"No soy um aculturado": identidade nacional e indigenismo nas obras de José Maria Arguedas

Abstract

The debate on peruvian national identity; started in the nineteenth century, focused on the discussion of the role of indigenous people, considered by some a problem and, by others, the true source of national culture. Within this context stood out the thought of the writer and ethnographer José Maria Arguedas, known for the representation of Andean culture in his works and the social conflicts in white-indian relationship. Due to this characteristic, his works were considered a part of current indigenist literature. In our research the goal is to analyze the construction of the Peruvian national identity in Arguedas writings based on the assumption that his concept is in a first moment t affiliated to the indigenist conception, then present himself as a defense of cultural miscigenation. Our sources are in majority the authors’ novels.