Latin American Modernism is an initia­ti­ve that seeks to reco­ver the inte­llec­tual, visual, and mate­rial forms of the eman­ci­pa­tory pro­jects that emer­ged from the region during the Development Era and during its his­to­ri­cal pre­ce­dents in the early deca­des of the 20th cen­tury. Against the slow can­ce­lla­tion of the futu­re that marks the current his­to­ri­cal moment, we seek to open the archi­ves of the popu­lar ima­gi­na­tions that follo­wed the Jacobin path of the Haitian Revolution and achie­ved their most advan­ced mani­fes­ta­tion in natio­nal pro­grams for endo­ge­nous indus­tria­li­za­tion, agra­rian reforms, the expan­sion of popu­lar edu­ca­tion, as well as in the strug­gles over the sei­zu­re, expan­sion, and demo­cra­ti­za­tion of state ins­ti­tu­tions.

“Humanity is a verb that is not only con­ju­ga­ted in the past tense, but essen­tially in the futu­re tense.”

— Olga Poblete

In Latin America, the con­cept of moder­nism has tra­di­tio­nally been emplo­yed to desig­na­te a group of Spanish-American lite­rary avant-gar­des whose con­tri­bu­tions began in the late 19th cen­tury. However, and based on the reco­very of various arti­facts and expe­rien­ces that took place bet­ween the Mexican Revolution of 1910 and the triumph of the Nicaraguan Revolution in 1979, this initia­ti­ve aims to broa­den the scope of this con­cept, pla­cing the region within the fra­me­work of a glo­bal his­tory of popu­lar moder­nism. Unlike the Western ver­sion of high moder­nism, Latin American moder­nism deri­ved its vital force from the mix­tu­re of cul­tu­res, dias­po­ras, creo­li­za­tion, and mes­ti­za­je; a glo­bal and local syn­cre­tism of the labor, pea­sant, femi­nist, and indi­ge­nous move­ments. Reclaiming the power­ful, dis­rup­ti­ve force of Latin American Modernism the­reby begins with recog­ni­zing that it was not just a sin­gu­lar moder­nism, nor that it was exclu­si­vely eli­tist, mas­cu­li­ne, hete­ro­se­xual, or Eurocentric.

“Only anth­ro­pophagy uni­tes us. Socially. Economically. Philosophically.”

— Manifiesto Antropófago

Far from a nos­tal­gic ges­tu­re, our objec­ti­ve is to res­to­re the lost futu­res of pro­jects that were emi­nently hete­ro­ge­neo­us, insur­gent, and inter­na­tio­na­list. Traces of an anth­ro­popha­gic moder­nism that did not seek to pre­ser­ve any purity or to return to an ima­gi­ned past, but that embo­died the his­to­ri­cal drive of move­ments see­king to expand and radi­ca­li­ze the unful­fi­lled pro­mi­se of the Enlightenment pro­ject, tra­cing an eman­ci­pa­tory hori­zon from the con­cre­te reality of the peo­ples of the periphery. Land and free­dom [Tierra y liber­tad], the slo­gan immor­ta­li­zed by the Mexican Revolution in 1910, power­fully sym­bo­li­zes the spi­rit of the times.

During this period, the region beca­me a mel­ting pot of efforts to revo­lu­tio­ni­ze artis­tic, tech­no­lo­gi­cal, scien­ti­fic, and eco­no­mic forms. Technical repro­du­ci­bi­lity gave way to a pro­fu­se field of film, graphic, and edi­to­rial pro­duc­tion sus­tai­ned both by for­mal expe­ri­men­ta­tion and by the aspi­ra­tion to demo­cra­ti­ze access and popu­lar self-repre­sen­ta­tion in media forms. New archi­tec­tu­ral trends res­pon­ded to the most pres­sing needs of the wor­king class, but also allo­wed for the design of mass infras­truc­tu­res gea­red toward lei­su­re and enjoy­ment, lea­ding to the expan­sion of sub­jec­ti­ve expe­rien­ce and public spa­ces for collec­ti­ve enjoy­ment. Thus, the his­tory of moder­nism is also a sen­suous his­tory that exten­ded beyond steel and con­cre­te; among the plans for bru­ta­list buil­dings, parks, and social hou­sing, it was also able to dream the mate­ria­lity of a bet­ter life.

The expan­sion of pro­duc­ti­ve-indus­trial capa­city in natio­nal eco­no­mies during the deve­lop­men­ta­list era, in turn, brought with it various visions of poli­ti­cal moder­nity that cha­llen­ged neo­co­lo­nial depen­den­ce and the poli­ti­cal ins­ti­tu­tions of oli­gar­chic repu­blics. These visions beca­me power­fully mani­fes­ted in his­to­ri­cal events such as the Cuban Revolution, the Popular Unity in Chile, and the inter­na­tio­na­lism of the Tricontinental Conference and the OSPAAAL (Organization of Solidarity with the Peoples of Africa, Asia, and Latin America). Moreover, the mili­tary coup in Brazil in 1964 ushe­red in a new cycle of autho­ri­ta­rian and coun­te­rre­vo­lu­tio­nary govern­ments in South America that led to novel moda­li­ties of anti-fas­cist strug­gle struc­tu­red on the basis of the defen­se of poli­ti­cal free­dom and human dig­nity. Meanwhile, a new wave of natio­nal libe­ra­tion strug­gles and inter­na­tio­na­list soli­da­rity move­ments reached its pin­na­cle in Central America with the triumph of the Sandinista revo­lu­tion in 1979 and the Sixth Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement.

“Everything human is ours”.

— José Carlos Mariátegui 

The collec­tion that we make avai­la­ble to the public brings together pro­ces­ses of natio­nal and sexual libe­ra­tion, natio­na­li­za­tions and land dis­tri­bu­tion, public enjoy­ment and expro­pria­tions, socia­list, femi­nist, and anti-colo­nial pro­jects, avant-garde expe­ri­men­ta­tion, and mass cul­tu­re. Currently, the rise of a glo­bal autho­ri­ta­rian turn, the return of impe­ria­list wars, and a cli­ma­te emer­gency that impe­rils the very pos­si­bi­lity of human life on Earth demand a collec­ti­ve pur­suit for hori­zons of radi­cal trans­for­ma­tion and modes of socio-poli­ti­cal orga­ni­za­tion that can put human life and pla­ne­tary eco­lo­gi­cal balan­ce at the cen­ter.

Through an open digi­tal plat­form, and in dia­lo­gue with an inter­na­tio­nal and inter­na­tio­na­list research net­work, this initia­ti­ve aims to cha­llen­ge the per­va­si­ve forms of capi­ta­list rea­lism that abound in our current his­to­ri­cal epoch, ope­ning up spa­ces for encoun­ter, deba­te, and for the collec­ti­ve dis­co­very of archi­val mate­rials and insights. Despite having been eclip­sed by mili­tary vio­len­ce and by ins­ti­tu­tio­na­li­zed obli­vion, the spec­tral pre­sen­ce of Latin American moder­nism still lin­gers in those of us who belie­ve that an alter­na­ti­ve, plu­ra­lis­tic, eco­lo­gi­cal, and beau­ti­ful moder­nity for the vast majo­rity is not only pos­si­ble but neces­sary and urgent.