Los viajes de los intelectuales latinoamericanos a Europa Oriental 1947-1956: organización, circuitos de contacto y reflexiones

MICHAL ZOUREK

Ars & Humanitas

Znanstvena zalozba Filozofske fakutlete Univerze v Ljubljani

Lugar: Ljubljan; Año: 2017 p. 331 - 347

1854-9632

This study analyses the journeys of Latin American intellectuals to Eastern Europein order to clarify hitherto unknown links with the region. The focal period is the decadeof 1947?1956, which was characterised by the great enthusiasm leftist intellectualsfelt towards the Soviet Union and the countries of the socialist block. The first partof the study presents individual written testimonies. These are put into perspectivewith regard to the role Latin American intellectuals played within the framework ofcommunist propaganda and their relations with international organizations. Specialattention is paid to the organization of these journeys, and to the way they contributedto the development of contacts with intellectuals in Eastern Europe. The third partof the study provides an analysis of the discourse of such texts. On the one hand, it isargued that the texts served the political needs of the time, and that their artistic valueis disputable. On the other hand, the texts are remarkable testimonies of the period,one in which the connection with Eastern Europe contributed significantly to the?internationalisation? of Latin American artists. This was reflected in the increasingnumber of translated works of the authors, invitations to various conferences, orinternational prizes awarded to Latin American artists. One of the major benefits ofthe testimonies is the fact that they describe the contacts established between LatinAmerican and European intellectuals. It is rather paradoxical that the first reunion ofprominent Latin American figures took place in Eastern Europe. In Latin America,where leftist intellectuals were frequently subjected to persecution, such meetingswould not have been possible.