Cerro de 7 colores: Cerro de los Siete Colores

Опубликовано: November 5, 2020 в 3:36 pm

Автор:

Категории: Miscellaneous

ubicación, altura y más información

La montaña de los 7 Colores (también llamado Vinicunca o simplemente ‘montaña arcoíris’) es una de las nuevas y mejores atracciones del Perú. Ubicada a más de 100 kilómetros de la ciudad del Cusco, en una cumbre altitudinal situada a 5,200 metros sobre el nivel del mar (m.s.n.m.). Se trata de una formación montañosa teñida de varias tonalidades producto de la compleja combinación de minerales. Las laderas y la cumbre están teñidas de diversas tonos que incluyen el rojo, morado, verde, amarillo, rosado y otras variaciones. Este atractivo turístico estuvo rodeado de hielo hace no muchos años. Desde el 2016, este lugar recibe a cientos de visitantes al día convirtiéndose, junto con Machu Picchu, en uno de los lugares más visitados en Cusco-Perú. A continuación toda la información sobre la Montaña de 7 Colores.


  • Ubicación, altura y más información.
    • ¿Por qué se llama Montaña de los 7 Colores?
    • Ubicación y altura.
    • ¿Cómo llegar?
    • Mapa: ruta a la Montaña de los 7 Colores
    • Clima.
    • Flora y fauna.
  • Viaje a la Montaña de los 7 Colores.
    • Tour a la Montaña de los 7 Colores.
    • ¿Viaje por propia cuenta?
    • Dificultad de la montaña.
    • Recomendaciones.
    • Tour a la Montaña de los 7 Colores en cuatrimoto
    • Diferencia: tour a la montaña 7 colores clásico y en cuatrimoto
  • Montaña de los 7 Colores en Argentina, Irán, China y otros países.
    • Montaña de los 7 Colores en Argentina.
    • Montaña de los 7 Colores en China.
    • Montaña de los 7 Colores en otros países.
  • Preguntas y respuestas sobre la Montaña 7 Colores
    • ¿Cuánto cuesta la entrada a la Montaña de los 7 Colores?
    • ¿Cómo contratar caballo durante la visita a la Montaña Vinicunca?
    • ¿Cómo evitar el mal de altura en la Montaña de los 7 Colores?
    • ¿Cuál es el horario en la Montaña de los 7 Colores?
    • ¿Los niños pueden visitar la Montaña de los 7 Colores?
    • ¿Hay hoteles cerca de la Montaña de los 7 Colores?
    • ¿Hay baños en la Montaña de los 7 Colores?
    • ¿Cómo contratar guía turístico?
    • ¿Es posible visitar el Vinicunca en silla de ruedas?
    • ¿Los adultos mayores pueden visitar el Vinicunca?
    • Galeria de Fotos

La Montaña de los 7 Colores es el segundo atractivo turístico más visitado en Cusco, solo después de Machu Picchu. La mejor forma de visitarlo es con un tour todo incluido. ¿La razón? Hacerlo por propia cuenta es difícil, no hay transporte público hasta allí, lo que puede resultar incluso más costoso en comparación a un tour. Afortunadamente para los turistas, el tour a este destino es uno de los más económicos del Cusco (si lo comparamos con otros tours como Machu Picchu y el Valle Sagrado). ¿Te animas?


Hermosa vista de la Montaña de los 7 colores, también conocida como la montaña arcoíris


Ubicación, altura y más información:

¿Por qué se llama Montaña de los 7 Colores? – Según diversas investigaciones hechas en el lugar, las tonalidades multicolores se deben a los distintos minerales que cubre en capas la zona: arcilla roja y fango (rosado), arcilla (rojo), arenisca (blanco), marga (lavanda), arcilla y óxido de cobre (verde) y limonitas (amarillo pardo). Estas sustancias naturales comenzaron a formarse hace 65 millones de años cuando el agua y la lluvia cubría sus laderas y cumbres. Con el transcurrir del tiempo, el clima extremo fue deshelando la nieve que allí se formó develando al mundo lo que es hoy uno de los más importantes atractivos turísticos del Cusco.

Ubicación y altura – Este asombroso lugar se ubica en los Andes del Perú, en el departamento del Cusco y provincia de Canchis, a 5,200 m.s.n.m., un área de considerable elevación. Pertenece al pueblo de Pitumarca quienes lo denominan el ‘Cerro Colorado’. Debido a que se sitúa camino al imponente nevado Ausangate, este sitio fue conocido mucho antes por los aventureros que se atrevían a hacer la caminata. Las fotos que ellos publicaban en Facebook e Instagram, le hicieron ganar popularidad. Desde el 2016 es un atractivo turístico muy visitado.

¿Cómo llegar? – Debido a su ubicación, a un poco más de 100 kilómetros de la ciudad del Cuzco, a este lugar se llega en auto en primera instancia. Luego de un viaje de aproximadamente de 2 horas por la carretera Longitudinal de la Sierra del Sur Peruano, se llega al pueblo de Cusipata. El trayecto continúa por un camino de trocha hasta la comunidad de de Phulawasipata. . Desde allí se sigue una ruta por laderas montañosas. Este trayecto es de 5 kilómetros y se puede realizar a pie o a caballo para finalmente arribar al Vinicunca. Existen tours que ofrecen este servicio.


Mapa ruta Montaña de 7 Colores

Clima – El clima, propio de las zonas más elevadas del Cusco, es frío. La lluvia, el viento y el mal de altura (o soroche) pueden ser los mayores obstáculos para los viajeros. Las temperaturas pueden bajar los cero grados centígrados. Las lluvias pueden suceder en cualquier momento del año. Para hacer su visita, lleve consigo un poncho para la lluvia.

Flora y fauna – La increíble geografía del lugar es escenario de animales típicos de zonas alto andinas como llamas, alpacas y vicuñas. Los pobladores de la zona crían caballos para ofrecerlos como transporte a los visitantes. Debido a la altura de esta región, abunda el ichu o hierva natural de los Andes.

Paisaje que se puede ver al empezar el viaje a la Montaña de los 7 colores


Viaje a la Montaña de los 7 Colores

Tour a la Montaña de los 7 Colores – Esta pintoresca cumbre solía ser un atractivo camino al nevado Ausangate de 4 días. Con los años, esta montaña ganó popularidad por propia cuenta. Hoy, la manera más extendida de visitar esta cumbre es a través de un tour. Existen servicios de 1 día y de 2 días. La mayoría incluye transporte, alimentación, entradas y guía profesional. En la ciudad del Cuzco hay muchas agencias de turismo ofreciendo estos servicios.

¿Viaje por propia cuenta? – También es posible visitar el ‘Cerro Colorado’ por propia cuenta. Para ello, el visitante deberá tomar los buses a ‘Sicuani’ en la ciudad del Cusco y bajarse en el pueblo de Cusipata. Luego deberá tomar un taxi colectivo a la comunidad de Phulawasipata, donde empieza la caminata a la Montaña de los 7 Colores. El precio del boleto de ingreso es de 15 soles para peruanos y 25 soles para extranjeros.

