Nadaism

Nadaism (Spanish: Nadaísmo, meaning "Nothing-ism" in English) was a Colombian artistic and philosophical counterculture movement active from 1958 to 1964. Founded by writer Gonzalo Arango, the movement was influenced by nihilism, existentialism, and the works of Colombian writer and philosopher Fernando González Ochoa.

Nadaism emerged partly in reaction to La Violencia and represented a Colombian expression of the avant-garde movements in the poetry of the Americas during the 1950s and 60s, such as the Beat Generation in the United States and the Tzanticos in Ecuador. The movement was largely anti-establishment and inspired works of literature, music, and film exploring Nadaist themes.

The term nadaísmo is a portmanteau of the Spanish word "nada" (meaning nothing) and "Dadaism" (Spanish: Dadaísmo). Nadaísmo has sometimes been described as "Colombian dadaism", a "Colombian Beat Generation", or "Colombian Futurism".

History

The violent events in Colombia during the 1940s and 1950s, such as La Violencia and the military government of Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, alongside rapid urban expansion, significantly influenced the formation of the Nadaísta (Nothing-ist) movement. Arango initially supported Pinilla's rise to power, joining the Movimiento Amplio Nacional (Broad National Movement), which consisted of artists and young intellectuals who supported the dictator. During this period, Arango worked as a journalist. However, the combined opposition of Conservative and Liberal party leaders led to Rojas Pinilla's fall on May 10, 1957. While the former dictator was exiled in Spain, Gonzalo Arango eventually moved to Medellín, Colombia.

Gonzalo Arango, creator of the Nadaist movement

Arango initiated the Nadaist movement in 1958 with the publication of his 42-page "Nadaism Manifesto," signed "gonzaloarango," in the Medellín magazine Amistad (meaning "Friendship"). Arango and other writers subsequently explored their disillusionment with the government they had once supported.

Among the first to join the movement were Alberto Escobar and Amilkar Osorio. As an inaugural act in 1958, they publicly burned works of Colombian literature in the Plazuela de San Ignacio in Medellín, symbolizing their rejection of traditional Colombian literary canons. Works denounced included those from earlier literary movements like Los Nuevos. One of the burned books was Arango's first work, "After the Man".

The movement largely dissolved with the deaths of its founding members. Toward the end of his life, Arango himself began to distance himself from some of the core tenets held by other Nadaist members.

Prominent figures

Notable authors associated with this movement include:

• Gonzalo Arango
• Jaime Jaramillo Escobar, also known as "X-504"
• Fanny Buitrago
• Rosa Girasol
• Jotamario Arbeláez, a pseudonym for José Mario Arbeláez Ramos
• Eduardo Escobar
• Amílcar Osorio, also known as "Amilkar-U"
• Dukardo Hinestrosa
• Kaleigh Mendonca
• Hernan Nicholls
• Darío Lemos
• María de las Estrellas
• Elmo Valencia
• Alberto Escobar Ángel
• Fernando Lalinde
• Fernando González
• Mario Rivero
• Germán Espinosa
• José Manuel Arango
• Alejandro Cote
• José David Rangel
• Giovanni Quessep
• Rafael Vega Jacome
• Aníbal Tobón

Associated rock bands included Los Speakers, The Young Beats, and Los Yetis.

Notable works

• From Nothing to Nadaism (Spanish: De la nada al nadaísmo) (1963), Gonzalo Arango, a poetry anthology
• Obra Negra (1974), Gonzalo Arango, a poetry anthology selected by Jotamario Arbeláez
• Poemas urbanos (1966), Mario Rivero
• El hostigante verano de los dioses, Fanny Buitrago
• Los ojos del basilisco, Germán Espinosa
• Nadaismo a Go-Go!, Los Yetis, a CD

See also

• Stone and Sky
• Colombian literature
• Latin American Boom