Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
can be traced back to the first great politicians
and statesmen like
Echeverría
and
Sarmiento
, who were excellent writers in their
own right. Sarmiento was a leader in establish-
ing free, compulsory and non-denominational
schooling. He also wrote a brilliant novel,
Facundo,
based on the life of an early pioneer in
the new land of Argentina.
The definitive start of literary history lies with
the timeless
Martín Fierro
.
Published in
1878, this epic poem based on the life and times
of the original
gaucho
was written by
José
Hernández
, a politician and writer, and is con-
sidered one of the foremost examples of Argen-
tine literature and a manifesto of the Argentine
character. The “
gaucho
genre” came into its
own and soon other writers such as
Hilario
Ascasubi
were expressing themselves in this
singularly Argentine way.
Tip forCollectos
Many bookshops feature early
printings, including first editions, of
topics by these authors for a fraction of
the price you would expect to pay in the
United States.
In the early 1900s Latin American literature
went through a metamorphosis. The Modernist
Movement was to change the face of Argentine
literature. The new prose and poetry became
more centered around city life, as the pampas
receded into the people's imagination and
