Tzantzismo was a cultural movement in the 1960s, Ecuador. It was founded in

Quito Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley o ...

in 1962 by

Marco Muñoz Marco may refer to: People * Marco (given name), people with the given name Marco * Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor * Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin * Tomás Marco (born 1942), Spanish c ...

and Ulises Estrella, and joined by other members throughout the 1960s. They were greatly influenced by other Ecuadorian intellectuals such as

Jorge Enrique Adoum Jorge Enrique Adoum (June 29, 1926 in Ambato – July 3, 2009 in Quito) was an Ecuadorian writer, poet, politician, and diplomat. He was one of the major exponents of Latin American poetry. His work received such prestigious awards as the first ...

, César Dávila Andrade and

Agustin Cueva Agustín Cueva Dávila ( Ibarra, September 23, 1937 – Quito, May 1, 1992) was an Ecuadorian writer, literary critic, and Marxist sociologist. He had great interest in dependency theory and was at the center of many political debates both with ...

. Tzantzismo was mainly expressed in poetry, and to a lesser extent in stories and theater. This literary revolutionary movement arose in response to a supposed degradation and gentrification in Ecuadorian literature. Its members, called Tzántzicos, wore long, unkempt beards, as a symbolic tribute to Fidel Castro, and also grew their hair long and wore jeans. They began gathering at the home of the painter Eliza Aliz (birth name Elizabeth Rumazo) and her husband the Cuban painter Rene Aliz. Later the Tzántzicos would meet on Friday nights at the Café Aguila de Oro, which they renamed "77 Café", to have discussions on poetry, politics and other cultural matters. In 1962, Estrella and the Argentine poet Leandro Katz co-authored a poetry book titled "Clamor", which marked the birth of Tzantzismo. The first Tzántzico Manifesto was signed on August 27, 1962, by Marco Muñoz, Alfonso Murriagui, Simón Corral, Teodoro Murillo, Euler Granda and Ulises Estrella. Tzántzicos had a revolutionary attitude in their art as well as in politics. One of the main representatives of the movement is probably Raúl Arias, whose poetry collection ''Poesia en bicicleta'' is considered one of the best examples of Tzantzismo. The movement dissolved in 1969, particularly due to ideological differences between its founders. The term tzántzico comes from the

Shuar language Shuar, which literally means "people", also known by such (now derogatory) terms as Chiwaro, Jibaro, Jivaro, or Xivaro, is an indigenous language spoken by the Shuar, Shuar people of Morona Santiago Province and Pastaza Province in the Ecuador ...

: “maker of tzantzas”, which means to cut off and shrink an enemy's head and show it off as a sign of victory and power.El tzantzismo en Ecuador: Iván Carvajal
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List of notable Tzántzicos

Abdón Ubidia Abdón Ubidia (1944) is an Ecuadorian writer who is considered one of the most representative and relevant voices of modern Ecuadorian literature. He was the 2012 recipient of the Premio Eugenio Espejo in Literature, awarded to him by Presiden ...

* Agustín Cueva * Alejandro Moreano * Alfonso Murriágui (1929) * Álvaro Juan Félix *

Antonio Ordóñez Antonio Ordóñez Araujo (16 February 1932 – 19 December 1998) was a Spanish bullfighter. Early life Antonio Jiménez Ordóñez Araujo was born in Ronda, Spain, on 16 February 1932. His father was Cayetano Ordóñez, called ''Niño de la Pal ...

(1946) * Bolívar Echeverría * Euler Granda (1935) *

Fernando Tinajero Fernando Tinajero Villamar (born 1940, Quito) is an Ecuadorian novelist, essayist, and university professor. In the 1960s, he was one of the most active members of Tzantzismo a cultural vanguard movement which had roots in the Cuban revolution. ...

* Francisco Proaño Arandi * Humberto Vinueza * Iván Carvajal (1948) * Iván egüez * José Ron * José Corral * Leandro Katz * Luis Corral *

* Marco Velasco * Rafael Larrea * Raúl Arias * Simón Corral (1946) * Sonia Romo Verdesoto, the movement's only female member. * Teodoro Murillo (1944) * Ulises Estrella (1939)

Sources

Ecuadorian culture Ecuadorian literature Literary movements 1960s in Ecuador {{lit-mov-stub