Despite the great differences among the cultures from which we spring, there is a trait shared by many Hispanic-American writers: the use of a European language, Spanish, transplanted to the Western hemisphere.
Topic
The tension in Hispanic-American literature between two competing impulses: cosmopolitanism (engaging the European/mainstream tradition) and nativism (returning to one's own peoples and dialects).
Framework
Highlight Noteworthy. A Hispanic-American writer (the author writes in the first-person plural — "We Hispanic Americans") frames the literature's defining tension and argues that the two opposing tendencies are ultimately reconciled in the writer's daily practice.
Main Point
Hispanic-American literature is shaped by a back-and-forth between cosmopolitanism (looking outward to European/mainstream forms) and nativism (looking inward to native peoples and dialects); contemporary writers live with this tension and try to reconcile the two.
P1: The two opposing tactics
Hispanic-American writers in Spanish have tried to break literary dependency on Spain through a "twofold movement": adopting European/North American forms (cosmopolitanism) while also describing the U.S. and giving voice to its Hispanic peoples (nativism).
P2: The tension shows up in criticism
Examples: a Mexican-American novelist praised for European technique but faulted for lacking Mexican-American content; a Cuban-American novel praised for vivid daily-life portrayal but faulted for "rough" form. The same work is judged by both standards.
P3: The tension also shows up over time
Periods of outward-oriented experimentation (the 1918–1930 avant-garde drawing on European movements) alternate with periods of return to peoples and colloquial dialects.