page_title: Return to the Dark Valley
section_title: Characters
hierarchical_section_title: Return to the Dark Valley / Characters
caption_attribution_description: English: Arthur Rimbaud standing in front of a tree in Harar.Français&#160;: Arthur Rimbaud posant devant un arbre au Harar.
context_page_description: Volver al Valle Oscuro, or Return to the Dark Valley, is a fictional novel written by Santiago Gamboa and published in 2016 that follows the stories of five separate characters in a modern world filled with turmoil. The novel's action takes place over several countries, including France, Spain, England, and Colombia and focuses on themes such as violence, sex, and domestic turmoil, contrasting them with the themes of forgiveness and peace in post-war Colombia. Return to the Dark Valley follows the story of Manuela Beltran, a young female poet with a scarred emotional past; a former diplomat and writer referred to by other characters as "Consul"; Tertullian, a Neo-Nazi revivalist from Argentina who is allegedly the son of the Pope; Ferdinand Palacio, a Colombian priest converted to rebel warrior; and the late Arthur Rimbaud, the celebrated French poet with a complicated personality and lifestyle. While each character's life seems altogether separate from the other, their stories eventually merge to create an overarching plot line that highlights the theme of reconciliation with the past.
context_section_description: Manuela Beltran is a young college student from Santiago de Cali, Colombia, with a dark and twisted past. After being sexually assaulted at a young age by her mother's boyfriend and sent off to Catholic boarding school, Manuela witnesses and participates in drugs, alcohol, and sexual activities. While mostly a victim, she tells a lie to cover for one of her classmates in exchange for the other girl's family to pay for Manuela's secondary education. After serving time in reform school, Manuela graduates from high school and enrolls in literature courses at the Javierna in Bogotá. There she develops a love and gifted talent for writing poetry, eventually meeting the well-known poet Araceli Cielo. The two of them engage in an intimate romantic relationship until Araceli steals and plagiarizes Manuela's private poems, after which she moves to Spain and meets "Consul," one of the five major characters of the novel. After becoming friends, they, along with the help of others, devise a plan to avenge Manuela's past by killing Freddy Otalora, her mother's boyfriend who sexually assaulted her many years before. After traveling to Santiago de Cali, the team captures Freddy, and Manuela, while not killing him, is able to reconcile with her past. 
  "The Consul" is an ambiguous diplomat and writer who travels to Madrid, Spain, to meet up with a former acquaintance, Juana, after receiving an obscure note containing a meet-up location. He is in Madrid during a prominent terrorist attack on the Irish embassy and after a waiting few days decides to explore the city. During this exploration, Consul sees a young girl, Manuela Beltran, being abused by who appears to be a lover, at which point he steps in, stops the attack, and is injured in the process. He then wakes up in a prison cell where he meets Ferdinand Palacio, a priest who was involved as a rebel in the Colombian civil war and has a connection with Freddy Otalora. After being released from prison, Consul meets up with Juana and becomes friends with Manuela as well, eventually helping her locate Freddy Otalora and reconcile with her dark past. Whenever this character is narrating, the main plot of the story is being revealed.  It is also worth noting that Juana and the Consul are both brought over from Gamboa's 2016 novel Night Prayers.
  Tertullian is a mentally-ill, Argentinian Neo-Nazi supporter who claims to be the son of the Pope. He is found periodically throughout the novel describing his participation with this violent group, and because of his many years of experience, he is skilled with covert operations. Having a former connection with Consul's acquaintance, Juana, Tertullian is the mastermind behind the operation to kidnap and kill Freddy Otalora, playing a significant role in the climactic ending of the novel. 
  Ferdinand Palacio plays only a small role in the plot line; however, his testimony that he reveals to Consul ties each of the other characters' lives together. He was a priest in the town of Aguacatal and is imprisoned for his involvement with the Colombian paramilitaries during the civil war. While imprisoned, he reveals his story to Consul, and believing he was doing his duty to serve God and stop Communism, the priest played a role in guerrilla warfare and kidnapping of enemy soldiers. During this time, he knew Freddy Otalora, the man who assaulted Manuela as an adolescent. His testimony led Consul to connect the dots between Manuela and Freddy and to lead the team to his current location. 
  Arthur Rimbaud was a 19th century French writer and poet known for his wild and unpredictable personality. His story is told periodically by the Consul throughout the novel from his teenage adolescent years all the way up to his death. From a young age, Rimbaud wrote many ground-breaking poems, mentored by Georges Izambard. It is during his teenage years that Rimbaud is believed to produce some of his best works.  Rimbaud mustered hate for Charleville, the provincial town in which he was born, and made many different trips to wartime Paris to begin a new life but always found
caption: Rimbaud in Harar
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