Coincidencias y disidencias en la historia literaria Dominicana: Vision de Max Henriquez Urena y de Joaquin Balaguer

The purpose of this dissertation is to outline the coincidences and discrepancies in the works of two outstanding Dominican writers and critics whose literary production, for different reasons, has not receive the recognition it deserves, namely Max Henriquez Urena (1885-1969) and Joaquin Balaguer y Ricard (1906-2002). Henriquez Urena is the author of Panorama historico de la Republica Dominicana (1945), considered a key contribution to Dominican literature and culture. Balaguer, who wrote Historia de la literatura dominicana (1954), has an extensive list of publications related to literature. These works are essential when exploring many aspects of the origins of Dominican culture and literary traditions. These books offer a solid and profound chronological voyage of four centuries. They provide a vast and complex exploration of a rich literary tradition. After consulting these books the reader, whether novice or expert, acquires a clear (and yet multifarious) picture of the history of literature in the aforementioned country. In academia, the many works produced by Max Henriquez Urena have long been overshadowed by those of his more famous brother, Pedro. In the case of Balaguer, his intimate ties with the infamous Dominican dictator, Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, along with his own twelve-year reign as president of the Dominican Republic acting as a quasi dictator, are still fresh in the collective memory of Dominicans. Thus his contributions to literature are overshadowed by his contentious political persona. It is hard for those who were political prisoners or who lost family members to his henchmen in "La Banda Colora" to separate Balaguer's political career from his intellectual and literary pursuits. However, in certain instances, literature is a domain where objectivity should prevail. My close analysis of Max Henriquez Urena's and Joaquin Balaguer's texts goes beyond the political debate. I try to understand how they viewed and charted the literary and cultural process in the Dominican Republic. I clearly understand that there are many who are repelled by Balaguer's political actions. Nevertheless there is much to be gleaned from studying his literary history.