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The Florida group"The Florida Group" (text in Spanish) by: de Lama, Víctor (1993). ''Antología de la poesía amorosa española e hispanoamericana'' (14a. edición). Madrid: Editorial EDAF. . ( Sp.: ''grupo Florida'') was an ''
avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...
'' literary-artistic group created in the 1920s in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
, known by their embracing slogan "art for art's sake". The name refers to
Florida Street Florida Street () is a popular shopping street in Buenos Aires CBD, Downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina. A pedestrian street since 1971, some stretches have been pedestrianized since 1913. The Walkability, pedestrian section as such starts at the i ...
, the location of a favored meeting point, the Richmond tea room. The group was identified with the magazines ''Proa'' and ''
Martín Fierro ''Martín Fierro'', also known as ''El Gaucho Martín Fierro'', is a 2,316-line epic poem by the Argentine writer José Hernández. The poem was originally published in two parts, ''El Gaucho Martín Fierro'' (1872) and ''La Vuelta de Martín F ...
'', the latter named after the long poem ''
Martín Fierro ''Martín Fierro'', also known as ''El Gaucho Martín Fierro'', is a 2,316-line epic poem by the Argentine writer José Hernández. The poem was originally published in two parts, ''El Gaucho Martín Fierro'' (1872) and ''La Vuelta de Martín F ...
'', generally considered the greatest work of nineteenth-century
Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...
literature. The group is also often referred to as the Martín Fierro group (Sp. "grupo Martín Fierro").


Members

Among the best-known members of the Florida group were Oliverio Girondo, Norah Lange, Ricardo Güiraldes,
Norah Borges Leonor Fanny "Norah" Borges Acevedo (March 4, 1901 – July 20, 1998), was an Argentine visual artist and art critic, member of the Florida group, and sister of the Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges. Early life and source of nickname She w ...
, Péle Pastorino, Francisco Luis Bernárdez,
Leopoldo Marechal Leopoldo Marechal (June 11, 1900 – June 26, 1970) was one of the most important Argentine writers of the twentieth century. Biographical notes Born in Buenos Aires into a family of French and Basque descent, Marechal became a primary scho ...
,
Conrado Nalé Roxlo Conrado Nalé Roxlo (February 15, 1898 – July 2, 1971) was an Argentina, Argentine writer, journalist and humorist, who was born and died in Buenos Aires. He was an author of poetry, plays, film scripts and pastiches in prose, and also the ...
, and
Raúl González Tuñón Raúl González Tuñón (29 March 1905 – 14 August 1974) was an Argentine poet and writer from Buenos Aires. He also worked as a journalist, notably for the journal ''Crítica'', and was known for his social activism and his socialist beliefs. ...
. Güiraldes was something of a father figure to many Florida members; already a major figure, he spent the 1920s writing his masterpiece
Don Segundo Sombra ''Don Segundo Sombra'' is a 1926 novel by Argentine rancher Ricardo Güiraldes. Like José Hernández's poem of the 1870s, '' Martín Fierro'', its protagonist is a gaucho. However, unlike Hernandez's poem, ''Don Segundo Sombra'' does not ro ...
and studying
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
philosophy. He died in 1927, while planning a trip to
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. Nicolás Olivari, who co-founded the more political
Boedo Boedo is a working-class ''barrio'' or neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The neighborhood and one of its principal streets were named after Mariano Boedo, a leading figure in the Argentine independence. It is the home of San Lorenzo de Al ...
group, later became a member of the Florida group. The fiercely independent
Roberto Arlt Roberto Arlt (April 2, 1900 – July 26, 1942) was an Argentine novelist, storyteller, playwright, journalist and inventor. Biography Roberto Godofredo Christophersen Arlt was born in Buenos Aires on April 2, 1900. His parents were both immigra ...
met with both groups on an irregular basis, but committed to none.


Tendencies

Eventually, the group evolved into two branches, the Florida meeting in Downtown Buenos Aires at the Galeria Pacifico, with an artistic and literary agenda following feminist approach, and the Boedo meeting in the Offshores of the city at the futbol stadium of Club Atletico San Lorenzo, with predominantly male attendants with a socio-political agenda following an avant-garde labour approach.
Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo ( ; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator regarded as a key figure in Spanish literature, Spanish-language and international literatur ...
was not a regular in Florida meetings, but was a frequent contributor to ''Proa'' and ''Martín Fierro''. Actually, Borges claimed that the entire Florida-Boedo rivalry was a pointless imitation of European fashions and that he should indeed belong to Boedo because of geography (he lived at that time in Bulnes Street, the name Boedo Street takes after it crosses Rivadavia Avenue).
Arturo Cancela Arturo Cancela (1882–1957) was an Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connection ...
suggested in a letter to ''Martín Fierro'' that both sides merge under the common name of "Schools of Floredo street" and name
Manuel Gálvez Manuel Gálvez (18 July 1882 – 14 November 1962) was an Argentine novelist, poet, essayist, historian and biographer. Early years Gálvez, a member of one of the leading patrician families of Entre Ríos Province, was educated by the Jesuits b ...
as president, as he lived on Pueyrredón street, equidistant from both groups. By 1930, all the involved parties had concluded that the perceived rivalry was no longer an issue. Girondo (for Florida) and Castelnuovo (for Boedo) wrote newspaper articles to that effect.


Members' prosecution: military coup & the Peronist Party

After the 1930 military coup that launched the "
Infamous Decade The Infamous Decade () was a period in Argentine history that began with the 1930 coup d'état against President Hipólito Yrigoyen. This decade was marked on one hand by significant rural exodus, with many small rural landowners ruined b ...
", the Florida constituency gravitated towards
Victoria Ocampo Ramona Victoria Epifanía Rufina Ocampo (7 April 1890 – 27 January 1979) was an Argentine writer and intellectual. Best known as an advocate for others and as publisher of the literary magazine '' Sur'', she was also a writer and critic in he ...
's '' Sur'' magazine, which thrived in spite of the ever-deteriorating state of Argentine politics — until the advent of
Peronism Peronism, also known as justicialism, is an Argentine ideology and movement based on the ideas, doctrine and legacy of Juan Perón (1895–1974). It has been an influential movement in 20th- and 21st-century Argentine politics. Since 1946, P ...
in 1945. During the 1960s and 1970s, left-wing and Peronist Argentine commentators identified "the Florida Group" to be a Liberalist Euro-centered movement mainly following the British and French
avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...
, cataloguing it with many of the perceived illnesses of Argentine society such as ignoring the aspirations and culture of the lower classes (which Peronism would articulate), looking towards
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
for inspiration, and being out of touch with any kind of productive work. González Tuñón alone was excepted from this treatment, because of the social themes of his poetry.


References


External links

* "The Florida & Boedo Groups" by Dotro, Carlos. (text in Spanish
''Los grupos de Florida y Boedo: Lo estético y lo social''
El Muro revista Cultural de Buenos Aires. {{DEFAULTSORT:Florida Group Argentine literature Literary circles