Dificultad de la montaña – La caminata toma aproximadamente 2 horas (depende del estado físico del turista). No es peligroso y demanda un esfuerzo físico moderado-alto. Existen tramos de pendientes considerables en ascenso y descenso. Sin embargo, una de las mayores dificultades es el clima frío y el viento helado. La altitud de la zona puede causar el mal de altura o soroche. Se recomienda una aclimatación previa de 1 ó 2 días en la ciudad del Cusco.

Recomendaciones – Pasa uno o dos días aclimatándote en la ciudad del Cusco. Lleva ropa abrigadora para hacer la caminata. Si no te consideras en buenas condiciones físicas para la caminata, alquila un caballo a uno de los habitantes del lugar. Ese día, no olvides un gorro o sombrero, bloqueador solar, chaqueta, pantalón, zapatos ideales para hacer trekking y un poncho para la lluvia.

{“iden”:”VFlf”,”titulo”:”mejor foto 7colores”,”total”:”\u003Cdiv class=\u0022mtc-audio-comentario\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cdiv class=\u0022mtcc-card\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cdiv class=\u0022mtcc-card__left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/www.boletomachupicchu.com\/gutblt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vinicunca-vista.jpg\u0022 alt=\u0022como evitar mal de altura Vinincunca?\u0022\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003Cdiv class=\u0022mtcc-card__right\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ch4\u003E\u00bfC\u00f3mo conseguir la mejor foto de la Monta\u00f1a 7 Colores?\u003C\/h4\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022\u0022\u003EEn algunas \u00e9pocas del a\u00f1o, la nieve puede cubrir la monta\u00f1a impidiendo las espl\u00e9ndidas vistas de sus colores. Conoce cu\u00e1ndo es el mejor momento y d\u00f3nde conseguir la tan so\u00f1ada foto. \u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003Cdiv class=\u0022mtc-audio m-top-5\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cdiv class=\u0022mtc-audio__control\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cbutton class=\u0022btn btn-play audio-playing\u0022 data-audio=\u0022mejor_foto_7_colores. mp3\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022reproducir\u0022\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003C\/button\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003Cdiv class=\u0022mtc-audio__progress\u0022 deluminate_imagetype=\u0022png\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cdiv class=\u0022seek-bar\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022current-time\u0022\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cdiv class=\u0022play-bar\u0022 deluminate_imagetype=\u0022png\u0022\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022duration\u0022\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003Cdiv class=\u0022mtc-audio__actions\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022mtc-audio__plays\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ci class=\u0022mkicon-angleright\u0022\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022reproducciones\u0022\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E: \u003Cspan class=\u0022js-nro-audio\u0022\u003E150\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E”,”ajax”:”1″,”nro”:192}


Tour a la Montaña de los 7 Colores en cuatrimoto – Una opción aventurera al clásico tour a la Montaña 7 Colores es elegir la ruta en cuatrimoto. Esta ruta le añade un circuito en cuatrimoto de casi 2 horas. Todos los demás servicios incluidos son los mismos: recojo, transporte completo, guía profesional, desayuno y almuerzo. El costo del tour en cuatrimoto es más caro en comparación del tour clásico.

Diferencia: tour a la montaña 7 colores clásico y en cuatrimoto

Detalles Tour Vinicunca clásico Tour Vinicunca cuatrimoto
Hora de inicio 4 am 5 am
Hora de final 6 pm 6 pm
Incluido Recojo, guía, entradas, transporte, desayuno y almuerzo. Recojo, guía, entradas, transporte, desayuno, almuerzo y equipo de cuatrimoto completo.
Caminata final 6 kilómetros (difícil). 2 kilómetros (moderada).
Altitud 5,200 msnm. 5,200 msnm.
Opción caballo Sí (opcional). No (moto opcional).
Precio 40 USD aprox. 90 USD aprox.
Recomendado Para todos. Para jóvenes.

Montaña de los 7 Colores en Argentina, China y otros países:

El Perú no es el único país cuya geografía alberga una de estas formaciones naturales. En Sudamérica, Argentina también fue bendecida con paisajes similares. En el mundo, Irán, China, Islas Mauricio también albergan una formación geológica similar.

Montaña de los 7 Colores en Argentina – Además de Cusco, los Andes argentinos poseen una formación montañosa de varios colores. El ‘Cerro de Siete Colores’ es uno de los lugares más turísticos en el pueblo de Purmamarca, en la provincia de Jujuy en Argentina. Se ubica en una geografía desértica donde a la luz del sol, esta cumbre luce sus impresionantes colores.

Montaña de los 7 Colores en China – El Parque Arqueológico de Zhangye Danxia en la provincia de Gansu en China también posee una formación similar. Estas formaciones montañosas son reconocidas como las más hermosas de ese país. Son uno de los mayores atractivos de esa región.

Montaña de los 7 Colores en otros países – Además de Perú, Argentina y China, Irán e Islas Mauricio también albergan formaciones coloridas. En Islas Mauricio las llaman la ‘Tierra de los Siete Colores’ a sus dunas teñidas de un sinfín de tonalidades. En Irán las denominan ‘Ala Daghlar’ y son uno de los principales paisajes de la ciudad de Tabriz, al noreste del país asiático.

Turistas en el recorrido hacia la montaña arcoiris


Preguntas y respuestas sobre la Montaña 7 Colores

  • 1) ¿Cuánto cuesta la entrada a la Montaña de los 7 Colores?

    La entrada al Vinicunca para peruanos es de 15 soles (4 $). Los extranjeros pagan 25 soles (7 $). Los boletos tienen un precio simbólico para el mantenimiento del atractivo turístico.

  • 2) ¿Cómo contratar caballo durante la visita a la Montaña Vinicunca?

    En la comunidad de Phulawasipata, los pobladores alquilan sus caballos por un costo aproximado de 100 soles (30 dólares). Este servicio es de ida y retorno.
    La única forma de contratar un caballo es negociando directamente con los pobladores. No hay forma de reservar uno por internet.

  • 3) ¿Cómo evitar el mal de altura en la Montaña de los 7 Colores?

    El mal de altura o soroche es un malestar natural que sufren las personas al visitar las regiones de altura. Los principales síntomas son el dolor de cabeza y la fatiga.
    Para evitar los síntomas durante la caminata al Vinicunca, se recomienda habituarse al clima de la ciudad del Cusco al menos 1 o 2 días antes de la excursión.
    También se aconseja beber abundante agua. El mate de coca es la mejor opción: esta infusión está elaborada de la hoja de coca, planta sagrada de los incas.

  • 4) ¿Cuál es el horario en la Montaña de los 7 Colores?

    El Vinicunca no tiene un horario definido. Las visitas son exclusivas durante el día y parte de la tarde, debido al clima extremadamente frío cuando cae el sol.
    Los tours a la Montaña de los 7 Colores de 1 día tienen un horario aproximado de 14 horas (de 4 a. m. a 6 p.m.).

  • 5) ¿Los niños pueden visitar la Montaña de los 7 Colores?

    Los niños pueden visitar el Vinicunca bajo la supervisión de sus padres. Sin embargo, el clima y la altura no son recomendables para los bebés o niños con problemas de salud.

