The constant political turmoil that

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

has experienced throughout its history has slowed the development of Bolivian literature. Many talents have had to emigrate or were silenced by the internal conflict. In recent years the literature of Bolivia has been in a process of growth, with the appearance of new writers. Older writers such as

Adela Zamudio Paz Juana Plácida Adela Rafaela Zamudio Rivero, or more popularly known as Adela Zamudio (1854–1928) was a Bolivian poet, feminist, and educator. She is considered the most famous Bolivian poet, and is credited as founding the country's femini ...

Oscar Alfaro Óscar Gonzáles Alfaro, known as Óscar Alfaro, (San Lorenzo, September 5, 1921 - December 25, 1963) was a Bolivian writer, poet, teacher, and journalist, who was distinguished by his dedication to children's and youth literature. He is best kn ...

, and

Franz Tamayo Franz Tamayo Solares (28 February 1879 in La Paz – 29 July 1956) was a Bolivian intellectual, writer, and politician. The Franz Tamayo Province is named after him. He was renowned for his oratory. A prominent Bolivian poet and philosopher, he w ...

continue to be important. Nearly half of Bolivia's population speaks indigenous languages such as Quechua, Aymara or Guarani. The indigenous peoples of Bolivia have a rich oral tradition, as expressed in myths, legends, and stories; these stories generally have not been transcribed in writing.

Notable writers

Notable Bolivian writers include:

The Bolivian Novel

In 2004, a book-length survey of the best Bolivian novels was published. It attempted to identify the top 10 novels in Bolivian literature, winnowing them down from a longer list of 91 novels. The study was done by

Carlos Diego de Mesa Gisbert Carlos Diego de Mesa Gisbert (; born 12 August 1953) is a Bolivian historian, journalist, and politician who served as the 63rd president of Bolivia from 2003 to 2005. As an independent politician, he previously served as the 37th vice presi ...

. Below is the list of top 30 novels as identified in the book.''Las diez mejores novelas de la literatura boliviana'' (2004), by Carlos D. Mesa Gisbert # '' Juan de la Rosa'' (1909) by

Nataniel Aguirre Nataniel Aguirre ( Cochabamba, Bolivia, October 10, 1843 – Montevideo, Uruguay, September 11, 1888), was a Bolivian lawyer, diplomat, politician, writer, and historian. Menéndez y Pelayo considers his novel ''Juan de la Rosa'' the best 19th cen ...

# ''

Raza de Bronce Bronze race () is a term used since the early 20th century by Hispanic American writers of the '' indigenista'' and '' americanista'' schools to refer to the mestizo population that arose in the Americas with the arrival of Latin European (parti ...

'' (1919) by Alcides Arguedas # '' La Chaskanawi'' (1947) by

Carlos Medinaceli Carlos Medinaceli (1899–1949) was a Bolivian writer and intellectual. His 1947 novel '' La chaskañawi'' (''la de los ojos de estrella'') deals with sexual entanglements between "cholas" and Criollo people. Selected works * Medinaceli, C ...

# ''

Los deshabitados LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significanc ...

'' (1959) by

Marcelo Quiroga Marcelo Quiroga Santa Cruz (13 March 1931 – 17 July 1980) was a noted writer, dramatist, journalist, social commentator, university professor, and socialist political leader from Bolivia. In 1964 Marcelo won the '' PEN/Faulkner Award for Fictio ...

# ''

Aluvión de fuego ''Barrage of Fire'' ( Spanish: ''Aluvión de Fuego'') is a novel written by Óscar Cerruto and published in 1935. Summary ''Barrage of Fire'' recounts the cruel reality of Bolivian life during the Chaco War. The novel narrates the experiences of ...

'' (1935) by

Oscar Cerruto Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

# '' Metal del diablo'' (1946) by

Augusto Cespedes Augusto is an Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish given name or surname. Notable people with the name include: *Augusto Aníbal *Augusto dos Anjos *Augusto Arbizo *Augusto Barbera (born 1938), Italian law professor, politician and judge *Augusto Bene ...

# '' Matias el apostol suplente'' (1971) by

Julio de la Vega Julio de la Vega (March 4, 1924 – November 11, 2010) was a Bolivian people, Bolivian poet and writer. He was born in Puerto Suarez, Santa Cruz Department (Bolivia), Santa Cruz, in 1924. He was a founding member of the Bolivian literary group ...

# '' Manchay Puytu'' (1977) by

Nestor Taboada Teran Nestor Taboada Teran (8 September 1929 – 8 June 2015) was a Bolivian writer, novelist, historian, journalist and university professor. Biography He was born in La Paz and, in his youth, worked as a linotypist before he became a journalist. ...

# '' Felipe Delgado'' (1979) by

Jaime Saenz Jaime is a common Spanish and Portuguese male given name for Jacob (name), James (name), Jamie, or Jacques. In Occitania Jacobus became ''Jacome'' and later ''Jacme''. In east Spain, ''Jacme'' became ''Jaime'', in Aragon it became ''Chaime'', and i ...

# '' Tierras hechizadas'' (1932) by Adolfo Costa du Reis # '' La candidatura de Rojas'' (1909) by Armando Chirveches # '' Tirinea'' (1969) by

Jesus Urzagasti Jesus Urzagasti (1941–2013) was a Bolivian poet and novelist. He worked as a journalist for the now-defunct Catholic paper ''Presencia'' from 1972 until the 1990s, where he served as editor of the supplement "Presencia Literaria" (1992) among ot ...

