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75-586: This organization has branched out to 45 countries with 88 centres devoted to the Spanish and Hispanic American culture and Spanish language. Article 3 of Law 7/1991, of March 21, created the Instituto Cervantes as a government agency. The law explains that the ultimate goals of the Institute are to promote the education, the study and the use of Spanish universally as a second language; to support

150-713: A cultural perspective, Latin America generally refers to those parts of the Americas whose cultural, religious and linguistic heritage can be traced to the Latin culture of the late Roman Empire . This would include areas where Spanish , Portuguese , and various other Romance languages, which can trace their origin to the Vulgar Latin spoken in the late Roman Empire , are natively spoken. Such territories include almost all of Mexico, Central America and South America, with

225-517: A subsidy covering approximately five percent of its budget (nearly 665,000 € in 2003) More than 440,000 students learn French at one of the centres run by the Alliance , whose network of schools includes: The organizations outside Paris are local, independently run franchises . Each has a committee and a president. The Alliance française brand is owned by the Paris centre. In many countries,

300-524: A blended, more contemporary forms. Ballroom studios teach lessons on many Latin American dances. One can even find the cha-cha being done in honky-tonk country bars. Miami has been a large contributor of the United States' involvement in Latin dancing. With such a huge Puerto Rican and Cuban population one can find Latin dancing and music in the streets at any time of day or night. Some of

375-604: A huge industry comparable to the Hollywood of those years. More recently movies such as Amores Perros (2000) and Y tu mamá también (2001) have been successful in creating universal stories about contemporary subjects, and were internationally recognised. Nonetheless, the country has also witnessed the rise of experimental filmmakers such as Carlos Reygadas and Fernando Eimbicke who focus on more universal themes and characters. Other important Mexican directors are Arturo Ripstein and Guillermo del Toro . Argentine cinema

450-461: A lesser extent, Irish , Poles , Greeks , Croats , Russians , Welsh , Ukrainians , etc. In this same period, immigrants came from the Middle East and Asia, including Indians , Lebanese , Syrians , Armenians , and, more recently, Koreans , Chinese and Japanese , mainly to Brazil. These people only make up a small percentage of Latin America's population but they have communities in

525-678: A major impact on Latin American populations: the Portuguese left for Brazil and the Spaniards left for Central and South America. Of the European immigrants, men greatly outnumbered women and many married Natives. This resulted in a mixing of the Amerindians and Europeans and today their descendants are known as mestizos . Even Latin American criollos , of mainly European ancestry, usually have some Native ancestry. Today, mestizos make up

600-457: A million speakers in Mexico. Although Mexico has almost 80 native languages across the country, the government nor the constitution specify an official language (not even Spanish), also, some regions of the nation do not speak any modern way of language and still preserve their ancient dialect without knowing any other language. Guaraní is, along with Spanish, the official language of Paraguay, and

675-476: A month, including both professionals and the general public. It offers resources and services to teachers, students, translators, journalists and other professionals involved with the Spanish language, and as well as to Hispanists throughout the world, who study Hispanic cultures, and to any person who is interested in the language and Hispanic cultures. It also includes announcements of cultural events (Actos Culturales), four discussion forums, each of which focuses on

750-653: A new breed of chroniclers is represented by the more journalistic Carlos Monsiváis and Pedro Lemebel . The region boasts six Nobel Prizewinners : in addition to the Colombian García Márquez (1982), also the Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral (1945), the Guatemalan novelist Miguel Ángel Asturias (1967), the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (1971), the Mexican poet and essayist Octavio Paz (1990), and

825-542: A specific topic, and the language classroom, Aula de Lengua, designed for both teachers and learners of Spanish. The Instituto Cervantes also has a virtual presence in the 3D virtual world Second Life . On 13 December 2004, the Cervantes Institute formed its Centro de Formación de Profesores in its headquarters, located in Alcalá de Henares , where Cervantes was born. This institution was founded to encourage