  • 6) ¿Hay hoteles cerca de la Montaña de los 7 Colores?

    Los servicios hoteleros más cercanos al Vinicunca se encuentran en el pueblo de Cusipata. Los hoteles allí son sencillos pero agradables.

  • 7) ¿Hay baños en la Montaña de los 7 Colores?

    En algunos puntos del camino al Vinicunca, los pobladores dispusieron de baños básicos para las necesidades de los turistas. Éstos tienen un costo de 1 sol peruano (0.3 dólares americanos).

  • 8) ¿Cómo contratar guía turístico?

    La única forma de visitar el Vinicunca en compañía de un guía de turismo es adquiriendo el servicio de tour. Caso contrario, puede hacer la visita sin guía.

  • 9) ¿Es posible visitar el Vinicunca en silla de ruedas?

    Lamentablemente, no es posible visitar el Vinicunca en silla de ruedas. Esto debido a que los caminos de tierra son muy empinados en ciertas partes, haciendo imposible el trayecto en ruedas.

  • 10) ¿Los adultos mayores pueden visitar el Vinicunca?

    Los adultos mayores pueden visitar la Montaña 7 Colores si están en buena forma física. Los adultos mayores que no están acostumbrados a las caminatas, deben consultar con su médico.

Fotos Vinincunca

Consejos de gente que ha estado allí

Montaña de los Siete Colores

Por: De: Mariana L.

“Esta experiencia fue genial. Estar en la cima de esta montaña es algo que recordarás toda tu vida. No solo por su belleza, sino por lograr llegar a la meta. ¡Amé ese momento! Algunas recomendaciones: llevar ropa cómoda deportiva, zapatillas muy cómodas, chaqueta, bufanda o algo para que tape la nariz. También estar aclimatado“

““

 

Por Ticket Machu Picchu – Ultima actualización, 4 mayo, 2023

 

{“iden”:”B9nXsH”,”titulo”:”Bot\u00f3n Reservar ver Disponibilidad”,”slug”:”botn-reservar-ver-disponibilidad”,”contenido”:”\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\u0022mad-banner-wrapper\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ch3 class=\u0022titulo-wrapper-bttn\u0022\u003EReservar su Boleto Machu Picchu nunca fue tan f\u00e1cil\u003C\/h3\u003E\n \u003Csection class=\u0022md-confidence-container\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cul\u003E\n \u003Cli\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022bullet-image mkicon-checkmark\u0022\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022reason\u0022\u003ERevise la disponibilidad en tiempo real\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003C\/li\u003E\n \u003Cli\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022bullet-image mkicon-checkmark\u0022\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022reason\u0022\u003EReserve de manera r\u00e1pida y sencilla\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003C\/li\u003E\n \u003Cli\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022bullet-image mkicon-checkmark\u0022\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022reason\u0022\u003EReciba su boleto en 24 horas\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003C\/li\u003E\n \u003C\/ul\u003E\n \u003C\/section\u003E\n \u003Cdiv class=\u0022wrapper-bttn\u0022\u003E\n \u003C!–\u003Ca href=\u0022\/tipos-boleto-machu-picchu\/\u0022 class=\u0022bttn bttn-dispo\u0022 title=\u0022Ver Disponibilidad Machu Picchu\u0022 role=\u0022button\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan\u003ETipos de Boletos\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003C\/a\u003E–\u003E\n \u003Ca href=\u0022\/boleto-machu-picchu-disponibilidad-de-ingresos\/\u0022 class=\u0022bttn bttn-dispo\u0022 title=\u0022Ver Disponibilidad Machu Picchu\u0022 role=\u0022button\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan\u003EVer Disponibilidad\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003C\/a\u003E\n \u003Ca href=\u0022\/reserva-de-boleto-machu-picchu\/\u0022 class=\u0022bttn bttn-reserva\u0022 title=\u0022Reserve su Boleto Machu Picchu\u0022 role=\u0022button\u0022 style=\u0022margin-left: 1%\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan\u003EReserve Ahora!\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003C\/a\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\/p\u003E”,”ajax”:”1″}

Cerro de los 7 colores: Todo lo que necesitas saber

¿Dónde se encuentra el Cerro de los 7 Colores?

 Está ubicado en las afueras de la ciudad de Purmamarca sobre la Ruta Nacional 52 a 4 kilómetros de la Ruta
Nacional 9 en la provincia de Jujuy

Se puede llegar allí, en vehículo propio, o por medio de excursiones caminando desde la ciudad de Purmamarca; el recorrido es de una hora a pie.

La mejor forma de  excursionarlo es realizando un recorrido
desde la ciudad de Purmamarca o realizando un trekking por la parte de atrás
del cerro, llamado El Camino De Los Colorados, o escalarlo. También, se puede
subir a los miradores que rodean Purmamarca para apreciarlo de frente.   Según los turistas, la mejor parte del día
para apreciar los colores a su máxima expresión, es el amanecer o por la
mañana, hasta el mediodia.

Para poder apreciar el cerro en toda su dimensión existen una serie de miradores a los que se puede acceder sin mayores esfuerzos. Para saber cuáles son pueden ir a la oficina de turismo, justo al lado de el pequeño Cabildo de la ciudad y pedir un mapa. Hay unos cinco o seis puntos que cumplen el rol de miradores, pero el más lindo, para verlo en su totalidad, con el pueblo a sus pies, es el que se encuentra cruzando la ruta.

¿A qué se debe el nombre “Cerro de los 7 Colores”?

Lleva éste peculiar nombre debido a las diferentes pigmentaciones que adquieren los minerales que forman sus paredes.

¿Cuáles son los colores del Cerro de los 7 Colores?

Los colores que presenta son producto de una lenta formación geológica en la cual sedimentaron a lo largo de varios millones de años diversos minerales en varias capas.

  1. Rosado: compuesto por arcilla roja, arena y fango.
  2. Blanco: piedra caliza, cualitas de color blanco.
  3. Colores marrones pardos y morados: formado por plomo y margos arnidosos, con gran carbonato de calcio.
  4. Rojo: compuesto por hierro y arcillas.
  5. Verde: formado por filitas, pizarras de óxido de cobre.
  6. Pardo terroso: compuesto por roca con manganeso.
  7. Amarillo: areniscas calcáreas con azufre.

¿Qué
altura tiene el Cerro de los 7 Colores?

4200 metros de altura.

Es considerada parte de las Serranías del Hornocal, o también llamadas “Cerro de los 14 Colores”, declaradas en el año 2003 Sitio Patrimonio Cultural de la Humanidad de la UNESCO debido a su enorme valor cultural.

Un dato curioso…

Los locales cuentan una historia mucho más hermosa y
encantadora , pero cuenta la leyenda que cuando fundaron el pueblo de
Purmamarca, los cerros no tenían color
alguno, los niños lo encontraron sin
vida y decidieron pintar las laderas de colores.

Durante siete noches desaparecieron de sus camas y en cada amanecer los adultos se asombraron al encontrar que el cerro tenía color tras color, añadiéndole más color con cada día que pasaba.

