Guiraldes' Role in the Avant-Garde of Buenos Aires

Abstract

IW HILE in Europe avant-garde literature was well under way by the beginning of the First World War, in Latin America it was not until the 1920's that it emerged in earnest, despite the appearance of Huidobro's El espejo de agua in 1916. For Argentina the return of Borges from Spain in 1921 is usually recognized as the crucial event. Clearly, however, there were authors who anticipated, to some degree, this official arrival of the avant-garde in the form of ultraismo. One of the names now regularly mentioned in this context is that of Ricardo Giliraldes, though he has always been better known-both in Argentina and abroad-as the author of Don Segundo Sombra. One gathers the impression from studies on themes such as ultraismo, martinfierrismo, and Florida versus Boedo,' that Giliraldes' role in the avant-garde was two-fold: that of precursor through his first book of poetry, El cencerro de cristal (1915), and that of participant through his contributions to the periodical Martin Fierro and his co-directorship of Proa. A few important questions have still to be answered satisfactorily, however. It is essential to determine precisely what avant-garde elements exist in El cencerro. And it must be decided whether Giiiraldes was attributed importance as a precursor by the vanguardistas themselves, whether he influenced the course of the avant-garde in Buenos Aires, whether his participation was a significant contribution, and whether he was more useful to the young writers of the twenties as an author or as a personality. Finally, what effect did the avantgarde have on Giiiraldes himself?