Manuel Zapata Olivella, "Letras Nacionales" y la emergencia de un “relato negro” en el campo intelectual colombiano

Dina Camacho Buitrago

Manuel Zapata Olivella, "Letras Nacionales" and the emergence of a “black narrative” in the Colombian intelectual field

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Dina Camacho Buitrago Universidad de Chile

Abstract

The objective of the following article is to think over the literary and political contribution made by the intellectual Manuel Zapata Olivella in attempting to position individuals of African origins in Colombia´s cultural field during the 20th century. To accomplish this, the article covers one of the dimensions least dealt by critical studies concerning his extensive literary production, i.e., his essay production and, more specifically, his role as founder and editor of the literary review Letras Nacionales (1965-1985). The main proposition argued is that literary nationalism, key assumption of the aforementioned publication, far from a mere attempt at esthetic literary re-foundation, was an editorial program that searched deep into the colonial substratum for tools in order to give indigenous peoples, mestizos, and mainly, Afro-Colombians, a dignity as well as a tacit incorporation in the national historical narrative, resorting to the art, music, folklore and language of these social groups, elements which were finally translated into an innovative and creative literary act.

Keywords:

Manuel Zapata Olivella, Letras Nacionales, cultural field, race, coloniality

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