Llegada la séptima noche los adultos despertaron temprano
y descubrieron que ninguno de los niños estaba en sus camas. Comenzaron a
buscarlos desesperadamente, sin embargo, ellos llegaron saltando alegremente
por la ladera, llenos de pintura, desde
entonces la colina siempre ha tenido siete colores
.

Si te interesa leer la
versión original, puedes verla aquí: http://www.jujuyaldia.com.ar/2016/01/27/la-leyenda-del-cerro-de-los-siete-colores-jujuy/

de la Silla – Logs – LJ

21-Apr-2010 09:21 am

Two forces – one pushes you forward so that you go, the second closes the end of the path in front of you. It’s an airtight seal on your sleep path.
Learning Photoshop CS…
Wallpapers around the world Metro…

Cerro de La Silla

“In its primary meaning, the word “demon” means “wish-fulfilling”. Wise old being, knowing and giving. But millennia of Christianity have changed everything”
Sibo.

The first dream. Padre Mier

“They started building it nine years before I was born. My mother, when she was still alive, said – “they knew! ..” I grew up underground and do not remember much of what she remembered. I deceived my mother every time she asked me about our life there, on the surface I nodded my head, listened to her and tried to live up to expectations. That’s all. I didn’t want to upset my mother. I just didn’t want to and therefore fantasized sometimes to hide the truth. I don’t remember anything from the days we lived up there.
Sometimes it seems to me that I’m starting to remember, but this is just my fantasy. I only know what she said in the candlelight, once again sewing up my clothes. We found them in the office, there was a package behind the boxes full of magazines. While there was light, they were not needed, but now, when the emergency lighting died, they came in handy.
Chemes is a simple sound for me. I don’t remember my father, why should I remember my last name? Life can end on any of these nights – why should I think about the future? I would like to remember the past, but apparently not fate – when my mother and I ran down the frozen escalator during the alarm, I stumbled and flew a dozen steps before hitting my face on the metal. The world blurred in burgundy colors, I think it was pain, though then it was more like crazy fireworks. Years passed after that day, my mother and I lived all this time at the Padre Mier station, the same one where we went down that night. We were the first, but for a long time people went downstairs, crippled and tired, suffocating and burned, they resembled the horror of nightmares. You know – when you look at something and you are afraid that it will suddenly decide to touch you. And I had to help them. No, I’m not sorry, really, but many of them died after that anyway.
And the city was bombed for a long time. The whole station woke up as one person and something fell from the ceiling in quiet trickles of despair.
This is terrible. Mother cried and called father at night. We tried to help them all, really. Perhaps the mother hoped to find her husband among them. Until the end.
Yes, I haven’t introduced myself yet – my name is Marisa. My mother often called me Maria Luisa, but that’s too long to say. And I don’t like to talk for a long time. That’s probably why I’m done. It doesn’t matter what the point is. My mother died a week ago, the people with whom I will have to continue to live scare me. I will do as I have wanted for a long time, I will go with Karina to the University, she came from there six months ago with her brother. My mother was a doctor, we used to live, according to her, in a village north of the city. Karina’s brother had a nosebleed and often had a headache, his mother gave him medicine at first, and then she prayed more and more often at our infirmary. Karina’s brother died a month ago…”
I held in my hands a piece of my childhood, a stub of memories torn from a notebook, written in uneven, almost childish handwriting. She tried not to cry from despair and anger, could not restrain herself and, so that none of the animals would hear, covered her mouth with her hand. She whimpered for a long time. Like a coyote The hand itself crumpled the paper until it turned out to be a ball of childhood, so caressing the cold and wet palm. And hateful. I threw him out of the tent, and he jumped, invisible, on the ground. She tried to wipe away her tears and leaned back. The bed was too foreign to not only sleep – to relax in it. After a day, my hands ached, as if I were throwing heavy loads.

-The beast will come again, we all know that! – Shouting this man raised his hand with the hard drive. “And we must kill the beast!”
The chorus of voices was a direct answer to him, the voices that had previously supported Damian, who again sat down on his favorite platform similar to a throne and, crossing his arms over his chest, looked with a smile at the raging forest of raised hands in front of him.
-And how? – Asked someone from the crowd.
-We have weapons!
-Again?
– It’s a riot.
– No, it’s justice!
A guy with a hard drive held high above his head, naked to the waist in old torn jeans, made his way through the crowd towards Damian.
– Give me thirty of your people, and we will hobble this creature!
-No.
– Why? – He shouted this in the face of the seated, but he only smiled tiredly and said:
-Ramon, if everything was so simple. You and Reyes were a thorn in the side of Regina, and now you’re on my head, too. I will not give you people, they will die through your fault. Your head is too hot.
– A weapon?!
-What… weapon? You have weapons and enough for collective suicide. Leave our trunks to my guys, don’t worry Moncho. I have nothing personally against you, you can already see this by the fact that I didn’t hang you for coming to my house, you muddy the waters for the second day in a row and undermine my authority. Go away Ramon, go away in a good way and take your killers.
-My killers saved our people, while you and your bellies were eating in three snouts at his expense, sitting on his back and hanging his paws!
-I’ll forgive you this too, go away Ramon, don’t act like an idiot. You won’t achieve anything here or up there. You will only die in vain. The number of people and trunks does not play any role from now on in this world.
-Are you going to remain slaves here?
-We’re trying to survive, that’s all. Or do you blame people for striving for life and not for death? Not everyone is like you, remember that. Not everyone despaired.
The half-naked guy’s face contorted as if he had eaten a whole bag of lemons and washed them down with nothing strong.
-Desperate? We?!!
– I repeat boy, guns don’t matter here or there, it’s dark on the surface now. Here – he extended his hand to Ramon’s chest – she took root. And you are just a drop, trying to go a little higher before dissolving completely. You can’t kill the Beast, nobody can kill him. And do not win, now and forever.
-And who is desperate here?
– I repeat, little one, – the old man said quite calmly and tenderly, – the desire to throw yourself with your bare chest into the jaws of a lion – this is what is called, the most that neither is despair. This is the desire for food to be swallowed as soon as possible. An attempt to hasten the inevitable.
-And delay?
-We don’t want to delay anything. Everything has its time. We just live. You don’t understand this.
– You are fanatics.
– Possibly. Now go.

They turned over the old bag, shook out the cartridges and, like Christmas presents, began to take them apart – who knows what.
– Forty-four twelfths for a hard drive. Sixteenth eight, but we don’t have that caliber.
-Lucas, do you have a .357 magnum?
-Look for yourself, I seem to have seen it.
-No. Will have to leave him. – A tall and rather shaggy man looked almost with pity at the shiny, like a new revolver.
One of the bullets rolled across the makeshift table, and before anyone could react, I stopped it with my palm.
-What are you doing?
– I’ll go too. I’m tired, they will choose me too. Some day.
– You will not be chosen, you are young and healthy.
– And beautiful besides, – someone noticed from behind his shoulder, in this hum of voices I didn’t even make out who it was. The people standing in the clouds of cigarette smoke shot through by rays of dim light had smiles on their faces.
– I’m a doctor and… I can’t take it anymore. It’s like living in a cage with a lion, he’s so cute and fluffy. You feed him and you know – someday he will get tired of playing with you, or he will get especially hungry, well, or he will just go overboard, and you will become prey. Pressure.
-You are not a doctor, you only know how to sew up wounds, you will be of little use there and the last thing – no one will definitely choose you. No one wishes you harm here, no one will vote for you. You’re not pretty enough to be jealous and healthy enough to just let you live. Calm down and stay.
-That there really isn’t a single magnum left? – The guy muttered and, turning the bag over, began to fumble there, hoping to find the treasure. – Shaitan’s daughter, she came alone and took away at night.
Everyone laughed again.
-All I sleep.

