''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")
, i ...
and also denotes how each country in its own way defines ''
criollo
Criollo or criolla (Spanish for creole) may refer to:
People
* Criollo people, a social class in the Spanish race-based colonial caste system (the European descendants)
Animals
* Criollo duck, a species of duck native to Central and South Ameri ...
'', which in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
refers to locally-born people of Spanish ancestry.
Notable ''criollista'' writers
Notable ''criollista'' writers and works include:
Mariano Latorre
Mariano Lautaro Latorre Court (4 January 1886 – 10 November 1955) was a Chilean writer of Basque people, Basque descent. He won the Chilean National Prize for Literature in 1944.
Works
Notable works:
* Cuentos del Maule (1912)
* Cuna de Cóndo ...
,
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 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 east a ...
,
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
José Eustasio Rivera Salas (February 19, 1888 – December 1, 1928) was a Colombian lawyer and author primarily known for his national epic ''The Vortex''.
Early life
José Eustasio Rivera was born on February 19, 1888 in Aguas Calientes, a ha ...
'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
Benito Lynch (25 July 1885 - 23 December 1951) was an Argentine novelist and short story writer.
Biography
Lynch was born in Buenos Aires. He came from a family of Irish origin who settled in the Río de la Plata region since the 18th century. T ...
(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 creat ...
(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
Baldomero Lillo's novels ''Sub Terra'' and ''Sub Sole'',
Mariano Latorre
Mariano Lautaro Latorre Court (4 January 1886 – 10 November 1955) was a Chilean writer of Basque people, Basque descent. He won the Chilean National Prize for Literature in 1944.
Works
Notable works:
* Cuentos del Maule (1912)
* Cuna de Cóndo ...
'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
See also
* Costumbrismo
''Costumbrismo'' (sometimes anglicized as costumbrism, with the adjectival form costumbrist) is the literary or pictorial interpretation of local everyday life, mannerisms, and customs, primarily in the Hispanic scene, and particularly in the 19t ...
* Criollo people
In Hispanic America, criollo () is a term used originally to describe people of Spanish descent born in the colonies. In different Latin American countries the word has come to have different meanings, sometimes referring to the local-born maj ...
* Literature of Latin America
Latin American literature consists of the oral and written literature of Latin America in several languages, particularly in Spanish, Portuguese, and the indigenous languages of the Americas. It rose to particular prominence globally during the ...
* Chilean literature
Chilean literature refers to all written or literary work produced in Chile or by Chilean writers. The literature of Chile is usually written in Spanish.
Chile has a rich literary tradition and has been home to two Nobel prize winners, the poets ...
* Música criolla
Música criolla or ''canción criolla'' is a varied genre of Peruvian music that exhibits influences from European, African and Andean music. The genre's name reflects the coastal culture of Peru, and the local evolution of the term '' criollo ...
* Peruvian waltz
The vals criollo ( en, Creole waltz), or Peruvian waltz ( es, vals peruano), is an adaptation of the European waltz brought to the Americas during colonial times by Spain. In the Viceroyalty of Peru, the waltz was gradually adapted to the likings ...
References
{{SouthAm-hist-stub