Satellite» Intellectuals

Fernando Aínsa and Roger Caillois, Gatekeepers of Cultural Transfers

Abstract

Fernando Aínsa and Roger Caillois were two intellectuals who acted as cultural hinges between the European and Latin American continents. Having lived on both sides of the Atlantic, the writers built, through their travels, transatlantic networks that functioned as mechanisms for the circulation of cultural transfers. Their actions to disseminate and promote Latin American authors led them to become mediators. Actors in the «second line», especially Aínsa, their contribution to the history of cultural production merits to be rescued and put into perspective in order to recover the missing links of transatlantic history. From Paris, the «capital of letters», Aínsa and Caillois will establish a gateway of Latin American texts to European territory, their contacts in the publishing world, academia, magazines and international organizations such as Unesco will allow them to create connections with magazines such as Río de la Plata, América, El correo de la Unesco and to link up with publishing projects such as the Croix du sud Collection, Representative Works and Archivos, from where they will act as «passeurs» of Latin American literature.