-The beast came from the north, the beast descended from the mountains to our valley. As soon as people stopped fighting, and he saw this world.
-From Cerro de la Silla? – A child’s voice in a smoky hanging sounded somehow frighteningly high and hoarse at the same time.
– Yes, from there. He lived there and looked out over the city below him and always dreamed of wandering its streets. And when he grew up, he went down.
-Is it big?
– He’s an adult. The woman closed the book and began to run her finger over the map in a detached way.
-Adult means big?
-Probably. Hello Marisa. What’s up?
For some reason, I suddenly felt very cold and chilly, in order to drive away the delusion I had to wrap my arms around myself and shake my head. Teeth were chipping.
-What’s the matter with you, got a cold?
– Nothing. It will pass.

“The entire first branch was burned out along with the people who escaped there, when at the end a vacuum charge was dropped on the city. Our and the nearest stations of the second branch miraculously did not suffer – the gas did not have time to reach us a couple of minutes before the detonation. There was no sealing roofing felts, roofing felts it was new and not tested. After all, the subway was built here recently. My mother told me that when my father got a job in the city, she was just being mortgaged. And then I was born. That is, it simply did not work, or maybe it had to be started from somewhere forcibly. That’s what my mother thought. There were no nuclear bombings. Although no one is sure. At least, strategic warheads did not fly in, that’s for sure. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be writing these lines. Mother is sure that not only healthy men will soon be able to rise to the surface, the radio was silent, the last thing they broadcast was “war” and “urgent evacuation of the government” and “do not despair, our people will not surrender to anyone. ” Then the last radio station went silent. I also think – who needs to spend nuclear charges on us. It’s bad that there were no meters at our station, and no one was going to look for them upstairs…”
I again crumpled the paper and threw it into the hall with tears.

