"Then Colonel Aureliano Buendia took down the bar and saw at the door seventeen men of the most varied appearance, of all types and colors, but all with a solitary air that would have been enough to identify them anywhere on earth. They were his sons."
In this case, the mark of Buendia, the mark of Aureliano himself is the "solitary air." And further:
"Without any previous agreement, without knowing each other, they had arrived from the most distant corners of the coast, captivated by the talk of the jubilee. They all bore with pride the name Aureliano and the last name of their mothers. The three days that they stayed in the house, to the satisfaction of Ursula and the scandal of Fernanda, were like a state of war. Amaranta searched among old papers for the ledger where Ursula had written down the names and birth and baptism dates of all of them, and beside the space for each one she added his present address. That list could well have served as a recapitulation of twenty years of war."
Here the sons of Aureliano symbolize his life and career, as well as the country in its strife and differences during that time. And before they all leave, this:
"The Ash Wednesday before they went back to scatter out along the coast, Amaranta got them to put on Sunday clothes and accompany her to church. More amused than devout, they let themselves be led to the altar rail where Father Antonio Isabel made the sign of the cross in ashes on them. Back at the house, when the youngest tried to clean his forehead, he discovered that the mark was indelible and so were those of his brothers. They tried soap and water, earth and a scrubbing brush, and lastly a pumice stone and lye, but they could not remove the crosses. On the other hand, Amaranta and the others who had gone to mass took it off without any trouble. "It’s better that way," Ursula stated as she said good-bye to them. "From now on everyone will know who you are."
How many times have I worried that this black smudge would not wash off as I headed for public high school classes. How often did I feel guilty for even trying to wash it off, considering the reaction of my peers rather than the true meaning of this Catholic ritual.
The sons leave with one more thing, a gold fish handcrafted by their father, Aureliano, who has returned to the alchemy shop of his home. The sign of the fish is another religious symbol, and we’re not sure why Aureliano has chosen it. I don’t quite remember my bible–and it is perhaps time to look this up–but I believe the sign of the fish marked the solitary houses where Christians could safely meet back in the time of Jesus.
These signs, now going out into the world via seventeen illegitimate but acknowledged sons of Aureliano conceived in only the lust of war, still reiterate the feeling of solitude. Pride, history, yes, but solitude in their separate worlds.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology