MODERNISM IN COLOMBIA: ORIGIN, CHARACTERISTICS AND AUTHORS - LITERATURE - 2025

The modernism in Colombia was a literary movement that emerged in the South American country in the second half of the nineteenth century and remained in force during the first half of the twentieth century. It is considered the first literary movement that took place in this country and throughout Latin America.

The development of modernism in Colombia was not an isolated event. This movement appeared simultaneously in all Spanish America, motivated by common historical events that occurred in all the new republics of the continent.

It is considered as an emancipation movement that transferred the Independence of Colombia to the letters, which began with the brawl of July 20, 1810.

Origins of modernism in Colombia

The beginnings of modernism are located at the end of the XIX century. Until that moment, Latin American literature had been characterized by imitating European trends. Therefore, modernism constitutes a first search for a Latin American style of its own.

It is no coincidence that this transformation appears after the independence of the different countries of the continent. For Colombia, this literary trend constituted an aesthetic and artistic independence from Spanish and European influence in general.

In fact, one of the main motivations for modernism is precisely the aristocracy. Either as a reality that is evaded or as a reality that is to be imitated, luxury and the bourgeoisie are determining factors in the development of this literary trend.

Another fundamental form of rupture was variations of the traditional metric and structure. This was also a manifestation of the independence and self-identity that they wanted to build in the recently emancipated Colombia.

Characteristics of Colombian modernism

Escape from reality

Modernist literature develops in a time of conflict and social inequities. Therefore, its authors sought to evade those realities through the construction of stories in other times and places.

This search led the modernists to write about the past, to return to their ancestors and earlier times. On the other hand, they also addressed the creation of possible worlds and even magical and supernatural.

This characteristic is visible in this fragment of the poem “El hermaphrodita” by Eduardo Castillo:

Privacy

Colombian modernists used literature as a means of escape from the political reality of their time.

Another way to achieve this was through issues related to intimacy, which took attention away from social problems and put it on the most personal matters of the human being.

Romanticism and eroticism take great importance within this literary trend. In fact, the woman appears deified and presents herself in complex and impossible romances.

This trend can be observed in the following fragment of the poem “Nocturno” by José Asunción Silva:

Preciousism

The aristocracy was decisive in the development of modernist literature. Some authors avoided it, while others spoke constantly of the bourgeoisie and luxury.

On the other hand, they pursued a precious style that sought "formal perfection" and refinement in the choice of words.

This selection was not intended to use the words according to their most precise meaning. On the contrary, the image of exclusivity and intellectuality was achieved using strange words to give prestige to the verses.

This precious tendency can be observed in this fragment of the poem “Pygmalion” by Guillermo Valencia Castillo:

Main authors

Jose Asuncion Silva

He was born in Bogotá in 1865 and committed suicide in 1896 at the age of 31. Despite his short life and the fact that many of his manuscripts were lost in a shipwreck, his work is widely recognized and is considered the father of modernism in Colombia.

Silva was self-taught, however, he was an avid reader and knowledgeable of the literature of his time. This characteristic allowed him to experiment and adapt traditional metric structures, thus becoming an innovator in his country and in his time.

Within his work dreams, impossible loves, the supernatural, beings and worlds of the past are addressed. All this as a way to evade the bourgeois and exclusive society of its time.

Guillermo Valencia Castillo

He was born in Popayán in 1873 and died in 1943. He stood out for his poetic work, but he also had political participation as a deputy, diplomat and even as a presidential candidate.

He was of bourgeois origin, studied at the Colegio San José de la Salle and entered politics from a young age, being elected as a deputy at the age of 23.

His political career took him to Paris, where he was influenced by Parnassianism, which marked his first literary productions.

In 1899 he published his book of poems Ritos, with which he gained a fundamental place within the Colombian modernists.

Eduardo Castillo

He was born in Zipaquirá in 1889 and died in 1938. He was a poet, journalist, short story writer and self-taught translator.

As a translator, he had access to a wide variety of literary works that included Edgar Alan Poe, Charles Baudelaire, and Paul Marie Verlaine. These authors had great influence on the themes that Castillo would address in his work.

His poems had a focus that ranged from eroticism to purity, ranging from obscurity to positivism. An example of this is "satanic night fever", one of the most outstanding poems of his work.

Baldomero Sanín Cano

He was born in Rionegro in 1961 and died in 1957. He is considered the main literary critic in the history of Colombia.

He was a close friend of José Asunción Silva, thanks to whom he learned about French literature of the time. After the death of his friend, Sanín Cano became the main promoter of modernist literature.

His work consisted mainly of essays and literary criticisms that he published in the different Bogota newspapers of the time.

Themes of interest

The 10 Main Representatives of Modernism.

References

1. Critical Anthology of Colombian Poetry. (SF). Modernism. Recovered from: antologiacriticadelapoesiacolombiana.com.
2. Biographies and lives. (SF). Eduardo Castillo. Recovered from: biografiasyvidas.com.
3. Carranza, M. (SF). José Asunción Silva and modernism. Recovered from: banrepcultural.org.
4. Virtual Cervantes. (SF). Origins of modernism in Colombia. Sanín, Cano, Silva and Darío. Recovered from: cervantesvirtual.com.
5. Vargas, M. (SF). Sanín Cano, Baldomero. Recovered from: banrepc.