Breathing in the cool night air deeply, I looked around and for some reason regretted that I had been down there all these long years. You could really breathe here. Here your lungs will always find work. The first thing that caught my eye was a huge ten-story building cut in half, as if by a blow from a giant cutting cleaver. The top floor was completely destroyed, the glass was gone for a long time, the wall of the building, previously clearly pale milky, was now all mutilated by the yellow stains of death. “Banamex” was written at the entrance, then the letters were erased.
Nearby, like an inverted square neck of a broken bottle, the skeleton of a building made of blue glass and metal protruded. Straining his eyesight in the moonlight, one could distinguish the inscription at the level of the first floor – “Telce . ..” – the last letter was again erased by time. I did not know what was there before the war, but now I wanted to move away from the mere sight of this building and close my eyes.
A bus turned upside down, painted in all the colors of the rainbow, lay on the roof of a one-story pavilion. How he ended up there, I did not know, and there was no time to guess. Reito, who was ahead of us as a scout, found a whole building in which one could hide during the day, and now he was gesticulating aggressively, signaling us to hurry up.
Five minutes later, Felipe and Lucas were already in charge on the second floor, setting up a machine gun. And while Tito was looking for a place on the roof, Bacho almost obscenely persuaded his leader to mine the main street, making mine traps out of old cars, but Ramon simply brushed it off, saying that there were so few grenades and they would still need them.
– This miracle has not fired for ten years. I gave a couple of singles of course. Lucas lit a cigarette and, shaking the match, threw it out the window. – But the tape is one and that in the end does not inspire confidence. But this is the hardest thing we have. That scoundrel is your Damianito. After all, this is his station under the place where the Beast feeds.
– Don’t remember him! Felippe looked out into the street, as if waiting for a sign. No need, especially now.
Ramon was silently loading his hard drive with zero buckshot cartridges. I put it on the windowsill and pulled out a police officer Obregon .45 caliber from its holster.
-We’ll spend the night here. Let Tito stay on the roof, since he likes it so much, bring him something to eat. Felippe – you will sleep at the machine gun with binoculars in your hands, guarding in twos. And yet, Bacho and Oswald check the whole building, you hear – everything! From the basement to the roof, look under the linoleum. I don’t want surprises in the morning.
Crumpled and chewed up cars lay on the street. And in the midst of this chaos of decades of rusty metal and corrosion, a poisonous green taxi stood on its four, from here even whole, wheels. It was impossible to look at the street, the unreality of this car did not let me take my eyes off it. It seemed to me that if you walk up to it now, the door will open in an inviting gesture and the engine, purring like a cat, will start itself. I just don’t know how or what to do next. But really, you can just pick up and go. I shook my head, once again driving away the obsession. Ghosts of the past, there were too many of them for the first time. Not like reading your own old diaries or replaying your mother’s half-forgotten stories in your head.
I took another look at this car. The taxi emblem gleamed slightly on its side, yellow and inviting, the umbrella of gold. It seemed to reflect the moon. Something is clearly wrong with this messenger of the past.
-It’s a pity…
-What? – The guy sitting next to me, young with completely combed back hair, almost my age had already managed to doze off, and now I directly saw the fear on his face that Ramon saw him sleeping. He looked back again and pretended to be watching through the window. In fact, he did not see anything with his open eyes, he fell asleep again.
– Nothing. You can leave. And far away. I took my pistol out of a worn holster under my arm and unclipped the safety. She looked at him and again moved the lever again. She took out the clip and looked at the cartridges. A thought flashed through her mind – some joker could have discharged it last night while she was sleeping for a joke. Dumb and idiotic, but quite possible. Just as slowly, she slipped the gun back into its holster. This weapon belonged to Karina’s brother. He was a policeman, though not for long. After school, I managed to study for four years, and the war began.
I grabbed my hair and immediately turned to the window. I still do not know who fought with whom. But everyone died. Both father and mother. And I.
The mountain was visible from here. You just need to stick your head out the window and look to the right. Sloping, it still somehow terribly towered over the city. And this is her pinnacle. As if someone took and bit off a piece. Too often that night I had to shake my head.
There was a lot of light, too much for me alone. I walked forward, covering my eyes with my hand, afraid to close them, something terrible would surely happen if I suddenly close my eyes under the yoke of light.
What can happen to me?
Karina took my hand and led me somewhere. I kept trying to look back, but every time I ran into her smile, like barbed wire from delicious strawberry ice cream. I myself was surprised at my thoughts, where does it come from? I remembered it, just the taste is strange and familiar at the same time, already changed in me. It’s been too long since I’ve felt it. And for some reason, right now, her smile was like him, no, not ice cream, it was left somewhere far behind, but the taste, it was still inside me.
There was a door, I reached out to open it and the door buckled away from me. I realized – I need to take one more step, one last step, and I will reach. She was still slightly bent over. “Now it will burst, it will crack,” a thought flashed. I looked around and did not find Karina, and fear appeared. I seemed to myself so alien and unnecessary next to this door, which is one step away, in this wrong light, from which my eyes hurt. And at that moment, this strange sound came from behind the door. So familiar. I recoiled in horror.
There was shooting.
Who can shoot when I taste this? After all, he alone remained inside me, from those distant days when we lived with my mother up there. And shots rang out again, but I no longer paid attention to them. I realized that I remembered, even what seemed to be buried forever. And it was all in the depths of me. Somewhere outside the door, and now it was penetrating, dripping into me along with these sounds, the sounds of semi-automatic fire?
-I remembered!
They pushed me, I fell, there was a roar around, but what made my body shrink from horror on the floor was a scream, or rather a squeal, mixed with gurgling, which immediately turned into a roar, with some too loud and high for my ears grinding.
-Don’t let her get up, just don’t let her get up!
The roar that woke me up turned out to be Ramon’s hard drive, now he fired from a pistol, putting one foot on the windowsill. He leaned out for a second and immediately recoiled, rushed out of the room, shouting with all his strength:
– A grenade, one more soon!
A machine gun rumbled again from above, it was this sound that I heard in my dream. It was necessary to fall asleep so deeply on such a night!
Putting my hand forward, I rested against something hot and, ignoring the pain, got up from my knees. Leaning her shoulder against the wall, she took out a pistol with both hands and put it out of the window, trying to quickly figure out what was in front of me. My eyes were still blurry, and my palm was burning, I had to take a step back and shake my head, not letting the gray moving mass out of my sight. Exhaling the remnants of a fucking dream, she pulled the trigger and continued to shoot until the clip was empty, aiming at the very center of the gray creature. My pistol and Lucas’s machine gun fell silent at the same time, a clatter was heard above me, and immediately an explosion rang out on the street, maybe even more than one. I, again falling to the floor, crawled to the wall and, reloading the gun, just waited. I don’t know why myself – a human voice, probably a scream. At least something. But everything was silent, only when I again got up on legs unusually heavy after sleep, heard such familiar voices in the street and rushed, stumbling down the steps invisible in the darkness.
They were standing downstairs talking about something. I did not see the faces, but I knew that they were joyful. Entangled in a rusty bicycle, I made so much noise that everyone turned in my direction at once. So it is – joy. There was just something wrong with me. I looked at the world as if through the eyes of others, and I definitely didn’t have any joy either on my face or in myself. The dream seemed to envelop me and did not let go, it was so close that if I close my eyes now, this door will appear in front of me again.
Something is wrong.
Ramon raised both hands and fired into the air from two barrels, shouting with this very joy. For me, joy suddenly turned into fear. The rest behaved more calmly, and only Bacho was squatting in a pool of blood next to a huge carcass. A cigarette in his mouth, a bloody T-shirt on his head. I thought that he was probably trying to get close to her to throw a grenade and here it is – the result.
– Large. – He just said, feeling me behind his back. The creature was not that big – it was huge, but its entire left side, twisted by shots, was now smeared along the street. I blinked and looked at the mouth, it was long, almost triangular with several rows of very sharp small teeth. However, they were small by the standards of the mouth itself, with a couple of inches, no less. She wiped the icy sweat from her forehead and this time asked herself this hateful question aloud:0014 -What’s wrong?
-Huh? Bacho called back. – Yes, that’s right, I would also fall asleep if I wanted to. You weren’t on duty.
– No, – I answered. Rather to myself. Something was wrong, but I didn’t know if it was with me or with something other than me.
-Where is Tito? he suddenly asked. And turning to the leader, he shouted, pointing to the house opposite, on the roof of which our sniper settled down in the evening.
Ramon burst inside first. We are all behind him. The first two floors were empty, oddly empty even. There was only one armchair from the furniture, there were no pictures or clocks on the walls. Smooth dusty wallpaper, stripes of rust obliquely from the sleepy prairies of all shades of gray. And a chandelier under the ceiling, in which our lanterns were reflected. Apparently, particles of my tension were transferred to them all, the second floor was taken according to all the laws of capturing a building, which, however, I learned exclusively from books. It was completely empty. The absolute emptiness of the rooms, the residents of which moved, having collected all their belongings and packed the car with them so that when they see a patrol on the road, they will have to smile, even overacting slightly, so that they don’t just stop with a check, because they collect everything back again. I shook my head again as Bacho, as was his habit, studied the stairs to the third. This routine, which I did not come across, living in me only pages torn from books, was, it turns out, so precious, as soon as I saw everything with my own eyes, the hidden parts of my stupid memory came to life.
The third and fourth floors were fine, but the roof was empty. I just now remembered that I did not hear the shots from Tito’s rifle, and none of the guys heard them. Tito just disappeared. But he had nowhere to go. The roof was the safest place at that time in the battle, if firing from all trunks at this gray colossus can be called that.
– What the hell is this? Ramon asked the morning sky. The stars were fading, the sun was about to emerge from behind the mountain. We need to leave, go down underground with good news. Although there is no lethal radiation, except for that which occasionally falls with raindrops or is brought with hot winds from the south, the surface was still lost by people. During the day, all living creatures that have hidden for the night will gather around us – its prey – and we will have to fight our way back.
-Ti-ito-oh! The choir resounded in such fresh air. I also screamed, we went to the corners of the roof and studied all the neighboring houses. I turned to Cerro de la Silla to see how long it was before sunrise. The world seemed to bloom with flowers from an unbearably bright light, I screamed and did not hear my voice, only a slight pain in the back of my head and I again plunged somewhere.

-There!
I opened my eyes, my face burned, melted, probably in this light, my eyes hurt, my eyelids, I was surprised that they had not evaporated yet … But I opened my eyes …
Above me was the morning sky, but something was wrong. Thin threads hung from it, and when I got used to this impossible light, I realized what was still strange there. Huge transparent and sparkling, it floated above me in the sky, bigger than a city on the roof of one of the houses of which I was lying. The larva of a jellyfish, huge and beautiful, the whole body of which consisted of an interweaving of two transparent veins. They pulsed, and the pattern changed, the double helix in the sky playing with itself, trying to grab itself by its tail, invisible in the rays of the already rising sun.
I extended my arm and the spirals swirled above me like the blades of a cartoon helicopter. And then they fell down, covering the whole city.
I just couldn’t breathe anymore.

