Brazil and the American issue (Rodó por Sérgio Buarque de Holanda, Gilberto Freyre, José Veríssimo y João Pinto da Silva, 1920-1926)

Abstract

Brazil was a half-empty space in Rodó's American reflection, almost an enigma. However, in different parts of the country-continent, young people who over time were decisive intellectuals saw in Rodó's work an obstacle and a challenge. Some early notes from the very young Sérgio Buarque of Holland and Gilberto Freyre reveal their concerns about Rodó's ideas in relation to his own research, while for the most prominent critic of the Nineteenth Century, José Veríssimo, Ariel had already become, at the beginning of the century, a possibility for American dialogue and even for the synthesis of his deep ideals, the gaúcho João Pinto da Silva adopted the ideas of the Mon This article reviews what could lead, especially between 1920 and 1926, to such scrutinies and positions, and what were some of their effects on writing and thought that links Brazil with Latin America, physical, linguistic and symbolic territories of always complex articulation.