20th and 21st Century Latin American and Spanish Theatre and Literature
Spanish Post-War Theatre
Introduction
The dramatic rise of the previous period declined due to interest in other shows. Post-war theatre is torn between evading painful reality or compromising by reporting the situation. Censorship hindered representations, and companies were unwilling to break the mold. Authors often lived in exile. Theatre slowly reemerged from universities, where independent companies and theatres gained importance during the post-war period.
The 1940s and 1950s
Successful works include neo-Benaventine comedy and high-humor comedy plays with light themes. These works are characterized by poetry, tenderness, and humor, with realistic sets and themes of love. Significant authors include Luca de Tena (Don José, Pepe y Pepito, Where are you going Alfonso XII?) and Calvo Sotelo (The Power, The Wall).
The Theatre of Humor
This genre introduces improbable, almost absurd laughter. Enrique Jardiel Poncela, a precursor of the Theatre of the Absurd, is highlighted with his play Four Hearts with Brake Reverse, which breaks with traditional theatre by relying on the improbable. Miguel Mihura, alternating between theatre and film, wrote works like Three Hats, which presents a confrontation between the conventional world and an improbable one. He always tried to hide his pessimism, disappointment, and melancholy. He won the National Theatre Award in 1959 with Maribel and Her Strange Family.
Realistic Theatre of the 1950s
Two authors introduce existential and social questions: Antonio Buero Vallejo, with a commitment to introduce resignation to reality. He provides a coherent vision of the world and humanity, raising questions about the past and future. His works contain symbolic denunciations of the era’s injustices, with three stages: Symbolism (In the Burning Darkness), social criticism (Story of a Staircase, The Skylight), and historical dramas (The Meninas). Alfonso Sastre advocated for the writer’s political commitment to society. He pioneered revolutionary drama, avoiding concessions to the public. His works include Death in the Barrio and The Corner.
The 1960s
Young writers consolidated realistic theatre, including Lauro Olmo, José María Bellido, and Martín Recuerda (The Savages). They offered a dramatic proposal with ethical considerations, social criticism, and individual alienation, using critical realism and violent language. Commercial theatre also catered to the bourgeois public, such as You Can Be the Murderer.
The 1970s: Experimental and Symbolist Theatre
This theatre challenged conventional approaches, finding original ways to express dissatisfaction with the existing system. It had a critical load and symbolic value, appealing to minority audiences. Key figures include Antonio Gala and Fernando Arrabal.
The Last Decades
The arrival of democracy brought hope for theatre renewal, despite limited economic support. The 1980s and 1990s saw diverse trends, with continued discussion of realism. Notable authors include Fernando Fernán Gómez (Bicycles Are for Summer) and José Luis Alonso De Santos. Experimentation, mixed styles, audience participation, and removal of traditional theatre were explored.
21st Century Latin American Literature: Poetry and Narrative
Poetry
Postmodernism (1911-present)
Emerging from the exhaustion of Modernism, Postmodernism features simple, arcane forms with traditional themes: love, friendship, family, time, death, and religion. Key figures include Alfonsina Storni and Gabriela Mistral.
Influence of the European Avant-Garde
Hispanic American literature was influenced by European poets like Vicente Huidobro (Creationism) and Jorge Luis Borges (Ultraism).
Negrista Poetry
This movement incorporates African and Caribbean influences, with musicality and rhythms. Nicolás Guillén, born in Cuba, is a key figure, known for his social and political poetry.
Committed Poetry
The 20th century’s violent confrontations and social inequality are reflected in committed poetry. César Vallejo and Pablo Neruda (1904-1973) are key figures. Neruda’s extensive work includes love poetry and social commentary. His Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair (1924) sings of love with surrealist imagery. Later works show social conscience, with direct language.
Visionary Poetry
This style perpetuates surrealism, seeking harmony with nature through pure language. Octavio Paz, a Mexican poet, began with committed verses and later explored metaphysical themes, existence, knowledge, love, and loneliness. His experimental poetry is known for its lyrical beauty (The Violent Parole).
Narrative
Latin American Novel: Features
Renewed language, narrative techniques, and novel structure; focus on social and existential problems; rise of the urban novel; magic realism, blending reality with myth and the fantastic.
Authors
Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) is an exceptional author of short stories, imbued with his broad culture and intellectual experiences. His works often explore fantasy and the extraordinary, with a precise and suggestive style (Fictions, The Book of Sand).
The 1960s: The Boom Years
The Latin American novel underwent a profound transformation, with lasting consequences. Factors contributing to this phenomenon include the Cuban Revolution, editorial policies, and the growing Hispanic market. Key features include new structural formulas, subjective narration, interior monologues, time shifts, and experimentation with language.
Authors
Gabriel García Márquez (Colombia, Nobel Prize 1982) is the author of One Hundred Years of Solitude, a milestone in world literature. He also wrote Autumn of the Patriarch, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, and his autobiography, Living to Tell the Tale. Mario Vargas Llosa (Peru, Royal Spanish Academy member) is a prolific writer known for his quality and critical success. His novels seek to renew forms of expression (The War of the End of the World, The Green House).
Latest Trends
Magic realism persists, with high-quality works. Sensuality gains importance. Key authors include Luis Sepúlveda (Chile, An Old Man Who Read Love Stories), Isabel Allende (Chile, The House of the Spirits), and Zoé Valdés (Cuba, Your Life is Worth It).