El Boom
Juan Carlos Onetti
Augusto Roa Bastos
El Boom
The Latin American Boom is NOT a literary movement, but a
phenomenon that occurred in the decades of the 60’s and the 70’s.
1910-1940 (Literature)
1940-1960 (World Context)
Realismo & Naturalismo
Second World War
Modernismo
Cuban Revolution
Novela de la Revolución
Cold War
Criollismo
Mass Media & communications
Indianismo →Indigenismo→ Indígena?
Middle classes
Negrismo →Afro-cubanismo
The Latin American Boom
While until the 50’s very few Latin American writers were
known/tolerated in European circles, by 1975 world
literature revolved around these writers.
How was this possible?
- Seix Barral
- Exile of many writers and knowledge of other languages
-- their fresh and innovative outlook
1960-1970
Some trends started in the past remain:
Indigenismo
Afro-Cubanismo
New writers rebel againts Realism!
Some new vanguards influence the new Latin American writers.
They continue to experiment with time and narrative voices.
New influences:
Surrealism
Magical Realism
Psychoanalysis
Existencialism
As with William Faulkner, the landscapes become a symbol of the
characters’ psychological struggles (not “trapped” as with
Criollistas).
Although the Boom is not a movement, there are common traits among the
writers of this period:
- Experimentation
- Interest in Latin American Societies
- Depiction of complex Latin American political and economic structures with
ideological goals (not a photograph)
- Emphasis on significant events that shaped cultural or social histories.
- Became part of the ongoing analysis of the developments of humanity.
Ocasio wrote:
“This is one of the most important contributions of Boom literature: portrayal
of Latin American society went beyond the anecdotal dimensions of previous
works and became part of a more metaphysical and psychological approach to
the exploration of the human psyche.”
Juan Carlos Onetti
Uruguay
(1909-1994)
Works
El pozo, 1939.
Tierra de nadie, 1941.
Para esta noche, 1943.
La vida breve, 1950.
Un sueño realizado y otros cuentos
(1951
Los adioses 1954.
Para una tumba sin nombre, 1959.
La cara de la desgracia, 1960.
El astillero, 1961.
El infierno tan temido y otros cuentos,
1962.
Juntacadáveres, 1964.
Tres novelas (1967)
Cuentos completos (1967)
Los rostros del amor (1968)
Novelas y cuentos cortos completos (1968)
Obras completas (1970)
La muerte y la niña, 1973.
Tiempo de abrazar, 1974.
Cuentos completos (1974)
Réquiem por Faulkner (1975)
Dejemos hablar al viento, 1979.
Tan triste como ella y otros cuentos (1976)
Cuentos secretos (1986)
Presencia y otros cuentos, 1986.
Cuando entonces, 1987.
Cuando ya no importe, 1993.
Augusto Roa Bastos
Paraguay
(1917-2005)