Latin-American Literature
- An author from the 20th
- has been an instrumental in addressing
important historical events and social
issues
- has produced many renowned writers
who have made significant
contributions to world literature
- consists of the oral and written
literature of Latin America in several
languages
- is often associated with the genre of
magical realism, which combines
elements of fantasy and reality
- plays a crucial role in representing the
experiences, voices, and perspectives
of Latin American people
- has a diverse and vibrant cultural
heritage, shaped by indigenous
cultures, European colonialism, and
African influences
- reflects the dynamic cultures and
histories of the largest group outside
of the historically dominant white
culture of the United States
Latin-American Authors and Their Works
● Octavio Paz
- A poet and an essayist
- His poetic corpus is nourished
by the belief that poetry
constitutes “the secret religion
of the modern age.”
- His poetry is written within
the perpetual motion and
transparencies of the eternal
present tense.
- Some of his works are; Piedra
de Sol(Sunstone), El
Labertino de la Soledad(The
Labyrinth of Solitude) and La
Llama Doble(The Double
Flame).
● Jorge Luis Borges
century
- an Argentine short-story
writer, essayist, poet and
translator, as well as a key
figure in Spanish-language
and international literature
- Some of his works are; The
Aleph, The Library of Babel,
The Immortal and The
Circular Ruins
● Isabel Allende
- A post-boom author
- Her novels are frequently
blend myth and reality; draws
the donut of magical realism
- She has appeared in Olympics
ceremonies, won Chile’s
National Literature Prize, and
won a Presidential Medal of
Freedom.
- Some of her works are; Eva
Luna, Paula, City of Beasts,
Of Love and Shadows, and
The Soul of a Woman.
● Carlos Fuentes
- His books reflect a constant
political striving, interrogating
the ideals of revolution,
power, equality, justice, and
violence
- Some of his works are; The
Death of Artemio Cruz, Aura,
Terra Nostra, and The Old
Gringo.
● Gabriela Mistral
- Her poetry captures not only
the wide political themes of
Latin American identity and
progress, but also the intimate
spheres of loss, grief, and
motherhood.
 - She remains the only female
Latin American author to win
the Nobel Prize 1945.
- Some of her works are;
Ternura, Sonetos de la Muerte
and Desolacion
● Alejo Carpentier
- great stylistic contribution to
Latin American literature was
his magical realism, called lo
real maravilloso, which
reflects the fantastic, and often
otherworldly, properties of
Latin American life
- Some of his works are; The
Kingdom of This World, La
Musica en Cuba, and
Ecue-Yamba-O!
● Pablo Neruda
- A poet of 20th century
- Is the greatest poet of the 20th
century, in any language.“
(according to Gabriel García
Márquez)
- Won the Nobel Prize for
Literature1971
- His poetry is famously
romantic and erotic,
sometimes importing
sensuality to the most
quotidian of objects, as seen in
works like “Ode to the Apple.
- Some of his works are;
Twenty Love Songs and a
Song of Despair,
Crepusculario, and Anillos.
Latin-American Periods
● The Pre-Columbian Period
- Oral Literature was popular in
Mesoamerican civilizations,
such as the Olmecs, Mayans,
and Aztecs.
- Mainly focuses on agriculture,
mythology, astronomy,
political history, and religion
- The Mayans and the Aztecs
created codices, folded books
with a type of code and
pictures that recorded many
facets of their societies.
● Colonial Period (15th - 16th
Century)
- European explorers
discovered the New World
and the conquistadors
(conquerors) who came
brought Spanish rule to large
regions.
- The Spanish introduced
written literary texts (diaries,
letters, chronicles)
● The 19th Century (Foundational
Fictions)
- Writers such as Cuban Jose
Maria de Heredia began
mastering Neoclassical Poetic
forms and wrote in
Romanticism to regain
national freedom from the
Spanish for all the Latin
America.
- Literature focuses on the
dichotomy of “civilization and
barbarism”
- Women writers were
becoming known because of
the gradual increase in
women’s education and
writing.
● Modernismo and Boom Precursors
(late 19th Century - 20th Century)
- Prominent modernist, Ruben
Dario, a Nicaraguan writer
- Focuses on aesthetics rather
than realities of societies
(deterioration of true Latin
American)
- Birth of Indigenismo –
dedicated to representing
indigenous culture and
injustices that communities
were experiencing
● 20th Century
- Birth of Avantgarde
(Vanguardia)
- People’s works have become
experimental
- started a radical search for a
new, daring, confrontational
themes and shockingly novel
forms
● The Boom (post WII)
- literary works flourished in
the 1960s and 70s that brought
Latin-American Literature to a
wider, international audience
- Boom writers ventured
outside traditional narrative
structures, embracing
non-linearity and experimental
narration.
● Post Boom Literature
- characterized by a tendency
towards irony and towards the
use of popular genres
- emerging openness to woman
writers; Laura Esquivel's
pastiche of magical realism in
Como agua para chocolate for
example
Major Themes Of The Latin-American
Literature
● The Fantastic
- odd, remarkable or bizarre;
tests and often bends the
limits of reality.
● Magical Realism
- depict believable settings,
characters, and circumstances,
but the supernatural or
magical is incorporated into
the fiction
● Social Realism
- dark and often depressing
depictions of life in Latin
America
● Female Discourse
- fiction that centers its theme
to feminism and gender role
as it critiques marianismo
(idealized female behaviour)
and machismo (idealized male
behaviour and power) in Latin
American Society
SOME LATIN-AMERICAN
LITERATURE MOVIES/BOOKS/WORKS
● Dora: The Explorer
● La Llorona
● Coco
● Encanto
● Rio
● The works of Latin-American Authors
presented above