Álvaro Félix Bolaños – författare

“Para Andrés Avellaneda, la práctica literaria y la práctica política han sido, y siguen siendo, áreas inseparables en el estudio de la cultura letrada latinoamericana. A lo largo de su carrera como crítico y docente, tanto en sus textos como en múltiples intervenciones académicas, jamás perdió de vista los conflictos de poder y las condiciones materiales de la región, a la vez que ha sabido manejar los matices que se imponen sutilmente en el análisis literario. Por todo ello, y por tanto más, con este volumen celebramos y agradecemos lo que ya nos ha dado y lo mucho que seguramente aportará en años venideros.”Saúl Sosnowski~“For Andrés Avellaneda, literary and political practices have been, and continue to be, inseparable areas in the study of Latin American literate culture. Throughout his career as a critic and teacher, both in his texts and in multiple academic speeches, he has never lost sight of the conflicts of power and the material conditions of the region, while at the same time he has known how to handle the nuances that are subtly imposed in literary analysis. For all this, and for much more, with this volume we celebrate and appreciate what he has already given us and everything he will surely contribute in the years to come.”Saúl Sosnowski

Critiques lingering manifestations of colonialism in contemporary Latin American scholarship.This collection of essays offers alternative readings of historical and literary texts produced during Latin America's colonial period. By considering the political and ideological implications of the texts' interpretation yesterday and today, it attempts to "decolonize" the field of Latin American studies and promote an ethical, interdisciplinary practice that does not falsify or appropriate knowledge produced by both the colonial subjects of the past and the oppressed subjects of the present.Using recent developments in postcolonial theory, the contributors challenge traditional approaches to Hispanism. The colonial situation under which these texts were composed, with all its injustices and prejudices, still lingers, and most studies have consistently avoided the connection between this colonial legacy and the situation of disenfranchised groups today. Colonialism Past and Present challenges discursive strategies that celebrate only European cultural traits, dismiss non-European cultural legacies, and solidify constructions of national projects considered natural extensions of European civilization since independence from Spain.