Spanish-American Literature: Magic Realism and the Boom

Spanish-American Literature: Beyond European Realism

Spanish-American literature managed to rise over European Realism. These authors do not only reproduce and criticize harsh reality but interpret that reality in a poetical fashion by:

• Depicting a complex reality.
• Projecting fabulous elements on a real background.
• Using the latest narrative techniques and elaborate language.

The 1940s Generation: Foundations of Magic Realism

Jorge Luis Borges

Jorge Luis Borges showed great mastery of artistic creation in poetry. His style includes realistic and fantastic aspects; he makes a philosophical and existential reflection on his own creation. His topics include the separation between reality and fiction, the mystery of consciousness, and difficult reality.

Miguel Ángel Asturias and Alejo Carpentier

Miguel Ángel Asturias, in "El Señor Presidente", gave life to a despotic and grotesque dictator with a rich and energetic style. Alejo Carpentier depicted historical frescoes; "El Siglo de las Luces" is a historical chronicle based on the contradictions of the French Revolution.

Juan Rulfo

Juan Rulfo broke the limits between imagination and reality, life and death, and present and past in "Pedro Páramo" and "El llano en llamas" (a collection of 15 stories) where characters live in misery. His novels are deeply linked to Magic Realism. Pedro Páramo breaks the barrier that separates reality from imagination, fantasy, and dreams. Past and present mingle. His work is linked to a specific period but finds universal concerns and themes: loneliness, despair, and death, all expressed through innovative techniques like multiple perspectives, monologues, chronological jumps, and elaborated language.

Augusto Roa Bastos

Augusto Roa Bastos portrayed a sinister but fascinating dictator in "Yo, El Supremo".

The 1960s Generation: The Literary Boom

The 1960s generation, known as the Boom generation, achieved famous and successful literature.

Gabriel García Márquez

Gabriel García Márquez wrote "Cien Años de Soledad", the story of a family throughout a whole century that reaches epic, mythical, and symbolic proportions.

Julio Cortázar

Julio Cortázar wrote "Rayuela", the most innovative and complex Spanish work, and numerous short stories where the unusual and fantastic meet with reality in a humorous way.

Mario Vargas Llosa

Mario Vargas Llosa, in "La ciudad y los perros", condemns the sordid, brutal environment of a military-governed school. Other notable authors include Juan Carlos Onetti, Carlos Fuentes, and Adolfo Bioy Casares.

20th Century Poetry: Social and Existential Themes

Social poetry in this era moved away from Magic Realism. Artists attempted to denounce injustice; in their works, traces of the earlier avant-gardes and existential concerns mingle with social ones.

Pablo Neruda

Pablo Neruda is considered the best poet of the 20th Century. His works include "Veinte Poemas de Amor y una Canción Desesperada" and "Residencia en la Tierra".

César Vallejo

César Vallejo is known for "Los Heraldos Negros" and "Trilce".