What is Latin American? Literary perspectives for reflecting on our identity

Abstract

This article presents certain Latin American traits from the works of four prestigious and contemporary Latin American writers: Gioconda Belli, Gonzalo Rojas, Augusto Monterroso y Juan José Arreola. The traits discussed include politics, the religious cult, the messianic vision, family, couples and the father figure. We argue that it is very important for people to understand their own culture and identity, to explore and not abandon the conversations about their countries’ literary works, as they reflect, report and critique them.