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900-469: A subset of Latin American philosophy. Latin American music comes in many varieties, from the simple, rural conjunto music of northern Mexico to the sophisticated habanera of Cuba, from the symphonies of Heitor Villa-Lobos to the simple and moving Andean flute . Music has played an important part in Latin America's turbulent recent history, for example the nueva canción movement. Latin music

975-607: A system of local institutions and centres: A representative list follows, the most recent and complete list can be found at www.cervantes.es . Latin American culture The culture of Latin America is the formal or informal expression of the people of Latin America and includes both high culture (literature and high art) and popular culture (music, folk art, and dance), as well as religion and other customary practices. These are generally of Western origin, but have various degrees of Native American , African and Asian influence. Definitions of Latin America vary. From

1050-501: A tribal- voodoo religion, are also practiced. Evangelicalism in particular is increasing in popularity. Latin America constitute in absolute terms the second world's largest Christian population , after Europe . In long-term perspective, Britain's influence in Latin America was enormous after independence came in the 1820s. Britain deliberately sought to replace the Spanish and Portuguese in economic and cultural affairs. Military issues and colonization were minor factors. The influence

1125-537: Is Christianity (90%), mostly Roman Catholicism . Latin America, and in particular Brazil , were active in developing the quasi-socialist Roman Catholic movement known as Liberation Theology . Practitioners of the Protestant , Pentecostal , Evangelical , Jehovah's Witnesses , Mormon , Buddhist , Jewish , Muslim , Hindu , Baháʼí , and indigenous denominations and religions exist. Various Afro-Latin American traditions, such as Santería , and Macumba ,

1200-458: Is an association from the law 1901. Located in the centre of the capital, the Alliance française Paris Île-de-France sees more than 11,000 students from 160 countries arrive every year to learn French. It is also the oldest one since the school has offered courses in Paris since 1894. Until 2007, the year of creation of the Alliance française Foundation, the Alliance française Paris Île-de-France

1275-593: Is spoken by a majority of the population. Furthermore, there are about 10 million Quechua speakers in South America and Spain, but more than half of them live in Bolivia and Peru (approximately 6,700,800 individuals). Other European languages spoken include Italian in Brazil and Uruguay, German in southern Brazil and southern Chile, and Welsh in southern Argentina. The primary religion throughout Latin America

1350-752: Is the much recent work of the Cuban Leo Brouwer and guitar work of the Venezuelan Antonio Lauro and the Paraguayan Agustín Barrios . Arguably, the main contribution to music entered through folklore, where the true soul of the Latin American and Caribbean countries is expressed. Musicians such as Atahualpa Yupanqui , Violeta Parra , Víctor Jara , Mercedes Sosa , Jorge Negrete , Caetano Veloso , Yma Sumac and others gave magnificent examples of

1425-472: Is the product of many influences, including: The population of Latin America is very diverse with many ethnic groups and different ancestries. Most of the Amerindian descendants are of mixed race ancestry. In the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries there was a flow of Spanish and Portuguese emigrants who left for Latin America. It was never a large movement of people, but over the long period of time it had

1500-487: Is very diverse, with the only truly unifying thread being the use of the Spanish language or, in Brazil, the similar Portuguese language. Latin America can be divided into several musical areas . Andean music , for example, includes the countries of western South America, typically Colombia , Peru , Bolivia , Ecuador , Chile and Venezuela ; Central American music includes Nicaragua , El Salvador , Guatemala , Honduras , and Costa Rica . Caribbean music includes

1575-404: Is very energetic. These dances primarily are performed with a partner as a social dance , but solo variations exist. The dances emphasize passionate hip movements and the connection between partners. Many of the dances are done in a close embrace while others are more traditional and similar to ballroom dancing, holding a stronger frame between the partners. Theatre in Latin America existed before

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1650-602: The Cinema Novo movement created a particular way of making movies with critical and intellectual screenplays, a clearer photography related to the light of the outdoors in a tropical landscape, and a political message. The modern Brazilian film industry has become more profitable inside the country, and some of its productions have received prizes and recognition in Europe and the United States. Movies like Central do Brasil (1999) and Cidade de Deus (2003) have fans around

