Can art represent a country? In search of Salvadoran Cultural and National Identities through 20th century literature, poetry, and art
Abstract
As a citizen of El Salvador, I believe our cultural and national identities have not
been clearly defined. This project considers the literary contributions of Salarrué
and Claudia Lars together with the artistic works of Fernando Llort as integral components
of a possible Salvadoran cultural and national identity. Their works exhibit a recognition
of Indigenous roots or lo nuestro (ours), which I argue is an important missing component
needed to create more inclusive and heterogeneous Salvadoran cultural and national
identities. A brief recount of the history of El Salvador gives context for their
personal and professional stories since politics was a relevant influential component
on their works and lives. Two main historical and political events include the 1932
Indian campesino massacre, known as la Matanza or the slaughter, carried out by
then President General Maximiliano Hernandez Martinez under the pretense of protection
against communism, and the 1980 – 1992 civil war. The latter created by the division
of social classes generated great discontent due to the abuses suffered by the many
campesino workers under the powerful few wealthy land owners.
Type
Master's thesisDepartment
Graduate Liberal StudiesPermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/11828Citation
De La Cruz, Claudia M. (2016). Can art represent a country? In search of Salvadoran Cultural and National Identities
through 20th century literature, poetry, and art. Master's thesis, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/11828.Collections
More Info
Show full item record
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Rights for Collection: Graduate Liberal Studies