Dreamworlds of the Avant-Garde in 1920s Peru: Narratives of Modernity and Community in the Andes

Abstract

Abstract The socialism that spread globally after the Russian Revolution of 1917 emerged as a radical political avant-garde in Latin America. In Peru's case, this strain of the avant-garde was not only a literary and artistic movement but also a set of cultural and political practices, the goal of which was the articulation of socialist dreamworlds for a modern nation. In the 1920s, these dreamworlds consisted of alternative utopian narratives to capitalism that envisioned the indio as the modern subject who would reconfigure ideas of community in the country. This article analyzes the utopian narratives of José Carlos Mariátegui, Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre, and Luis E. Valcárcel, who initially shared many ideals but ultimately took different paths. This study identifies which utopian narrative finally prevailed (it is none of the three above) and their legacy as a blueprint for future ways of thinking about social justice and community in Peru.