1725-418: The Alliance française of Paris is represented by a Délégué général . The French Government also runs 150 separate French Cultural Institutes that exist to promote French language and culture. The Alliances organize social and cultural events, such as art exhibitions, movie festivals, social gatherings, book clubs. The Alliance française Paris Ile-de-France is a Higher Private Education Institute. It

1800-608: The British cashed in their investments to pay for the Great War, and the United States, another Anglophone power, moved into the region with overwhelming force and similar cultural norms. The British impact on sports was overwhelming, as Latin America took up football (called fútbol in Spanish and futebol in Portuguese). In Argentina, rugby, polo, tennis and golf became important middle-class leisure pastimes. In some parts of

1875-539: The Caribbean and Central America baseball outshined soccer in terms of popularity. The sport started in the late 19th century when sugar companies imported cane cutters from the British Caribbean. During their free time, the workers would play cricket, but later, during the long period of US military occupation, cricket gave way to baseball, which rapidly assumed widespread popularity, although cricket remains

1950-609: The Caribbean coast of Colombia , Panama , and Spanish-speaking islands in the Caribbean, including the Dominican Republic , Cuba , and Puerto Rico . Brazil perhaps constitutes its own musical area, both because of its large size and incredible diversity as well as its unique history as a Portuguese colony. Musically, Latin America has also influenced its former colonial metropoles. Spanish music (and Portuguese music ) and Latin American music strongly cross-fertilized each other, but Latin music also absorbed influences from

2025-579: The Cervantes Institute is subdivided into three parts. A commitment and interest in planning the activities and direction of the Institute are managed by a high-profile membership. Centro Virtual Cervantes is an online service that was created in December 1997 by the Instituto Cervantes of Spain to contribute to the diffusion of the Spanish language and Hispanic cultures. It became one of the most important reference sites devoted to Spanish language and culture, having reached an average of over 100,000 visitors

2100-404: The Cervantes Institute, "Portal de las Tecnologías Lingüisticas en España", was launched by the Cervantes Institute on 10 January 2005. It is a free service of machine translation sponsored by Telefónica. Since its launch, demand has steadily increased monthly to 55%, and it has performed more than 582,000 free translations. The Cervantes Institute's purpose in creating this service was to facilitate

2175-501: The English-speaking world, as well as African music. One of the main characteristics of Latin American music is its diversity, from the lively rhythms of Central America and the Caribbean to the more austere sounds of southern South America. Another feature of Latin American music is its original blending of the variety of styles that arrived in the Americas and became influential, from the early Spanish and European Baroque to

2250-520: The Europeans came to the continent. The natives of Latin America had their own rituals, festivals, and ceremonies. They involved dance, singing of poetry, song, theatrical skits, mime, acrobatics, and magic shows. The performers were trained; they wore costumes, masks, makeup, wigs. Platforms had been erected to enhance visibility. The 'sets' were decorated with branches from trees and other natural objects. The Europeans used this to their advantage. For

2325-547: The Foundation and the Alliance française Paris Île-de-France: Alliance française Montpellier is a French language school in the south of France, a private higher education institution providing French courses for foreigners ( FLE ) and a non-profit association, established in accordance with the statutes and objectives of the Alliance française Foundation. This study centre is part of the network of Alliances françaises de France. The Netherlands counts 32 Alliances Françaises,

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2400-612: The Panamanian cumbia , tamborito , saloma and pasillo , and the various styles of music from Pre-Columbian traditions that are widespread in the Andean region. In Brazil, samba , American jazz , European classical music and choro combined into bossa nova . The classical composer Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887–1959) worked on the recording of native musical traditions within his homeland of Brazil. The traditions of his homeland heavily influenced his classical works. Also notable

2475-584: The Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa (2010). The history of Latin American philosophy is usefully divided into five periods: Pre-Columbian , Colonial , Independentist, Nationalist, and Contemporary (that is, the twentieth century to the present). Among the major Latin American philosophers is Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (Mexico, 1651–1695), a philosopher , composer , poet of the Baroque period, and Hieronymite nun of New Spain (Mexico) . Sor Juana

