An Absent Author? Myth in Augusto Roa Bastos's Yo el Supremo

This article examines the presence of indigenous myths in Yo el Supremo (1974) by the Paraguayan novelist Augusto Roa Bastos. It identifies a number of key indigenous myths in the novel and analyses how they are represented in relation to other intertexts which have traditionally been regarded as more prestigious. It also considers how they undermine the power of el Supremo, the dictator who is the novel's protagonist. This is achieved by using Roa Bastos's concept of the texto ausente to consider how the mythic intertexts are both absent and powerful.