nadaism

The movement was largely anti-establishment and inspired works of literature, music, and film exploring Nadaist themes. The term nadaísmo is a portmanteau of the Spanish word "nada" (meaning nothing) and "Dadaism". Nadaísmo has sometimes been described as "Colombian dadaism", a "Colombian Beat Generation", or "Colombian Futurism".

The violent events in Colombia during the 1940s and 1950s, such as La Violencia and the military government of Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, alongside rapid urban expansion, significantly influenced the formation of the Nadaísta (Nothing-ist) movement. Arango initially supported Pinilla's rise to power, joining the Movimiento Amplio Nacional (Broad National Movement), which consisted of artists and young intellectuals who supported the dictator. During this period, Arango worked as a journalist. However, the combined opposition of Conservative and Liberal party leaders led to Rojas Pinilla's fall on May 10, 1957. While the former dictator was exiled in Spain, Gonzalo Arango eventually moved to Medellín, Colombia. • Illustration — Gonzalo Arango, creator of the Nadaist movement Arango initiated the Nadaist movement in 1958 with the publication of his 42-page "Nadaism Manifesto," signed "gonzaloarango," in the Medellín magazine Amistad (meaning "Friendship"). Arango and other writers subsequently explored their disillusionment with the government they had once supported. Among the first to join the movement were Alberto Escobar and Amilcar Osorio. As an inaugural act in 1958, they publicly burned works of Colombian literature in the Plazuela de San Ignacio in Medellín, symbolizing their rejection of traditional Colombian literary canons. Works denounced included those from earlier literary movements like Los Nuevos. One of the burned books was Arango's first work, "After the Man". The movement largely dissolved with the deaths of its founding members. Toward the end of his life, Arango himself began to distance himself from some of the core tenets held by other Nadaist members.

Notable authors associated with this movement include: Associated rock bands included Los Speakers, The Young Beats, and Los Yetis.

• From Nothing to Nadaism (De la nada al nadaísmo) (1963), Gonzalo Arango, a poetry anthology • Obra Negra (1974), Gonzalo Arango, a poetry anthology selected by Jotamario Arbeláez • Poemas urbanos (1966), Mario Rivero • El hostigante verano de los dioses, Fanny Buitrago • Los ojos del basilisco, Germán Espinosa • Nadaismo a Go-Go!, Los Yetis, a CD