''Criollismo'' () is a literary movement that was active from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century throughout

Hispanic America The region known as Hispanic America (in Spanish called ''Hispanoamérica'' or ''América Hispana'') and historically as Spanish America (''América Española'') is the portion of the Americas comprising the Spanish-speaking countries of North, ...

. It is considered the Hispanic counterpart to

American literary regionalism American literary regionalism or local color is a style or genre of writing in the United States that gained popularity in the mid to late 19th century into the early 20th century. In this style of writing, which includes both poetry and prose, the ...

. Using a realist style to portray the scenes, language, customs and manners of the country the writer was from, especially the lower and peasant classes, ''criollismo'' led to an original literature based on the continent's natural elements, mostly epic and foundational. It was strongly influenced by the wars of independence from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

and also denotes how each country in its own way defines '' criollo'', which in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

refers to locally-born people of Spanish ancestry.

Notable ''criollista'' writers

Notable ''criollista'' writers and works include: Mariano Latorre,

Augusto d'Halmar Augusto Goemine Thomson, who adopted the pseudonym Augusto d’Halmar (April 23, 1882 – January 27, 1950) was a Chilean writer who earned the ''National Prize for Literature'' in 1942. D’Halmar was the son of Auguste Goemine, a French navi ...

and

Baldomero Lillo Baldomero Lillo (6 January 1867, in Lota, Chile – 10 September 1923, in San Bernardo, ChileChang-Rodriguez, Raquel, and Malva E. Filer. Voces de Hispanoamerica. 3rd ed. Boston: Thomson Heinle, 2004.) was a Chilean Naturalist author, whose wor ...

from

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

, Francisco Lazo Martí and

Rómulo Gallegos Rómulo Ángel del Monte Carmelo Gallegos Freire (2 August 1884 – 5 April 1969) was a Venezuelan novelist and politician. For a period of nine months during 1948, he governed as the first freely elected president in Venezuela's history. He was ...

's "Doña Bárbara" (1929) from Venezuela, José Eustasio Rivera's jungle novel "La vorágine" (1924) from Colombia;

Horacio Quiroga Horacio Silvestre Quiroga Forteza (31 December 1878 – 19 February 1937) was a Uruguayan playwright, poet, and short story writer. He wrote stories which, in their jungle settings, used the supernatural and the bizarre to show the struggle of m ...

(Uruguay-Argentina),

Ricardo Güiraldes Ricardo Güiraldes (13 February 1886 — 8 October 1927)Escuela Normal Superior de Chascomús was an Argentine novelist and poet, one of the most significant Argentine writers of his era, particularly known for his 1926 novel ''Don Segundo Sombra ...

, Benito Lynch (Argentina),

Mario Augusto Rodriguez is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his crea ...

(Panama),

Mario Vargas Llosa Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (born 28 March 1936), more commonly known as Mario Vargas Llosa (, ), is a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and former politician, who also holds Spanish citizenship. Vargas Ll ...

and Manuel Gonzales Prada (Peru).

''Criollismo'' in Chile

In Chile, the ''criollismo'' movement shifted the cultural focus from urban life to rural life, and incorporated the rural world into the formation of the national identity. Some of the most representative Chilean ''criollista'' works are

's novels ''Sub Terra'' and ''Sub Sole'', Mariano Latorre's novels ''Zurzulita'' and ''Cuna de cóndores'' (Cradle of

Condor Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. The name derives from the Quechua ''kuntur''. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere. They are: * The Andean condor (''Vu ...

s),

Federico Gana Federico Gana (January 15, 1867 – April 22, 1926) was a Chilean writer and diplomat from Santiago, Chile. Biography Gana was the older son of Federico Gana Munizaga y Rosario Gana Castro, and first cousin of the descendants of Albero Blest Gan ...

's novel ''Días de campo'' (Countryside Days) and

Antonio Acevedo Hernández Antonio Acevedo Hernández (8 March 1886 – 1 December 1962) was a Chilean writer. Hernández was a self-taught novelist, playwright and writer whose works include theater, novels, short stories, literary and journalistic chronicles, essays, po ...

's plays ''Árbol viejo'' and ''Chañarcillo''. Criollismo
www.memoriachilena.cl Dirección de Bibliotecas, Archivos y Museos Copyright 2013© MEMORIA CHILENA ®. Todos los Derechos Reservados may 16, 2009 Retrieved September 04, 2013

References

{{SouthAm-hist-stub

Notable ''criollista'' writers

''Criollismo'' in Chile

See also

References