CRIOLLISMO

preoccupation in the arts and especially the literature of Latin America with native scenes and types. The term often refers to a nationalistic preoccupation with such matter. The gaucho literature of Argentina was a form of criollismo. Writers associated with the movement included Toms Carrasquilla, Rufino Blanco-Fombona, Benito Lynch, and Ricardo Giraldes. The word is a derivative of the Spanish criollo, a person native to the Americas or a Creole.