2550-540: The US Major Leagues to cultivate the most promising young men for their own teams. Baseball5 , an official variation of baseball, was inspired in 2017 by Latin American street variations of baseball as well. Pre-Columbian cultures were primarily oral, though the Aztecs and Mayans, for instance, produced elaborate codices . Oral accounts of mythological and religious beliefs were also sometimes recorded after

2625-466: The United States and to a specific set of philosophical problems and method of questioning that relate to Latina/o identity as a hyphenated experience, borders, immigration , gender , race and ethnicity, feminism , and decoloniality . “Latina/o philosophy” is used by some to refer also to Latin American philosophy practiced within Latin America and the United States, while others argue that to maintain specificity Latina/o philosophy should only refer to

2700-581: The United States and wrote for journals in Argentina and elsewhere. However, what really put Latin American literature on the global map was no doubt the literary boom of the 1960s and 1970s, distinguished by daring and experimental novels (such as Julio Cortázar 's Rayuela (1963)) that were frequently published in Spain and quickly translated into English. The Boom's defining novel was Gabriel García Márquez 's Cien años de soledad (1967), which led to

2775-442: The access of Spanish to those information technology contents developed in other languages, and so people who speak other languages can have access to contents that are only available in Spanish. This service permits translation of texts and text files, as well as web pages, from Spanish to Catalan, French, Galician, English or Portuguese and vice versa. The pairs of language percentages used are as follows: English–Spanish, 23.47% of

2850-627: The arrival of European colonizers, as was the case with the Popol Vuh . Moreover, a tradition of oral narrative survives to this day, for instance among the Quechua -speaking population of Peru and the Quiché of Guatemala. From the very moment of Europe's "discovery" of the continent, early explorers and conquistadores produced written accounts and crónicas of their experience—such as Columbus 's letters or Bernal Díaz del Castillo 's description of

2925-531: The association of Latin American literature with magic realism , though other important writers of the period such as Mario Vargas Llosa and Carlos Fuentes do not fit so easily within this framework. Arguably, the Boom's culmination was Augusto Roa Bastos 's monumental Yo, el supremo (1974). In the wake of the Boom, influential precursors such as Juan Rulfo , Alejo Carpentier , and above all Jorge Luis Borges were also rediscovered. Contemporary literature in

3000-423: The conquest of New Spain. During the colonial period, written culture was often in the hands of the church, within which context Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz wrote memorable poetry and philosophical essays. Towards the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th, a distinctive criollo literary tradition emerged, including the first novels such as Lizardi's El Periquillo Sarniento (1816). The 19th century

3075-408: The dances of Latin America are derived from and named for the type of music they are danced to. For example, mambo , salsa, cha-cha-cha , rumba , merengue , samba , flamenco , bachata , and, probably most recognizable, the tango are among the most popular. Each of the types of music has specific steps that go with the music, the counts, the rhythms, and the style. Modern Latin American dancing

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3150-670: The different beats of the African rhythms. Latino-Caribbean music, such as salsa , merengue , bachata , etc., are styles of music that have been strongly influenced by African rhythms and melodies. Other musical genres of Latin America include the Argentine and Uruguayan tango , the Colombian cumbia and vallenato , Mexican ranchera , the Cuban salsa , bolero , rumba and mambo , Nicaraguan palo de mayo , Uruguayan candombe ,

3225-615: The drive behind Latin American history which applies the same to theatre. Alliance fran%C3%A7aise Alliance française ( French pronunciation: [aljɑ̃s fʁɑ̃sɛːz] ; "French Alliance") or AF is an international organization that aims to promote the French language and francophone culture around the world. Created in Paris on 21 July 1883 under the name Alliance française pour la propagation de la langue nationale dans les colonies et à l'étranger (French alliance for

3300-668: The exception of English or Dutch speaking territories. Culturally, it could also encompass the French derived culture in the Caribbean and North America, as it ultimately derives from Latin Roman influence as well. There is also an important Latin American cultural presence in the United States since the 16th century in areas such as California, Texas, and Florida, which were part of the Spanish Empire . More recently, in cities such as New York , Chicago , Dallas , Los Angeles , and Miami . The richness of Latin American culture