-Two people are missing, Tito and Marisa. But we killed the beast, we didn’t need to feed it anymore! Tell everyone, the world is dangerous up there, but you can live in it! If you don’t want to rot your children alive here, stop valuing your lives so highly, die, die yourself, but make sure that your children look at the sun, and not at the yellow incandescent lamps!
– Killed?
– The beast?
– Bullets?
Daming looked into Ramon’s face and smiled.
-If you’re against it, say so. If you don’t want to lose your power, tell people so. I want power! Tell them this, stop fooling people about fear and sacrifice, it’s all nonsense. You know, I know that everything in this world is made of flesh and blood, and what is not is just a tool! But people are not tools for your ambitions, they are entitled to only one thing in the world – the truth!
– Do you want the truth?
– Good. Only you won’t like it. Have you lost two people? So we’ll sleep peacefully for two months, that’s all. And then again, someone will have to go upstairs, because the beast, after it has appeared, will not simply disappear and the question is not who or what gave birth to it, and it does not need our bodies and our blood has also surrendered to it forever, you don’t understand pedro, my boy. It feeds on souls, our dreams, and the body of the beast is so huge that you can’t see it with your eyes, you can’t stop it with sealant and you can’t kill it, in any way. We live under it, but we are not its food, we are part of it, the roots of the Beast.

At first, Karina was all wet and slippery. I found a non-decayed towel and somehow fixed it.
At first, she was quite small, two heads shorter than me, but, having eaten a part of the gray carcass, probably the size of herself, she somehow imperceptibly grew up and now is again at my level.
At first, I didn’t know what to do next. But Karina pulled me along, clinging to my clothes. And all living things fled as we walked through the stiffened streets. Everywhere was cold, and only from her came warmth. I don’t know how, but I felt it. We walked it along the main street to the very end, and when the city was left behind, I did not want to turn around and look at it. The feeling that drew me forward came to my right, confidently grasping the T-shirt that was released over the jeans.
We were going north.
text on facultetbook.ru/
text on metro2033.ru/

  • Tags:valley of the wind, cerro de la silla, design, wallpaper, works, stories, photos

Leave a Comment to the Entry

20 Facts About The Little Prince – Weekend

On April 1943 years old Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s story “The Little Prince” was published. Written at the height of the Second World War, the story was read as an allegory of the political events of the middle of the 20th century and as a parable about human life – and instantly gained popularity among both adults and children. On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of The Little Prince , Ulyana Volokhova tells how he appeared, where the boa constrictor and baobabs came from, and why Martin Heidegger and Orson Welles loved the book.

Sketch for the 17th chapter of The Little Prince, 1942

Photo: courtesy of the estate of Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Sketch for the 17th chapter of The Little Prince, 1942

Photo: courtesy of the estate of Antoine de Saint-Exupery


1
Saint-Exupery first met the Little Prince on his way to the USSR. In 1935, the writer, then working as a reporter for the newspaper Paris-soir, was sent on a business trip to Moscow. The way to the USSR lay through Poland, and the train was packed with families of Polish miners who were fired due to the economic crisis. Among the huge number of passengers, Saint-Exupery noticed a sleeping family, a child squeezed between father and mother, whose beauty struck the writer: “Oh, what a delightful face! These laborers had the perfection of grace and charm. Here it is, little Mozart, here it is, the beautiful promise of life, the little prince of ancient legends. What could this child grow up to be if he was protected, nurtured and nurtured? If a beautiful rose is born in the garden, all gardeners rejoice and protect it. But there are no gardeners for people, and this little Mozart is most likely doomed.” He described this scene in the same 1935 in the report “On the way to the Soviet Union”.


2
The little prince borrowed his curiosity from the son of a friend of Saint-Exupery. In May 1942, Saint-Exupéry visited Canada with Charles de Coninck, Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy at Laval University. The conversations were mainly about the war, which often became unbearable for Saint-Exupery: before the occupation of France, he served in the Air Force intelligence, and then was forced to flee the country and was very upset by the inability to continue to take part in the war. From military conversations, he often went to the nursery and spent time with de Koninck’s son, eight-year-old Thomas. He taught him how to make paper airplanes and chatted with him about how the world works. Arriving in New York, Saint-Exupery sat down to write a story about how a crashed pilot befriended the Little Prince, who bombarded him with difficult questions. Thomas de Koninck, when he grew up, became a philosopher.

Thomas de Koninck, 1946

Photo: Thomas De Koninck

Thomas de Koninck, 1946

Photo: Thomas De Koninck


3
There is a legend in Paraguay that the image of a boa constrictor eating an elephant is inspired by view of the local mountain. In 2018, the French writer and researcher Pablo Magi traveled around Latin America and collected material for a book about the repressions against communists and socialists in 1970s. In Paraguay, he was told that in 1929, Saint-Exupéry, while on a business trip, lived at the foot of the Cerro Patiño and argued with a local resident about what the mountain looked like. He claimed that on a hat, Saint-Exupery – that on a boa constrictor digesting an elephant. It is impossible to establish the plausibility of this story, but in Paraguay in 1929 Saint-Exupery really was.

Previous photo

Cerro Patino

Photo:
100% Globo / wikimedia. org

Illustration for the first chapter of the story “The Little Prince”, 1942

Photo:
courtesy of the estate of Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Next photo

1
/
2

Cerro Patino

Photo:
100% Globo / wikimedia. org

Illustration for the first chapter of the story “The Little Prince”, 1942

Photo:
courtesy of the estate of Antoine de Saint-Exupery


4
The forced landing that begins The Little Prince is an autobiographical detail. The acquaintance of the narrator and the Little Prince takes place in the Sahara, where the pilot was forced to land due to a faulty engine. There were many forced landings and plane crashes in Saint-Exupery’s career – for the most part because of his inattention and recklessness. He learned to be a pilot in the army, commanders and mentors recalled that when piloting, Saint-Exupery often went into his thoughts and was inattentive, and his colleagues even called him a “lunatic”. At 19At the age of 23, he lost control, got into the first serious accident, received a head injury and was commissioned. Three years later, he became a pilot in the postal service, and the mechanics who accompanied him on flights later said that, having gained altitude, he took out a book and read so deeply that sometimes he did not notice that the situation overboard had changed and pilot intervention was needed. In 1936, Saint-Exupery overclocked the plane and crashed over the Sahara. He and the mechanic miraculously survived and were able to survive without water for four days until they were found by the Bedouins.


5
The Little Prince’s planet is named after an airplane. Saint-Exupéry flew an aircraft with the serial number A-612 while working for the Aeropostale. The Little Prince’s planet is called B-612 and is barely larger than an airplane – it barely fits three volcanoes knee-high on the prince, a rose and the prince’s chair.


6
Rose is the wife of Saint-Exupéry. Consuelo Saint-Exupery met a journalist and artist from El Salvador in Argentina at 1931 years old. Their relationship was complicated, accompanied by betrayals and scandals, but it got better when the spouses traveled to different cities and countries. The rose that suddenly rose and blossomed on the planet B-612 was constantly picking on the Little Prince and demanding his attention, so the Little Prince had to go on a long journey, and only after visiting seven planets did he understand the secret of a happy relationship: “Never listen to what the flowers say. You just have to look at them and breathe in their scent. My flower gave my whole planet a fragrance to drink, but I did not know how to rejoice in it.

