Los viajes de los intelectuales latinoamericanos a Europa Oriental 1947–1956: organización, circuitos de contacto y reflexiones

Abstract

This study analyses the journeys of Latin American intellectuals to Eastern Europein order to clarify hitherto unknown links with the region. The focal period is the decadeof 1947?1956, which was characterised by the great enthusiasm leftist intellectualsfelt towards the Soviet Union and the countries of the socialist block. The first partof the study presents individual written testimonies. These are put into perspectivewith regard to the role Latin American intellectuals played within the framework ofcommunist propaganda and their relations with international organizations. Specialattention is paid to the organization of these journeys, and to the way they contributedto the development of contacts with intellectuals in Eastern Europe. The third partof the study provides an analysis of the discourse of such texts. On the one hand, it isargued that the texts served the political needs of the time, and that their artistic valueis disputable. On the other hand, the texts are remarkable testimonies of the period,one in which the connection with Eastern Europe contributed significantly to the?internationalisation? of Latin American artists. This was reflected in the increasingnumber of translated works of the authors, invitations to various conferences, orinternational prizes awarded to Latin American artists. One of the major benefits ofthe testimonies is the fact that they describe the contacts established between LatinAmerican and European intellectuals. It is rather paradoxical that the first reunion ofprominent Latin American figures took place in Eastern Europe. In Latin America,where leftist intellectuals were frequently subjected to persecution, such meetingswould not have been possible.

Študija proučuje potovanja latinskoameriških intelektualcev v Vzhodno Evropo, da bi osvetlila nekatere do nedavnega manj poznane vezi med tema oddaljenima regijama. Gre za časovno obdobje med letoma 1947 in 1956, ki ga je zaznamovalo veliko navdušenje levičarskih intelektualcev nad Sovjetsko zvezo in državami socialističnega bloka. Avtor najprej predstavi individualna pričevanja in jih umesti v točen kontekst glede na vlogo latinskoameriških intelektualcev v komunistični propagandi in njihove odnose z mednarodnimi organizacijami. Posebno pozornost posveti organizaciji potovanj in njihovemu prispevku k vzpostavljanju stikov z vzhodnoevropskimi intelektualci. Tretji del študije predstavlja analiza diskurza teh besedil. Ta so služila trenutnim političnim potrebam, vprašljiva pa je tudi njihova literarna vrednost. Po drugi strani pa gre za pomembna pričevanja o obdobju, v katerem je povezava z Vzhodno Evropo prispevala k internacionalizaciji latinskoameriških umetnikov. Ta proces se je odrazil v naraščajočem številu prevodov, povabilih na konference in mednarodnih nagradah. Enega največjih prispevkov pričevanj o potovanjih predstavlja opis navezovanja stikov med latinskoameriškimi in evropskimi intelektualci. Paradoksalno se je prvo srečanje pomembnih osebnosti zgodilo v Vzhodni Evropi. V Latinski Ameriki, kjer so bili levičarski intelektualci mnogokrat preganjani, srečanja namreč niso bila mogoča.