The Tropical Gothic Project
The idea of a project entitled Tropical Gothic seems to encompass a potential contradiction between that which is ‘solar’ and that which is ‘gloomy’. However, we believe there is no oxymoronic glitch in conjoining the two terms as they are linked by socio-cultural practices that lie at the heart of the Gothic and are also global manifestations that stem in different corners of the world. The usefulness of a Gothic reading grid applied to Latin American narratives can shed light on the cultural politics of the region. The socio-political nature of Latin American writers has been recognised as distinguishing feature of the region’s fictional works. Conversely, socio-political matters are also the root of the Gothic and reading Latin American texts as such can can both offer a deepened understanding of them and multiply the meaning of a critical Gothic.
Tropical Gothic manifestations may appear in several forms, for example, as graphic and discursive appropriations of classic Gothic fiction brought over during colonial times. These intial reading would be acclimatised by seminal Latin American authors to the tropical context. Such connections may also work in more complex and indirect historical transmissions, as in writers who read writers who read yet other writers. That is not to say there are no indigenous Gothic manifestations in Latin America. A native Tropical Gothic, with reference to national forms and cultural contexts, is also very prolific given that the region’s history is very favorable for the emergence of a Gothic discourse. As a phenomenon of place Tropical Gothic often comprises Latin American tensions and is marked by a quest for national identity post-emancipation.
The academic essays offered in this site have appeared elsewhere and should be duly quoted. They are published here to mark the beginning of a larger project which aims at putting the study of a Tropical Gothic on the world map beyond its current very occasional or limited uses.