I get the impression that Marquez is trying to reconcile the idea of Chile as two parts: one part being Allende who is the head and brains, the other is Neruda, the heart.

Tellingly, however, is that we never hear anything bad about Allende. He was a lifelong politician and beloved as he was, he was no saint. Then again Pinochet was so bad that this reverence is understandable.

Then there’s the dirty stripper