3375-614: The favorite in the British Caribbean. Baseball had the greatest following in those nations occupied at length by the US military, especially the Dominican Republic and Cuba, as well as Nicaragua, Panama, and Puerto Rico. Even Venezuela, which wasn't occupied by the US military during this time period, still became a popular baseball destination. All of these countries have emerged as sources of baseball talent, since many players hone their skills on local teams, or in “academies” managed by

3450-522: The first fifty years after the Conquest the missionaries used theatre widely to spread the Christian doctrine to a population accustomed to the visual and oral quality of spectacle and thus maintaining a form of cultural hegemony . It was more effective to use the indigenous forms of communication than to put an end to the 'pagan' practices, the conquerors took out the content of the spectacles, retained

3525-646: The future teachers of Spanish through its 'Master of Education in Spanish as a Foreign Language', in collaboration with the International University Menéndez Pelayo. For teachers already involved in teaching, the Centre provides advanced activities that produce a deeper knowledge, focusing on research or discussion in the classroom, and improving the students’ skills in Spanish language for them to become responsive in any communicational situations. The Automatic Translator Service of

3600-491: The heights that this soul can reach, for example:the Uruguayan born and first Latin American musician to win an OSCAR prize, Jorge Drexler. Latin pop , including many forms of rock , is popular in Latin America today (see Spanish language rock and roll ). Latin American film is both rich and diverse. But the main centers of production have been Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, and Cuba. Latin American cinema flourished after

3675-584: The introduction of sound, which added a linguistic barrier to the export of Hollywood film south of the border. The 1950s and 1960s saw a movement towards Third Cinema , led by the Argentine filmmakers Fernando Solanas and Octavio Getino . More recently, a new style of directing and stories filmed has been tagged as "New Latin American Cinema." Mexican movies from the Golden Era in the 1940s are significant examples of Latin American cinema, with

3750-569: The late 19th and early 20th centuries, most of them settling in the Southern Cone ( Argentina , Uruguay , and southern Brazil). Nowadays the Southern Cone has a majority of people of largely European descent and in all more than 80% of Latin America's European population, which is mostly descended from six groups of immigrants: Italians , Spaniards , Portuguese , French , Germans , Jews (both Ashkenazi and Sephardic ) and, to

3825-665: The major cities. This diversity has profoundly influenced religion, music and politics. This cultural heritage is called Latino in American English. Spanish is spoken in Puerto Rico and eighteen sovereign nations (See Spanish language in the Americas ). Portuguese is spoken primarily in Brazil (See Brazilian Portuguese ). Amerindian languages are spoken in many Latin American nations, mainly Chile , Panama , Ecuador , Colombia , Guatemala , Bolivia , Paraguay , Argentina , and Mexico . Nahuatl has more than

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3900-410: The majority of Latin America's population. Starting in the late 16th century, a large number of former African slaves were brought to Latin America, especially to Brazil and the Caribbean. Nowadays, blacks make up the majority of the population in most Caribbean countries. Many of the former African slaves in Latin America mixed with the Europeans and their descendants (known as mulattoes ) make up

3975-473: The majority of the population in some countries, such as the Dominican Republic , and large percentages in Brazil, Colombia, and Honduras. Mixes between the blacks and Amerindians also occurred, and their descendants are known as zambos . Many Latin American countries also have a substantial tri-racial population known as pardos , whose ancestry is a mix of Amerindians, Europeans and Africans. Large numbers of European immigrants arrived in Latin America in

4050-549: The methods and activities that would help the process of Spanish language education, and to contribute to the advancement of the Spanish and Hispanic American cultures throughout non-Spanish-speaking countries. The functions and services of the Cervantes Institute are: General language courses are offered at four different levels: elementary, intermediate, advanced and high advanced. The Cervantes Institute offers comprehensive Spanish language classes to: The administration of

