the young man, but end up digging up a mass grave.
This grave was most likely the result of a dictatorship where a
community was slaughtered in order to “keep the peace.” The
people of the town ended up reburying the bodies and agreeing
to never speak of the grave, which leads us to believe the
Dictatorial administration is still in power trying to control the
populace.
There are reports of dictators in South America preforming acts
of terror in order to stay in power and continue to suppress the
people. There are stories of people being kidnapped, tortured,
imprisoned and of people being taken never to be seen again.
An example of a Dictator who was known for doing such acts
was Jorge Rafael Videla. Jorge was also known for imprisoning
pregnant women and taking their babies and having people from
his military adopt them. Many people like Jorge have been in
power all over the globe, using force to suppress the people and
resorting to violence if anyone speaks out.
This shoe box contains sand representing the area near the town
in the story that the bodies were found. In the sand is a

6. collection of hearts that represent all the people that have been
lost as a result of these cruel acts. If you look and interact with
the box you will notice that only 4 of the hearts have something
attached so you know where they are, and you can pull them
out. What you do not see are all the other hearts buried in the
sand that are unknown, these represent those lost that were
never found.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge_Rafael_Videla#Human_righ
ts_violations
Well, Mayberry RFD it is not.
No Floyd the Barber here. No Barbara Eden as the manicurist
in the NC male bastion.
But the town does boast two barber shops which seems to be
one too many. They vie against each other to attract
customers. One has the French Woman who entices and then
mocks. The young man is smitten and comes every day to the
shop. He is the only one who is not deterred, and then he goes
missing
Remember the woman in When Black Men’s Teeth Speak Out?
It is almost as if her sister lives in this town. This woman’s
expertise is gossip. Small towns have an association of
everyone knowing everyone’s’ business. The curiosity is that
there is an unknown mass grave until this woman seeks the body
of the French Woman
When there is nothing to do, head noise happens. The widow
makes it happen. The French Woman by being a challenge to
the other women in the town is the widow’s attachment – living
or dead. It matters not.

7. The backdrop is the Dirty Wars where people
are disappeared. Irrevocably. If they ever reappear, it is large
groups of bones and mutilated flesh. The French Woman
disappeared only to reappear. No harm to her. Her husband is
exonerated. The young man disappeared, leaving behind his
housing. That’s final.
So, the gossip damages. It is like the media (of any kind) story
that is not complete or errs. The first chance at truth taking
root is offset. The concept of There is only one chance to make
a first impression can apply here. Then when error is drilled in
further by small nails and then larger ones, truth may never be
heard unless there is evidence to the contrary.
Parallel this to why the actual deaths do not receive attention
beyond their discovery. These are missing persons. These are
family members and friends of whom? From where? Who are
they? Why the brutality? Surely, they are missed.
And then the forced “no discussion” or the would-be gossips
shall meet the same fate.
So, gossiping would seem to be controllable after all.
The Vast Hell
Guillermo Martínez
Here is a living Argentine who leaves the literary mold asi de
because he earned a Ph.D. in mathematical logic and worked in
the field for two years. Then an acclaimed novel, The Oxford
Murders, and his life direction changed.

8. Argentina in 1976 experienced political control of the country
in order to counter left Wing terrorism. Gross civil rights
violations followed. Martinez includes in this story a reference
to the disappearance (“desaparecidos”) of people, political
enemies of the state. Most often their bodies were never found.
At times, shallow graves were discovered to reveal bodies
thrown into a hole in similar manner to Nazi Germany’s
approach to those who endangered the Reich. The Mothers of
the Plaza de Mayo was formed by mothers who sought the
return of their children.
The New York Times Apr 27, 2009
Guillermo Martinez short story, Vast Hell, appears in the
current (April 27th) issue of the New Yorker. It takes place in a
small town by the name of Puente Viejo; which means “small
bridge’ in Spanish.
The first person narrator, clerking in a grocery store, is having a
day so slow that he can hear the “buzzing of the flies”. I think
the whole town can hear those flies. He is thinking about a
scruffy young man, a stranger, who had pitched a tent at the
edge of town. He hit town in the spring…as if unkemp t young
men were seasonal.
The grocer refers the kid to the newer of two barbers in town,
Cervino’s rather than the more remotely located Old Melchor’s.
We hear a lot about the rivalry between these two hair-
shredders. It’s sort of like a clash of the titans only they’re
barbers. Cervino has a hairdressing diploma and uses vegetable
extracts. Melchor counters with porno magazines and a T.V.
tuned to soccer matches.
But Cervino, shy to the point of virtual non-existence, has his
secret weapon wife, “The French Woman”. I guess that just

9. means she’s exotic…we don’t know if she’s actually
French…doesn’t matter. She has the habit of appearing in her
husband’s shop with limits on the clothing she’s wearing. She
checks herself out in the mirror. She looks in your eyes. Do you
want to look back?
Here’s where you decide if this story’s for you or not. Have you
ever had the experience of looking at someone who was so
beautiful…or better…so hypnotic in their effect…that at first
you wanted to be around them and then you just wanted to run
away because you couldn’t take it any more?
Wow…the male ego…what a piece of work. At first the French
Woman makes Cervino’s popular. You never know when she
might turn up and put on a show. But she ends up driving
customers away. It’s those eyes…like she’s looking down on
you…making you feel you’d never be up to the job.
Our now better groomed young man and the French Woman both
disappear at the same time.
Crevino says his wife’s gone to the city to look after her sick
father. The young man’s tent lies abandoned at the edge of
town.
Readers think what they like. But what makes a story is what
the characters think. And there’s a nut job of an old harridan,
Espinosa’s widow, who’s busying herself digging up the dunes
near her house, looking for the bodies.
GM asks a lot of our imagination. He asks you to feel your way
into this town’s psychology: feel their boredom, their
confusion, their oblivion…and their resulting illusions. Are they
your illusions also? Ask yourself that question.
http://cliffordgarstang.com/the-new-yorker-vast-hell-by-

10. guillermo-martinez/
The Vast Hell (Translated, from the Spanish, by Alberto
Manguel.)
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/04/27/vast-hell
The Short Story Club
Welcome again to the Short Story Club and the premiere (on
ShelfActualization.com) of Guillermo Martinez's story "Vast
Hell." (full text of the story can be found here)
I first happened upon this story in The New Yorker a few years
back, and I remember liking it. Upon re-reading it now, I
realize it is a surprisingly simple story, by which I mean that
the story maintains good inertia until the finish, without
deviations or tangents or overly-cooked rhetoric. It's just
simple.
Martinez is good at lacing into the story "significant moments"
that give the story its inertia. Moments such as "suddenly, it
had all become true" on the penultimate page, or "then the
inspector shouted that he'd hit something" on the last page.
Simply put, there is no drag to the story. It moves, and moves
quickly.
What I love most about the story, though, is the ending (which
in my opinion is often the hardest component of a story to
execute well). In this case, "The French Woman returned a few
days later: her father had completely recovered. We never
mentioned the boy again. The tent was stolen as soon as the
holiday season started." The whole story is one huge crescendo
(an erotic affair!), and then more crescendo (disappearance of
the lovers!), and then even more crescendo (they're dead! buried
on the beach!) and then CRESCENDO (there are dead and
mutilated bodies all over the beach!), and then that last line,
which is the equivalent, of a big "Never Mind."

11. It's clever.
http://www.shelfactualization.com/2012/05/vast-hell.html