''Martín Fierro'' was an Argentine literary magazine which appeared from February 1924 to 1927. It was one of the leading

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 ...

magazines in the country.

History and profile

The magazine was founded by Evar Méndez (its director), José B. Cairola, Leónidas Campbell, H. Carambat, Luis L. Franco, Oliverio Girondo,

Ernesto Palacio Ernesto Palacio (born October 19, 1946, Lima) is a Peruvian tenor, particularly associated with Rossini and Mozart roles. Palacio first studied theology before turning to music. He began his vocal studies in Milan, and after winning first prize i ...

, Pablo Rojas Paz, and Gastón O. Talamón, and reached a circulation of 20,000. Its headquarters was 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 ...

. Several major writers, such as

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 ...

, contributed poems and short articles. Further "sympathizers" were Pedro Figari, Raúl González Tuñón, Eduardo González Lanuza, Leopoldo Marechal, Xul Solar, among others, as listed in # "12 and 13". It also published texts by Mario Bravo, Fernando Fader, Macedonio Fernández, Santiago Ganduglia, Samuel Glusberg, Norah Lange,

Leopoldo Lugones Leopoldo Antonio Lugones Argüello (13 June 1874 – 18 February 1938) was an Argentine poet, essayist, novelist, playwright, historian, professor, translator, biographer, philologist, theologian, diplomat, politician and journalist. His poetic ...

, Roberto Mariani, Ricardo Molinari, Conrado Nalé Roxlo, Nicolás Olivari, Horacio A. Rega Molina and Ricardo Rojas. Illustrator Lino Palacio was one of several contributors to the graphic design of the magazine. ''Martín Fierro'' inherited its name from a previous short-lived magazine (1919), also directed by Méndez, more committed to social and political issues, and from an anarchist magazine in which Macedonio Fernández had published poems in 1904. The magazine was named after Martín Fierro, the

gaucho A gaucho () or gaúcho () is a skilled horseman, reputed to be brave and unruly. The figure of the gaucho is a folk symbol of Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, the southern part of Bolivia, and the south of Chilean Patago ...

outlaw whose story constitutes Argentina's national poem, written by José Hernández. The 1924–1927 incarnation took a different, more "art-for-art's sake" approach. It was often linked to the Florida group, sometimes called ''Martín Fierro group'' even though some Boedo group writers also contributed to its pages. One of them, Roberto Mariani, started within ''Martín Fierro'' a debate on political engagement. Arturo Cancela suggested in a letter to ''Martín Fierro'' that both sides merge under the common name of "Schools of Floredo street", and to name Manuel Gálvez as president, as he lived in Pueyrredón street, equidistant from both groups. ''Martín Fierro'' showcased

Ramón Gómez de la Serna Ramón Gómez de la Serna y Puig (July 3, 1888 – January 13, 1963), born in Madrid, was a Spanish writer, dramatist and avant-garde agitator. He strongly influenced surrealist film maker Luis Buñuel. Ramón Gómez de la Serna was especially ...

's work and Emilio Pettoruti and

Arthur Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss-French composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. Honegger was a member of Les Six. For Halbreich, '' Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher'' is "more even ...

's ''avant garde'' art, attacked writer

as an icon of the past, and also attacked the attempt of Spanish magazine '' La Gaceta Literaria'' of "setting in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

the intellectual meridian of Hispanoamerica," that is, claiming Spanish hegemony over

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

n intellectual culture. One of ''Martín Fierros distinguishing features was its fake obituaries, making fun of everybody, both Boedo and Florida writers, and Leopoldo Lugones himself. The end of the publication was apparently decided by Méndez to avoid putting the magazine at the service of Hipólito Yrigoyen's campaign for a second term as president of Argentina, as some of its collaborators demanded.

External links

* List of avant-garde magazines

Sources

*''El periódico Martín Fierro'', Ed. Galerna, Buenos Aires, 1968. With an introduction by Adolfo Prieto, ed.

External links

Martín Fierro's Manifesto by Oliverio Girondo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin Fierro (magazine) 1924 establishments in Argentina 1920s disestablishments in Argentina Avant-garde magazines Literary magazines published in Argentina Defunct magazines published in Argentina Defunct literary magazines Magazines established in 1924 Magazines disestablished in 1927 Magazines published in Buenos Aires Poetry literary magazines Defunct Spanish-language magazines