Surrealism and surrealities in the literary context of Latin America

Abstract

This article speculates on surrealism and the condition of surreality within the Latin American literary tradition, starting from the assumption of place, based on Silviano Santiago's theory of the entrelugar (in-between) place and its ramifications, such as questions of originality and authorship in the literature produced in the colony and the no need for the colonizer's stamp on literary production in this part of the world. The Latin American author enjoys complete freedom, including the appropriation of terms and concepts for his production. Within this parameter, we begin a journey towards magical and fantastic realism and analyze the reasons that make this literature an ideal conduit first for surrealism, in the footsteps of Alejo Carpentier, then the surreal and surreality, from just before the notorious boom of fantastic realism in Latin American letters. As a continuation of this journey, an analysis is also made of delirious realism, a literature that was initially more closely linked to Argentine writers, but which spread throughout Latin America during the 20th and early 21st centuries. In conclusion, we speculate on the place of surrealities that is Latin America and how differently these concepts travel between Europe and the global South