4125-423: The more popular Latin dances were created and embraced into the culture in the early and middle 1900s and have since been able to retain their significance both in and outside the Americas. The mariachi bands of Mexico stirred up quick paced rhythms and playful movements at the same time that Cuba embraced similar musical and dance styles. Traditional dances were blended with new, modern ways of moving, evolving into

4200-588: The most prominent political philosophers in Latin America was José Martí 's (Cuba 1854–1895), who pioneered Cuban liberal thought that lead to the Cuban War of Independence . Elsewhere in Latin America, during the 1870-1930 period, the philosophy of positivism or "cientificismo" associated with Auguste Comte in France and Herbert Spencer in England exerted an influence on intellectuals, experts and writers in

4275-903: The philosophy of 'the Mexican'. Poet and essayist Octavio Paz (1914-1998) was a Mexican diplomat, and poet, and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1990. Paz who is one of the most influential writers on Latin American and Spanish culture from Sor Juana to Remedios Varos . More recent Latin American philosophers who practice Latina/o or Latino philosophy include: Walter Mignolo (1941-), Maria Lugones (1948-), and Susana Nuccetelli (1954) from Argentina; Jorge J. E. Gracia (1942), Gustavo Pérez Firmat (1949) and Ofelia Schutte (1944) from Cuba; Linda Martín Alcoff (1955) from Panama; Giannina Braschi (1953) from Puerto Rico; and Eduardo Mendieta (1963) from Colombia. Their formats and styles of Latino philosophical writing differ greatly as

4350-467: The population. Theatre provided a way for the indigenous people were forced to participate in the drama of their own defeat. In 1599, the Jesuits even used cadavers of Native Americans to portray the dead in the staging of the final judgment. While the plays were promoting a new sacred order, their first priority was to support the new secular, political order. Theatre under the colonizers primarily at

4425-428: The propagation of the national language in the colonies and abroad), known now simply as L'Alliance française , its primary goal is teaching French as a second language . Headquartered in Paris, the Alliance had 850 centers in 137 countries on every inhabited continent in 2014. The Alliance was created in Paris on 21 July 1883 by a group including the scientist Louis Pasteur , the diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps ,

4500-434: The region is vibrant and varied, ranging from the best-selling Paulo Coelho and Isabel Allende to the more avant-garde and critically acclaimed work of writers such as Giannina Braschi , Diamela Eltit , Ricardo Piglia , Roberto Bolaño or Daniel Sada . There has also been considerable attention paid to the genre of testimony , texts produced in collaboration with subaltern subjects such as Rigoberta Menchú . Finally,

4575-494: The region.   Francisco Romero (Argentina 1891–1962) coined the phrase 'philosophical normality' in 1940, in reference to philosophical thinking as 'an ordinary function of culture in Hispanic America.' Other Latin American philosophers of his era include Alejandro Korn (Argentina, 1860–1936) who authored 'The Creative Freedom' and José Vasconcelos (Mexico, 1882–1959) whose work spans metaphysics , aesthetics, and

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4650-566: The service of the administration. After the large decrease in the native population, the indigenous consciousness and identity in theatre disappeared, though pieces did have indigenous elements to them. The theatre that progressed in Latin America is argued to be theatre that the conquerors brought to the Americas, not the theatre of the Americas. Progression in Postcolonial Latin American Theatre Internal strife and external interference have been

4725-858: The situation of the Spanish language worldwide.The Instituto has also run the Internet -based Centro Virtual Cervantes since 1997. In 2005, along with the Alliance française , the Società Dante Alighieri , the British Council , the Goethe-Institut , and the Instituto Camões , the Instituto Cervantes was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for outstanding achievements in communications and humanities. The Instituto Cervantes has developed its educational project on

4800-432: The subject matters. Walter Mignolo 's book "The Idea of Latin America" expounds on how the idea of Latin America and Latin American philosopher, as a precursor to Latino philosophy, was formed and propagated. Giannina Braschi's writings on Puerto Rican independence focus on financial terrorism , debt, and “feardom”. Latina/o philosophy is a tradition of thought referring both to the work of many Latina/o philosophers in