# ''

Los fundadores del alba LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significanc ...

'' (1969) by

Renato Prada Oropeza Renato Prada Oropeza (born October 17, 1937 – September 9, 2011) was a Bolivian and Mexican scientist- literary researcher and writer, author of novels, short stories and poetry books, hermeneutics, semiotics and literary theory. Many of his lit ...

# ''

En las tierras del Potosi En or EN may refer to: Businesses * Bouygues (stock symbol EN) * Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway (reporting mark EN, but now known as Southern Railway of Vancouver Island) * Euronews, a news television and internet channel Language and writing * ...

'' (1911) by

Jaime Mendoza Jaime Mendoza Gonzáles (1874–1939) was a Bolivian doctor, journalist and writer. A native of Sucre, he trained to be a doctor, providing valuable services in Llallagua and in Guerra del Acre. As a journalist, he founded the newspapers ''Nuevas ...

# ''

Yanakuna Yanakuna were originally individuals in the Inca Empire who left the ayllu system and worked full-time at a variety of tasks for the Inca, the ''quya'' (Inca queen), or the religious establishment. A few members of this serving class enjoyed high s ...

'' (1952) by Jesús Lara Lara # '' Socavones de angustia'' (1947) by

Fernando Ramirez Velarde Fernando Ramirez Velarde (8 May 1913 – 23 August 1948) was a Bolivian writer. He attended a Jesuit college and began studying law in Cochabamba, before he was drafted into the Chaco War. From 1937, he worked in industry and trade. He is best ...

# ''

Altiplano The Altiplano (Spanish for "high plain"), Collao ( Quechua and Aymara: Qullaw, meaning "place of the Qulla") or Andean Plateau, in west-central South America, is the most extensive high plateau on Earth outside Tibet. The plateau is located a ...

'' (1945) by

Raul Botelho Gozalvez Raul, Raúl and Raül are the Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Galician, Asturian, Basque, Aragonese, and Catalan forms of the Anglo-Germanic given name Ralph or Rudolph. They are cognates of the French Raoul. Raul, Raúl or Raül may r ...

# ''

La casa solariega LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

'' (1916) by Armando Chirveches # ''

La nina de sus ojos LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

'' (1948) by Antonio Diaz Villamil # ''

La sima fecunda LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

'' (1933) by

Augusto Guzman Augusto Guzmán (1903-1994) was a Bolivian writer and historian. He was a soldier during the Chaco War (1932-1935). He wrote three novels, ''La sima fecunda'' (1933), ''Prisionero de Guerra'' (1937) and ''Bellacos y paladines'' (1964). The first t ...

# '' Los Andes no creen en Dios'' (1973) by Adolfo Costa du Reis # '' Mallku'' (1974) by

Gaston Suarez Gaston is a masculine given name of French origin and a surname. The name "Gaston" may refer to: People First name *Gaston I, Count of Foix (1287–1315) *Gaston II, Count of Foix (1308–1343) *Gaston III, Count of Foix (1331–1391) *Gaston I ...

# ''

El signo escalonado EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American ...

'' (1975) by

# ''

Historia de la Villa Imperial Historia may refer to: * Historia, the local version of the History channel in Spain and Portugal * Historia (TV channel), a Canadian French language specialty channel * Historia (newspaper), a French monthly newspaper devoted to History topics ...

'' (1736) by

Bartolome Arzans Bartolome is a Tagalog surname and may refer to: * Donnalyn Bartolome (1994), Filipina internet personality, vlogger, singer, songwriter and rapper * Heber Bartolome (1948–2021), Filipino folk and rock singer, songwriter, composer, poet, guitaris ...

# '' Su excelencia y su ilustrisima'' (1889) by

Santiago Vaca Guzman Santiago Vaca Guzman (Sucre, c. 1847 – Buenos Aires, 1896) was a Bolivian writer. He trained as a lawyer and worked as a journalist, founding the newspaper ''La Patria'' in Sucre in 1871. As a writer, he published both fiction and poetry. His ...

# '' Paginas barbaras'' (1914) by

# '' Sangre de mestizos'' (1936) by

# '' Repete'' (1937) by Jesús Lara Lara # ''

Prisionero de guerra ''Preso No. 1'' is an American political thriller drama television series produced by Keshet International and Telemundo Global Studios based on an original idea of idea by Shira Hadad and Dror Mishani who are also executive producers. It prem ...

'' (1938) by

# ''

Mateo Montemayor Mateo may refer to: People ;Name * Mateo (given name) * Mateo (surname) ;People named Mateo * Mateo (singer) (born 1986), former stage name of American pop/R&B singer-songwriter Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Mateo'' (1937 film), a 1937 Arg ...

'' (1969) by

Fernando Diez de Medina Fernando Diez de Medina (1908–1990) was a Bolivian writer. After serving in the Chaco War, he became a journalist. He was involved with broadcast and print outlets such as ''Radio Illimani'', ''Ultima Hora'', ''Cordillera'' and ''Novo''. He w ...

Bibliography

*Elizabeth Monasterios: "Chapter 42 La Paz- Chukiyawu Marka" in: ''Literary Cultures of Latin America. A comparative History'', ed. by Mario J. Valdés and Djelal Kadir, Volume II: ''Institutional Modes and Cultural Modalities'', Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004, pp. 474–497

References

External links

Latin American literature by country South American literature Spanish-language literature {{lit-country-stub