Antoine and Consuelo de Saint-Exupery, 1932

Photo: wikipedia.org

Antoine and Consuelo de Saint-Exupery, 1932

Photo: wikipedia.org 900 08


7
Baobabs are fascism. The only thing that threatens the Little Prince’s planet is the baobabs. The soil is infected with their seeds, and if the sprouts are not weeded out in time, they can grow and tear the planet to shreds. Therefore, the prince has a rule: “I got up in the morning, washed myself, put myself in order – and immediately put your planet in order. I knew one planet, a lazy person lived on it. He did not weed three bushes in time. Under the three trees that captured the planet of the lazy, contemporaries saw a hint of the three Axis powers – Germany, Italy and Japan. Saint-Exupery himself ended the chapter on baobabs in this way: “Why is there no more such impressive drawings in this book as this one with baobabs? The answer is very simple: when I painted baobabs, I was inspired by the consciousness that this is terribly important and urgent.

Illustration for Chapter V of The Little Prince, 1942

Photo: courtesy of the estate of Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Illustration for Chapter V of The Little Prince, 1942

Photo: courtesy of the estate of Antoine de Saint-Exupery


8
Describing the death of the Little Prince, Saint-Exupery described the death of his brother. The Little Prince agrees with a snake that she will bite him so that death will free him from his earthly body and he could return to his planet. The narrator becomes a witness to his death. In the story “Military Pilot”, written in 1942, Saint-Exupery described how, when he was 17 years old, his younger brother Francois died of pericarditis before his eyes. He was ill for a long time, and before his death he called Antoine to him and tried to console him: “It doesn’t hurt me. But I can’t resist. It’s just my body.” The Little Prince utters almost the same words before his death: “My body is too heavy. I can’t carry him. But it’s like shedding an old shell.”


9
In the drafts, the Little Prince was a vegetarian and traveled more. The final version of the story takes only 90 pages, but almost the same amount of material has survived in drafts that was not included in the final edition. For example, there is a description of the Little Prince’s diet of radishes, potatoes, and tomatoes that grow on B-612. And additional planets that the Little Prince visited before Earth: one is littered with advertising slogans and offers, and the other is inhabited by a lone inventor who has created something like a 3D printer – a machine that can reproduce any object in the world.


10
The ending in the drafts was also different. In the published version, the story ends rather optimistically – the narrator experiences the loss of the Little Prince and finds solace in memories of him. However, an extremely gloomy version of the epilogue has been preserved in the drafts, written, apparently, under the impression of news coming from military Europe. It tells about what is happening on the planets visited by the Little Prince: “On one star, someone has lost a friend, on another someone is sick, on the third they are at war. The little prince sees it all. For him, the night is merciless, as it is for me, his friend.


11
There are 46 illustrations in The Little Prince. All of them were made by Saint-Exupery himself. In his youth, he thought about making painting his profession and for two years he was a volunteer at the School of Fine Arts. There are more drawings in the drafts of the story – about 100 pieces. In particular, among the illustrations that Saint-Exupery chose not to use were those of the narrator. In 1968, Sylvia Hamilton, to whom Saint-Exupéry had left drafts of the story, donated them to New York’s Morgan Library. In 2014, the manuscripts were shown at the exhibition for the first time.

Sketch with a figure of a pilot for the story “The Little Prince”, 1942

Photo: courtesy of the estate of Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Sketch with a figure of a pilot for the story “The Little Prince”, 1942

Photo: courtesy of the estate of Antoine de Saint-Exupery


12
Saint-Exupery dedicated The Little Prince to his friend. In the introduction to the story, he writes: “To Leon Werth. I ask the children to forgive me for dedicating this book to an adult. I’ll justify it: this adult is my best friend. He lives in France, and there is now hungry and cold. And he really needs comfort.” Werth was a French Jew and after the beginning of the German occupation became a member of the resistance movement. He read The Little Prince after the war and was very touched.


13
The story was written in French but was first published in English. “The Little Prince” Saint-Exupery wrote in New York, where he was forced to move from France after the start of the German occupation. The Little Prince was published by the American publishing house Reynal and Hitchcock on April 6, 1943 in English, translated by Katherine Woods. The first edition in French was published two weeks later by the same publishing house in a symbolic edition of 230 copies.


14
Saint-Exupéry did not have time to receive his royalties for The Little Prince. Immediately after the release of the story, Saint-Exupery decided to return to the war and joined the Free French Air Force intelligence in Algiers. Under an agreement with the publisher, he should have received a percentage of the sale of books, but on July 17, 1944, he flew on a reconnaissance mission to Provence and did not return. What exactly happened is unknown: the wreckage of the plane was discovered in 2000 at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea near Marseille – in an area that did not lie on the route. Analysis of the wreckage indicated that the aircraft had likely dived into the sea.


15
In France, The Little Prince was not published until 1946. The American publication of the story instantly made it famous – in the first year of sales Reynal and Hitchcock released five additional editions. However, in the homeland of The Little Prince, they were in no hurry to print: in Vichy France, a ban was imposed on the publication of any works of Saint-Exupery after, in 1942, censorship accidentally skipped his book The Military Pilot, where he regretted the defeat of France and cursed the German occupation. The head of Free France, General de Gaulle, also did not like the story, considering it defeatist and not appropriate for the moment, and therefore saw no point in publishing it. The first French edition was published by Gallimard in a modest circulation of 10,000 on April 1946 years – exactly three years after publication in the United States.


16
The first German edition was advertised by Martin Heidegger. His blurb on the dust jacket of the 1950 German translation was brief: “This is not a children’s book. This is the message of the great poet, delivering us from loneliness and leading us to understand the great mysteries of this world. Favorite book of Professor Martin Heidegger. In private conversations, he called the story the main work of existentialism and advised it as a beginner’s guide to the philosophy of technology.


17
Orson Welles wanted to film The Little Prince. Wells read the story immediately after its release and bought the film rights the very next day. He developed a script for the film, which included combined shooting – part of the scenes with the actors, and part of the animation. Wells wanted to stage the game scenes himself, and he decided to offer the drawn ones to Walt Disney, the main Hollywood animator. But the meeting with Disney went badly – eyewitnesses said that after half an hour he flew out of the office shouting: “There is only room for one genius on this project.” The film was never made.

Orson Welles. Screenplay for The Little Prince, 1943

Photo: Courtesy of The Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington

Orson Welles. The script for the film The Little Prince, 1943

Photo: Courtesy of The Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington


18
The first adaptation of The Little Prince was made in the USSR. In 1966, Arunas Zebryunas made a feature film based on the novel by Saint-Exupéry. The role of the little prince was played by six-year-old Evaldas Mikalyunas, and Innokenty Smoktunovsky read the voiceover. Soviet critics did not like the film, they felt that the excessive sentimentalization of the story overshadowed the humanistic message of the original story.

“A little prince”. Directed by Arunas Zebryunas, 1966

Photo: Lithuanian Film Studio

“A little prince”. Directed by Arunas Zebryunas, 1966

Photo: Lithuanian Film Studio


19
Depeche Mode used The Little Prince scene for the video for the song “Enjoy The Silence”. The video was directed by Anton Corbijn. In the story, the band’s lead singer Dave Gun, dressed as a king from fairy tales, wandered through the fields and mountains with a folding chair, sometimes stopping to watch the sunsets. This is an allusion to the Little Prince, who also moved the chair to see all the possible sunsets in a day.