FROM BOOM TO POST-BOOM LATIN

AMERICAN LITERATURE
21st- CENTURY CANON OF LATIN AMERICAN
LITERATURE
Post-boom literature has been recognized as the
21st century literary canon of Latin America, largely
articulating the position of the region within the
political frame of globalization. Writers of the post-
boom era reject the
 elitism,
 patriarchal
 oligarchal
 marginalization of women that characterized the
past.
 TEXT AND CONTEXT
In studying Latin American literature,
one sees the intersection between the
text and the context. Context is a
combination of two words: condition and
text. As a result, context is a condition
for the text to be produced, read, and
eventually categorized as political,
ideological, or literary.
Latin American literature is considered as a
progressive canon of writing that articulates
their struggles with colonialism and
imperialism, which has been one of the
fundamental contexts of their literature. The
violence in Latin America’s history gives it
solidarity with the Philippine experience.
Philippine literature from Jose Rizal down to
Gina Apostol has given insight into how
colonialism, imperialism, and corrupt systems
have wrecked havoc on our country.
Thus, both Latin American and Philippine
writers share similarities in context,
having been hammered on the advil of a
history of oppression and resistance.
 Form a group with four members and investigate on the presence of the
cultural influences from the Spanish colonialism. Identify these colonial
influences. The groups should report with visual aids on the findings
from the respective investigations. Each group must respond to the
following fields in which the Spanish culture claimed to be influential:
Culinary Tradition
Public Education
Religion
Architecture
Family Culture
Assignment:
Summarize the short story of Garcia
Marquez including “The Handsomest
Drowned Man in the World”
Comparison is a rhetorical strategy that
articulates the similarities and differences between
two subjects, invoking further understanding of a
subject through its relation with the other.
Colonialism is a form of political and economic
control exerted by one country over other countries
and peoples.
Realism is a tradition of writing that aims to
represent reality as faithfully as possible by
avoiding exaggeration, unbelievable details,
romanticization, or appeal to emotions
Magic realism is a tradition of writing that
originated in Latin America and goes against
European-influenced notions of reality or realism
by portraying events and characters that are
unbelievable or larger than life.
A Master Storyteller
Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a household
name in Latin American literature. He was
born in Colombia, a land with recent
history of violence and conflict, which
nurtured his imagination, and eventually,
his fiction.
 Activity: As a class, try to map some connections
between the Philippines and Latin America through the
following group activities:
 Gather some news on Colombia and the Philippines.
As a group, evaluate whether the problems depicted in
the news are similar or different from one another.
Describe the political situation of these two countries.
 With the facts and discussions at the end of the group
activity, did the problems that Garcia Marquez face
come to an end?
 How should we now view colonialism? In what way
should one understand the similarities between the
Philippines of Rizal and Colombia of Garcia Marquez?
Group Report: In groups, you are required to
do more research about the influence of
Gabriel Garcia Marquez in Latin America by
deepening your knowledge on how he
influenced the literature in Colombia and
countries in South America. You may also
read his more well known stories like “The
Handsomest Drowned Man in the World.”
A group report in no more than 5 minutes
should present the legacy of Gabriel Garcia
Marquez in Latin American Literature and
Culture.
Process
Did the essay show the connection between the
Philippines and Latin America as similar in terms of
context and colonial experience?
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Speculate
Imagine Rizal and Garcia Marquez having a
conversation over coffee by the sunset of
Manila Bay. With this scenario, imagine how
the two would talk about colonialism, military
violence, and crime. In the space provided,
create a short exchange of dialogues
between them as they discuss the said issues
on a comic strip style dialogue.
 Set Out
Complete the following sentences as honestly as you can:
1. In the analysis of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, I have discovered
that context is
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2. After this lesson, I now comprehend that the context of the text
is
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3. After the class activity where we responded to the story, I was
able to appreciate the connection between Latin American
magical realism in Garcia Marquez and its Philippine
counterparts because
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