Guatemalan Literature - Colonial Period: 16th - 19th Centuries

19th Centuries

The 16th century saw the first native-born Guatemalan writers that wrote in Spanish. Major writers of this era include Sor Juana de Maldonado, considered the first poet playwright of colonial Central America, and the historian Francisco Antonio de Fuentes y Guzmán. The Jesuit Rafael Landívar (1731–1793) is considered as the first great Guatemalan poet. He was forced into exile by Carlos III. He traveled to Mexico and later to Italy, where he did. He originally wrote his Rusticatio Mexicana and his poems praising the bishop Figueredo y Victoria in Latin.

At this time, traditional poetic forms were developed to be sung. These include the villancico for use on the eves of main religious holidays. These were the only liturgical occasions on which songs in vernacular languages were permitted. (All other events were exclusively in Latin.) In Guatemala, as throughout the Spanish empire, other musical compositions with Spanish lyrics included consisted sainetes, jácaras, tonadas, and cantatas. Authors of these poems, who also put their works to music, include Manuel José de Quirós (ca. 1765-1790), Pedro Nolasco Estrada Aristondo, Pedro Antonio Rojas, and Rafael Antonio Castellanos (ca. 1725-1791). Castellanos is one of the most important in the Hispanic world and in the music of Guatemala.

During the 18th century, Guatemalan literature was influenced by French neoclassicism, as is seen in educational and philosophical works by authors such as Rafael García Goyena and Matías de Córdoba.