Cuentos Mexicanos (1897): hacia el triunfo del modernismo decadentista

Abstract

This article presents an understanding of the project Cuentos Mexicanos, a section of El Nacional newspaper, as a space of attraction for readers who enjoyed the genre of the short story and the work of the authors announced in its leaflet. The section sprouted in an adverse context for journalism in Mexico; nevertheless, regarding the literary field, these polemics contributed to changing the function of literature and allowed the analysis of arguments from opposing groups. The project promoted decadent modernista writings, which eventually brought together a group of young writers who, one year later, would found Revista Moderna. This article suggests that one of the signing writers, Ana Ruiz, was a pseudonym used by a modernista in order to participate in the project without unfavorable consequences, a decision derived from the animosity between different newspaper directors.

Keywords

• cuentos mexicanos
• decadentismo
• literatura y prensa
• literatura mexicana
• polémicas literarias