por We explain what the literary movement of stridentism consisted of, its characteristics, its most significant representatives and its works.
Estridentismo is a literary avant-garde movement that developed its activities between 1921 and 1927 in Mexico, and whose influence extended to other branches of art and Mexican society.
Stridentism defined itself, in the words of Germán List Arzubide, one of its members, as «the only revolutionary-literary-social movement in Mexico», and in its manifestos and texts it exalts the city, industrialism, opposing conventional and traditional art. of his time.
(Legend: Estridentismo was an avant-garde literary movement that emerged in Mexico between 1921 and 1927 that opposed the traditional art of its time)
The movement had strong influences from other European and American avant-gardes, such as Futurism, Dadaism, Ultraism and Brazilian Modernism, and the Russian and Mexican revolutions are also present in the social and political sphere.
Its main representatives were Manuel Maples Arce, Germán List Arzubide, Arqueles Vela, Salvador Gallardo and Germán Cueto, among others.
Historical context of stridentism
Estridentismo arose in 1921, when the Mexican Revolution (1910) had not yet fully concluded (the end dates of this revolution range from 1917 to 1940), in opposition to traditional culture, but also to movements such as Contemporáneos, writers , poets and essayists who had the support of the ruling party.
It is during that year, 1921, when Manuel Maples Arce published his first manifesto: Current No. 1, which had a photograph of the author and as a subtitle: Vanguard blade. Stridentist tablet by Manuel Maples Arce.
Shortly after, the postulates of this manifesto were joined by other poets and writers, but also painters, journalists, photographers, etc. For several years the movement had its headquarters in the Café de Nadie, in Colonia Roma (Mexico, DF), where they held a multidisciplinary exhibition in 1924.
During its six years of duration, stridentism will publish four manifestos, several collections of poems, narratives and essay books, as well as magazines such as Current and irradiator (both short-lived), and Horizonof which they would publish ten issues between 1926 and 1927.
In 1925 the stridentista group moved to Veracruz following in the footsteps of Maples Arce, who had the support of the state governor; he is first appointed judge and, later, General Secretary of the Government.
In Xalapa, they supported the founding of the Universidad Veracruzana and carried out intense cultural and especially editorial work.
The state governor, Heriberto Jara, supported the ideas of Maples Arce, who renamed Xalapa (capital of the state of Veracruz) as Estridentópolis, a city project that did not materialize due to the overthrow of Jara in 1927.
Considered a left-leaning movement, stridentism became more and more associated with the ruling party, until its disappearance.
However, this movement continued to influence in later years through its members, scattered throughout Mexico and the world, and returned to be part of the cultural debate thanks to its mention by the Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño, in the 1990s. Last century.
Characteristics of stridentism
Against the classic and in favor of the modern
Like Futurism, stridentism celebrates cities, factories and industrial zones, speed, and the emotional states caused by metropolises and megalopolises.
In their manifestos, like other movements, they express themselves with aggressive language against the official and traditional culture, which can be exemplified in quotes such as «Chopin to the electric chair» or «Death to Hidalgo» (hero of Mexican independence).
Political engagement of art
They consider that life and art are closely linked and that art must also engage socially and politically. Hence, several of its members drifted towards «socialist realism».
non-poetic language
In poetry they propose “anti-poetic techniques”, by incorporating numbers, abbreviations, foreign words or resources from the daily press into the texts.
Defense of workers, improvements in education and rejection of the church
During the Xalapa period, they “stridentized” the policy of the Veracruz government, by supporting the defense of workers, improvements in public education, and rejection of the power of the church. This position will cause the fall of the state government.
multidisciplinary movement
Despite its literary nature, it is a multidisciplinary movement, in which the photographers Edward Weston and Tina Modotti stand out, the sculptor Germán Cueto, painters such as Fermín Revueltas, Ramón Alva de la Canal, the Frenchman Jean Charlot and Fernando Leal, or the set designer Emilio Armero, among others.
The close relationship with painting and photography is manifested in the strong visual character of poetry and strident prose. They practice «simultaneism» (the juxtaposition of images in the text), trying to reproduce pictorial techniques such as cubists.
Movement out of the capital
Another distinctive feature of stridentism is its marked presence and development outside of Mexico City, its «non-centralist» profile. The movement has a presence in Puebla and Zacatecas, but its main development will be in Xalapa.
Use of popular culture
The stridentistas also incorporate elements of popular culture and mass culture (such as classified advertisements in the press) into their texts, as well as values and themes from other European avant-garde movements, such as futurism (Italy), ultraism (Spain ) or Dadaism (Switzerland and France).
Representatives of stridentism and outstanding works
Manuel Maples Arce (1900-1988)
He was a poet, lawyer, official, politician and diplomat, founder and main ideologue of the strident movement.
He is the author of poems interior scaffolding (1922), Urbe (Super Bolshevik poem in 5 songs) (1924, translated into English in 1929 by John Dos Passos under the title of metropolis) and interdicted poems (1927). He is also the author of several essays and anthologies.
German List Arzubide (1898-1998)
Revolutionary (he fought during the Revolution with the forces of Venustiano Carranza), poet and journalist. He received the National Prize for Linguistics and Literature in 1997.
He is the author of poems such as Plebs (1925) and Corner (1925, his first stridentistra collection of poems), he is also the author of books of chronicles, short stories and essays.
Arqueles Vela Salvatierra (1899-1977)
Journalist, writer and academic. He is the author of the first stridentist narrative text, Miss Etcetera (1922), also considered one of the first avant-garde texts published in Latin America.
Before joining Estridentismo, he published a book of poetry, The gray path and other useless poems (1920); and then another volume of stories, Nobody’s Cafe (1926).
Salvador Gallardo Davalos (1893-1981)
Doctor, writer and politician, he participated in the elaboration of the third stridentist manifesto (the one of Zacatecas).
He is the author of the books walker’s guide (1919), the garden of temptations (1920), and The electric pentagram (1925), among others.
Luis Quintanilla (Paris, 1900-Mexico City, 1980)
Diplomat, teacher, and poet, he published using the pen name «Kyn Taniya.» He grew up in Paris, where he was in contact with the artistic avant-gardes.
As part of the strident movement, he published the collections of poems Plane (1923) and Radio (1924).
References
Gordon, S. (1989). Modernity and avant-garde in Mexican literature: stridentists and contemporaries. Taken from pitt.edu. Niemeyer, K. (1999). Art-life: round trip? The case of stridentism. Taken from researchgate.net. Mora, FJ (2000). Mexican stridentism: signs of an aesthetic and political revolution. Taken from ucm.es. Bolognese, C. (2009). Roberto Bolaño and his literary beginnings: Infrarealism between reality and fiction. Taken from scielo.conicyt.cl. Sheridan, G. (2013). More mole, señito, please. Taken from letraslibres.com. Garcia Luengo-Manchado, J. (2017). Mexican stridentism. A historical-aesthetic semblance. stridentism (2021). Taken from es.wikipedia.org.