Indigenismo

(Indianismo), a tendency in the social thought, fine arts, and literature of the countries in Latin America in which Indians constitute a significant part of the population and the tradition of their ancient culture has been preserved. It developed in the 1920’s and 1930’s when many artists and writers, under the influence of the growing working-class and peasant movement, turned to depicting the life of the Indians. Peruvian Indigenists in painting (J. Sabogal, K. Bias, J. Codesido, and J. Vinatea Reinoso), relying on the tradition of folk art, created poetic images of Indian life. Indigenists in literature from Peru (E. López Albújar, C. Alegria, and J. M. Argüedas), Bolivia (A. Argüedas and M. Mendosa Lopez), and Ecuador (F. Chavez and J. Icaza) wrote a number of novels depicting the tragic condition of the Indians and their struggle for their rights. The themes of working life of the Indians and their struggle for liberation play an important role in Mexican painting (D. Rivera and F. Goitia) and literature (E. Abrey Gomez and G. López y Fuentes).