Beginnings of Latin American Literature Quiz

Answer: 18th and 19th century

Despite the fact that the first Latin American writers often contributed to Spain's Golden Age, it was not until the late 18th century that a proper "Criollo" movement in literature emerges. Some of the most famous early contributors to colonial literature are Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, El Inca Garcilaso de la Vega and Guamán Poma.

Answer: True

The first period of "Criollo" literature is considered Neoclassical which imitates the artistic and literary standards of the Renaissance, as well as those imposed by ancient Greece during the classical period, hence the name. In Spain this movement was a reaction directed towards the "excess" of the previous literary movement, the Baroque.

In Latin America however, it presented the opportunity for intellectuals to explore themes such as liberty, oppression and revolution. This created a sense of cultural identity in Latino Americans which resulted in bitterness towards the Spanish colonial rule.

Some of the most distinguished writers were José Joaquín Olmedo and "libertadores" such as José de San Martín and Simón Bolívar.

Answer: Newspaper Articles and Essays

Enlightened authors thought that literature had to be functional and subservient to humanity, therefore aesthetic pleasures and wordplay were often kept to a minimum. The essay was the perfect genre for this movement as it allows a topic to be discussed concisely.

The tone of these essays was often plain and strictly didactic. Poetry was accepted its themes were often historical, customary and satirical. Exaggerated and passionate language was repressed and replaced with accurate and grammatically correct expressions.

Answer: Esteban Echeverría

Esteban Echeverría was educated in France. From this experience, he absorbed the spirit of the Romantic movement. Echeverría returned to Buenos Aires to promote the movement as well as political independence for Argentina. Domingo Faustino wrote after the transition period, Jorge Isaacs became successful during the secondary phase of the Romantic period and José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi was a Neoclassical writer.

Answer: "Facundo" (1845) by Domingo Faustino Sarmiento

"Facundo" is a valuable book that helped define the parameters of "Criollo" thinking in the 19th century. In his work, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento narrates the life of Juan Facundo Quiroga, a "gaucho" who served as "caudillo" (warlord) in provincial Argentina during the Post-Independence Civil War.

This book is a criticism of the dictatorship of fellow "caudillo" Juan Manuel de Rosas since both are considered representatives of the Argentinian countryside (and the effect of the landscape and environment on the residents' personalities).

While "Facundo" is considered a narrative, most critics and scholars cannot place it in a specific genre of literature.

Answer: "Oda al Niágara" (1824) by José María Heredia

This poem uses the artistic and sublime description of the landscape (Niagara Falls) to express intense feelings of patriotism. In most other poems, the poet makes references to different human passions, such as love, emotional pain and loneliness.

Answer: True

Gaucho Literature often portrays them as an antithesis to the dictators that ruled the Latin American nations at that time. Their poverty was often "Romanticized" and was instead associated with humility. They were mostly deemed victims of the imbalance of power that characterized this historical period in Latin America.

Answer: "Martín Fierro" (Part I: 1872 and Part II: 1879) by José Hernández

"Martín Fierro" is a poem written in a style that resembles "Payadas" (Argentine rural ballads), It narrates the story of a Gaucho with the aforementioned name. He is ordered to serve in the border front defending it from the native population. He later deserts to return home but when he finds his house, family and farm missing, he becomes an outlaw.

Answer: "María" (1867) by Jorge Isaacs

"María" is Jorge Isaacs' only novel; however, it was an instant success. To this day, it's considered representative of the second period of Romanticism in Latin America, as well as a precursor or inspiration to the later Criollist movement in the 1920s and 30s.

The novel narrates the sublime, but tragic, love between María and her cousin Efraín. The landscape of the novel is in "el Valle del Cauca"(the Cauca Valley) in Colombia which is an autobiographical reference to the author's birthplace. Currently, the city of Cali holds a monument in homage to the novel's main characters.

Answer: False

While "Insomnio" is considered one of the first poems in Puerto Rican Romantic literature and helped shape the costumbrist model for later literary contributions, the first classic and one of the most successful books during the Romantic period was "El Gíbaro" (1849) by Manuel A. Alonso.

This book is a collection of verses in which we see the Puerto Rican rural farmers, their customs, manner of speech and culture.