4875-416: The teaching of Spanish as a foreign language and to provide useful resources to its members. Throughout the year, it organises the specific activities and programmes for the centre, with several different goals, which include teaching, providing the resources to the teachers to use in their education field, and developing specialised knowledge of the Spanish language for educational purposes. The centre supports

4950-455: The total; Spanish–Catalan, 21.12%; Spanish–English, 13.64%; Portuguese–Spanish, 12.63%; Spanish–Portuguese, 10.39%; Catalan–Spanish, 6.48%; Spanish–French, 6.24%, and French–Spanish, 6.03%. Since 1998, the Instituto Cervantes has published the annual El español en el mundo highlighting the state of Spanish in the world, and current trends. This publication also includes the annual report Spanish: A Living Language, which quantitatively analyzes

5025-475: The trappings, and used them to convey their own message. Pre-Columbian rituals were how the indigenous came in contact with the divine. Spaniards used plays to Christianize and colonize the indigenous peoples of the Americas in the 16th century. Theatre was a potent tool in manipulating a population already accustomed to spectacle. Theatre became a tool for political hold on Latin America by colonialist theatre by using indigenous performance practices to manipulate

5100-431: The turn of the 20th century, modernismo emerged, a poetic movement whose founding text was Rubén Darío 's Azul (1888). This was the first Latin American literary movement to influence literary culture outside of the region, and was also the first truly Latin American literature, in that national differences were no longer so much at issue. José Martí , for instance, though a Cuban patriot, also lived in Mexico and

5175-425: The world, and its directors have taken part in American and European film projects. Cuban cinema has enjoyed much official support since the Cuban revolution, and important filmmakers include Tomás Gutiérrez Alea . Latin America has a strong tradition of evolving dance styles. Some of its dance and music is considered to emphasize sexuality, and have become popular outside of their countries of origin. Salsa and

5250-549: The writers Jules Verne and Ernest Renan , and the publisher Armand Colin . The project was directly linked to the colonial aims of the French Third Republic . France believed it could spread civilization to colonies and promote French imperial grandeur by propagating their language internationally. The organization finances most of its activities from the fees it receives from its courses and from rental of its installations. The French government also provides

5325-653: Was a big industry in the first half of the 20th century. After a series of military governments that shackled culture in general, the industry re-emerged after the 1976–1983 military dictatorship to produce the Academy Award winner The Official Story in 1985. The Argentine economic crisis affected the production of films in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but many Argentine movies produced during those years were internationally acclaimed, including Plata Quemada (2000), Nueve reinas (2000), El abrazo partido (2004) and Roma (2004). In Brazilian cinema ,

5400-496: Was a period of "foundational fictions" (in critic Doris Sommer 's words), novels in the Romantic or Naturalist traditions that attempted to establish a sense of national identity, and which often focussed on the indigenous question or the dichotomy of "civilization or barbarism" (for which see, say, Domingo Sarmiento 's Facundo (1845), Juan León Mera 's Cumandá (1879), or Euclides da Cunha 's Os Sertões (1902)). At

5475-806: Was called "the Paris Alliance française". It was divided into three branches: the International Relations (DRI), the School of Paris , and the Department of Human and Financial Resources (DRHF). In 2007, the DRI has become the Alliance française Foundation, while the School and the DRHF became the Alliance française Paris Île-de-France. Three conventions are now governing the relations between

5550-486: Was exerted through diplomacy, trade, banking, and investment in railways and mines. The English language and British cultural norms were transmitted by energetic young British business agents on temporary assignment in the major commercial centers, where they invited locals into the British leisure activities, such as organized sports, and into their transplanted cultural institutions such as schools and clubs. The British role never disappeared, but it faded rapidly after 1914 as

5625-418: Was the first philosopher to question the status of the woman in Latin American society. When Catholic Church official instructed Sor Juana to abandon intellectual pursuits that were improper for a woman, Sor Juana's extensive answer defends rational equality between men and women, makes a powerful case for women's right to education, and develops an understanding of wisdom as a form of self-realization . Among

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