Guillermo Evar González Méndez

The Argentine poet, critic, journalist, and editor Evar Méndez played a pivotal role in the promotion and dissemination of avant-garde culture in Buenos Aires during the first half of the twentieth century. Méndez’s pioneering editorial projects, especially the journal Martin Fierro (1924–27), which he founded, brought new discourses on international modern art and culture to readers in Argentina and across Latin America.

In 1906, Méndez traveled from his birthplace in rural Mendoza to Buenos Aires, where he met the Argentine writer and journalist Ricardo Rojas, a prominent figure in the city’s cultural and academic circles. Rojas introduced Méndez to writers associated with the newspaper La Nación who in turn introduced him to the city’s emerging café culture. Upon his arrival in Buenos Aires, Méndez began writing poems for his first book, Palacios de ensueño (Dream palaces, 1910),and working as a theater critic and eventually section chief for the newspaper La Gaceta de Buenos Aires. He also wrote for other newspapers and journals during that decade, including La Razón and El Diario.

Méndez founded two journals, both titled Martín Fierro. The first, known for its anarchist ideology and strong social content, lasted for only three issues, between March and April 1919. Méndez borrowed the title of the journals from the eponymous nineteenth-century epic poem by Argentine writer José Hernández that celebrates the lives of gauchos—skilled horsemen who are folk symbols of the Argentinean pampas. Méndez resurrected the journal in the mid-1920s and is best known for this version. Between 1924 and 1927, he worked on every aspect of the journal, re-titled Martín Fierro: Periódico quincenal de arte y crítica libre (Bimonthly journal of art and free criticism). Considered the most significant Argentinean avant-garde publication of the 1920s, it was a crucial outlet for such influential literary figures as Jorge Luis Borges and Oliverio Girondo.

By attaching the title of Hernández’s work to the name of an avant-garde journal, Méndez revitalized the figure of the gaucho, stripping it of its sole identification as an emblem of national identity. Instead, Méndez aligned the journal with avant-garde practices in domestic and international contexts that celebrated new cultural forms. From its first issue in 1924, Méndez understood the journal as a vital site for conversations about diverse cultural practices around the globe, from vociferous attacks on the salons of Buenos Aires to appraisals of international experiments in visual art.

In each issue, discussions of literature and poetry coexisted with critiques of new paintings, sculpture, film, photography, and architecture. Readers encountered a rich selection of works, ranging from Girondo’s evocative poems to updates on Argentina’s burgeoning film scene and architecture in Buenos Aires. Opposing the academic styles presented in salon exhibitions, the journal championed avant-garde artists like Juan del Prete and highlighted exhibitions at the Amigos del Arte gallery alongside groundbreaking philosophical inquiries by Carlos Astrada. It also incorporated discussions of art in a broader Latin American context and beyond, such as a review of the Salon de Pintura de Primavera in Uruguay, the work of French painter Henri Ottman at the Paris Salon de l’Automne of 1923, and Fernand Léger’s set designs for Marcel L’Herbier’s film L’Inhumaine (1924). Other essays spotlighted figures like painter Marie Laurencin and writer Rainer Maria Rilke.

In addition to championing younger authors’ works through the journal, Méndez actively promoted and participated in Argentinian culture. He served as a member of the publishing house Proa, dedicated to emerging Argentine writers often associated with Martín Fierro. He was also engaged in the intellectual and cultural life of Buenos Aires through lectures and interdisciplinary events that he organized, including “Revista Oral” (Oral magazine), a live variety performance that emulated radio programming. Following the closure of Proa in 1926 and the last issue of Martín Fierro in 1927, Méndez’s involvement in the Argentine avant-garde came to an end.