Latin American and Spanish Literary Masters

Latin American Literary Giants

• Mexico: Juan Rufo (Pedro Paramo), Carlos Fuentes (The Death of Artemio Cruz)
• Guatemala: Miguel Angel Asturias (Lord of the Presiding Spirits and Men of Corn)
• Cuba: Alejo Carpentier (The Kingdom of This World)
• Colombia: Gabriel García Márquez (One Hundred Years of Solitude)
• Peru: Mario Vargas Llosa
• Chile: José Donoso (The Obscene Bird of Night)
• Uruguay: Juan Carlos Onetti (The Shipyard)
• Paraguay: Augusto Roa Bastos (I, the Supreme)
• Argentina: Jorge Luis Borges and Julio Cortázar (Hopscotch)

Postwar Spanish Theater

• Max Aub, Alejandro Casona (The Liberation of Women, The Lady of Dawn)
• Joaquín Calvo Sotelo (The Wall)
• Edgar Neville
• Enrique Jardiel Poncela (The Thieves Are Honorable People)
• Miguel Mihura (Three Hats)
• Alfonso Paso (The Song of the Cicada)
• Antonio Buero Vallejo (History of a Ladder)

Spanish Novels by Decade

1950s: The Social Novel

The 1950s emphasized the social novel, focusing on the lower aspects of society and leaving behind the existential vision of the previous decade. Action typically occurs in a short space of time and intimate settings, with a significant amount of dialogue and critical commentary. Key works include The Jarama by Rafael Sánchez Ferlosio and Two Days of September. The language is simple, featuring extensive dialogue and employing cinematic and journalistic or autobiographical techniques.

1960s: Literary Transformation

The 1960s saw a profound transformation in narrative techniques. Authors utilized fragmentation, allowing for authorial digressions, and multiple points of view. The interior monologue and free indirect discourse became prominent. The interior monologue reflects the process of thought without necessarily translating it into verbal speech, while free indirect style fuses thought and narration, blurring the boundaries between them. Novels featured less conventional structures, sometimes dispensing with chapters. Punctuation was used innovatively, words were invented, and styles were blended. There was a tendency to enrich the language, employing a wide range of registers. The experimental novel also disregarded strict realism, with language not always conforming to specific characters, freely mixing styles and tones.

Notable works from this decade include:

• Rafael Delibes - Five Hours with Mario
• Camilo José Cela - San Camilo, 1936
• Torrente Ballester - La Saga / Fuga de JB
• Juan Benet - You've Returned to the Region

1970s: Continued Innovation

The 1970s continued the literary innovation with works such as:

• The Truth About the Case Savolta
• Camilo José Cela - The Family of Pascual Duarte
• Miguel Delibes - The Holy Innocents
• Luis Goytisolo - Countenance

Generation of '27 Poets

• Pedro Salinas: (The Voice You Owed, Reason for Love, Long Lament)
• Jorge Guillén: (Cántico, Clamor, Tribute)
• Gerardo Diego: (Manual de Versos)
• Dámaso Alonso: (Children of Wrath)
• Vicente Aleixandre: (Swords Like Lips, Poems of Consummation)
• Federico García Lorca: (Gypsy Ballads)

Pre-War Spanish Theater

• Jacinto Benavente (Vested Interests)
• Carlos Arniches (Mademoiselle de Trevelez)
• Pedro Muñoz Seca (Revenge of Don Mendo)
• Valle Inclán (Farsas, Licencia, and Bohemian Lights)
• Federico García Lorca (Puppet Show of Don Cristóbal and The House of Bernarda Alba)
• Miguel de Unamuno
• Pío Baroja (Azorín)
• Jacinto Grau
• Ramón Gómez de la Serna
• Pedro Salinas
• Rafael Alberti
• Miguel Mihura
• Eduardo Marquina and María Guerrero (The Daughters of Cid)