The Vaya Blog: Just A ‘Lil NYC Spanglish!

What is literature? It is a term to describe written or spoken material. The term is commonly used to refer the works of the creative imagination such as works of poetry, drama, fiction and nonfiction. However the term literature also describes more technical or scientific works.
Therefore we may say that literature represents a culture or tradition as well as people and languages.

There is a long list of wonderful Latin American writers for the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. All of them are good, and all of them have their own style. Over the years Latin American literature has developed a rich and complex diversity of themes, creative idioms, forms and styles.

Gabriel García Márquez image:

Latin American literature rose prominently during the second half of the 20th century in big part because of the international success of the style known as magical realism. The most famous exponent of magical realism is Gabriel García Márquez.

This Boom, where Latin American writers where known worldwide, consisted in experimental works from writers like Julio Cortázar and his book “Rayuela” (1963).
The book “Cien Años de Soledad” by Garbriel García Márquez in 1967 was the Boom’s defining novel. That led the association of Latin American literature with magic realism.
Some say that the Boom’s culmination was Augusto Roa Bastos and his book “Yo, El Supremo”. Other important novelists of this period include the Cuban Guillermo Cabrera Infante and the Chilena José Donoso.

Isabel Allende image:

It is important to mention that writers such as Carlos Fuentes and Mario Vargas Llosa don’t fit into the Boom’s period since their style is different from Magical Realism.

After World War II, Latin America enjoyed increasing economic prosperity; it experienced confidence that lead to the literary boom.

From 1960 to 1967 the major works of the boom were published. A lot of these novels were considered rebellious from the view of Latin American boundaries, often mixed different styles of writing in their works while experimenting with the language.
Something very interesting to say is that Latin American authors were also inspired by each other’s work. Some of them knew each other and therefore influenced each other’s work.

Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist image:

The works from the literary Boom tended to focus on the problems and injustices that people were suffering across Latin America. Even though Latin America was having commercial success writers had a different view of that time.

The Post-Boom literature is sometimes characterized by a tendency towards irony and the use of popular genres. That is the case of Manuel Puig.
Writers as Laura Esquivel, however, traded on the Boom success. An example of that is her magical realism pastiche of “Como Agua Para Chocolate”

Jorge Luis Borges image:

One can say that contemporary Latin American Literature is vibrant and varied. From Best-Selling Paulo Coelho and Isabel Allende to critically acclaimed work of writers as Giannina Braschi, Gioconda Belli, Jorge Franco and Fernando Vallejo, whose La Virgen de los Siete Sicarios depicted the violence in Medellín under the influence of the drug trade.

Laura Esquivel image:

The aforementioned is only an introduction to the rich and incredible Latin American Literature.
I will be writing more about it in future entries of my blog.

By now, I would like to mention some Latin American writers (among many that are excellent) and recommended books. Some of them are:

Ruben Dario (Nicaragua) Book : Azul
Rómulo Gallegos (Venezuela) Book: Doña Bárbara
Jorge Luis Borges (Argentina) Book: Ficciones
Ernesto Sábato (Argentina) Book: El Túnel
Pablo Neruda (Chile) Book: Canto General
Octavio Paz (México) Book: El Laberinto de la Soledad
Alejo Carpentier (Cuba) Book: Los Pasos Perdidos
Jorge Amado (Brasil) Book: Gabriela, Cravo e Canela
Paulo Coelho (Brasil) Book: El Alquimista
Mario Vargas Llosa (Perú) Book: La Ciudad y Los Perros
Gabriel García Márquez (Colombia) Book: Cien Años de Soledad
Carlos Fuentes (México) Book: Cambio de Piel
Isabel Allende (Chile) Book: La Casa de los Espíritus