Academia Antártica facts for kids

The Academia Antártica ("Antarctic Academy") was a group of writers, poets, and thinkers. Most of them were criollos, meaning they were people of Spanish descent born in the Americas. This group met in Lima, Peru, during the 16th and 17th centuries.

Their main goal was to create amazing literature that was as good as, or even better than, what was being written in Europe. They wanted to show that great writing could also come from Spain's far-off colonies. The members of this academy published several collections of their own writings and translations. The most famous ones are Primera parte del Parnaso Antártico de obras amatorias (Antarctic Parnassus, Part One: Poems of Romance) from 1608, and Segunda parte del Parnaso Antártico de divinos poemas (Antarctic Parnassus, Part Two: Poems of the Divine) from 1617.

Why They Formed the Academy

In the late 1500s, Lima, Peru, was a lively place for culture. People everywhere, even in mines and farms, loved literature. They read many classic texts from ancient Greece and Rome. These included works by famous writers like Aristotle, Herodotus, Petrarch, Cicero, and Ovid. A key feature of the Academia Antártica was how much its members copied and referred to these old classical stories.

Writers in Lima paid close attention to what was popular in Europe. It's likely they felt inspired to start the Academia Antártica because similar groups were forming in Seville, Spain, around the same time.

We don't have many records about the Academia's meetings or who all its members were. Most of what we know comes from only three sources:

• A poem by Gaspar de Villaroel from 1596, which mentions the society.
• A poem called "Discurso en loor de la poesía" (meaning "Discourse in Praise of Poetry"). This poem is thought to be written by the mysterious poet Clarinda. It praises many members of the Academia.
• A poem called "Academia" written by Pedro de Oña.

Experts still discuss how the Academia Antártica was organized and who belonged to it. Some even think it might have been part of the University of San Marcos. However, everyone agrees on one thing: the group wanted to show the world that amazing writers lived in Lima.

The name "Academia Antártica" itself is interesting. "Academia" means a place of learning and literature. "Antártica" refers to the Southern Hemisphere, a place that Europeans often overlooked. The name was a way to combine the idea of great literature with a place that wasn't getting enough recognition. The poems from the Academia, especially Clarinda's "Discourse in Praise of Poetry," suggest that its members were frustrated. They felt Europe didn't appreciate the talented poets living and writing in the American colonies.

To people reading today, the Academia's writings might seem more European than American. This is because they focused on translating and imitating classical works. They also used popular writing styles of the time, like those of Petrarch. Plus, they didn't often mention local Indigenous peoples or their stories. Still, the Academia was a very important step. It helped create a unique Peruvian national literature. It also helped gain recognition for these writers from European thinkers. Even Miguel de Cervantes, a very famous Spanish author, praised literature from Spain's American colonies in his work Canto a Calíope (1583), though he didn't name the Academia Antártica directly.

Members of the Academia

This list comes from an essay by Sonia Rose. The way the members are grouped is also from her work. The Spanish Wikipedia article has more names, but they could not be checked for accuracy.

Authors with complete poems still existing:

• Diego de Aguilar y Córdoba
• Miguel Cabello de Balboa
• Clarinda ("The Unknown Poetess")
• Diego Dávalos y Figueroa
• Diego de Hojeda [es]
• Diego Mexía de Fernangil
• Enrique Garcés
• Juan de Miramontes y Zuázola
• Pedro de Oña

Authors with only parts of their poems still existing:

• Cristóbol de Arriaga
• Francisco de Figueroa
• Pedro de Montes de Oca
• Luis Pérez Ángel
• Cristóbol Pérez Rincón
• Juan de Portilla y Agüero
• Juan de Salcedo Villandrando
• Gaspar de Villarroel y Coruña

Authors known only because others mentioned them:

• Pedro de Carvajal
• Antonio Falcón
• Duarte Fernández
• Luis Sedeño
• Juan de Gálvez

Authors whose membership is not certain:

• Pérez Rincón

External resources

• Wikipedia's Spanish-language Academia Antártica article.
• Partial text of Antonio Cornejo Polar's critical edition of "Discurso en loor de la poesía" at GoogleBooks.
• Partial text of The Cambridge History of Latin American Literature (edited by González Echevarria & Pupo-Walker) at GoogleBooks.

See also

In Spanish: Academia Antártica para niños