Latin American literature

Latin American literature consists of the oral and written literature of Latin America in several languages, particularly in Spanish, Portuguese, and the indigenous languages of Latin America. This article is only about Latin American literature from countries where Spanish is the native/official language (e.g. former Spanish colonies). Even though these 18 countries share a language, each one has its unique literary traditions although they often overlap with those of other countries. (Literature from Puerto Rico is often included although it is not an independent country.) Here only the most general literary trends are discussed. Latin American literature rose to particular prominence globally during the second half of the 20th century, largely due to the international success of the style known as magical realism. As such, the region's literature is often associated solely with this style, with the 20th century literary movement known as Latin American Boom, and with its most famous exponent, Gabriel García Márquez. Latin American literature has a rich and complex tradition of literary production that dates back many centuries.