Emilia De Zuleta, Historian of Relations between Spain and Hispanic America

Abstract

The article constitutes an intellectual tribute to Emilia de Zuleta, who made a major contribution to the study of cultural and literary relations between Spain and Hispanic America. Drawing on personal memories of their meetings in Mendoza since 1983, the author reconstructs the scholar’s critical trajectory and highlights the coherence of a body of work devoted to examining the links between both sides of the Atlantic. Particular attention is given to books such as Historia de la crítica española contemporánea and Relaciones literarias entre España y la Argentina, in which Zuleta studies mediating figures such as Guillermo de Torre, Enrique Díez-Canedo, Amado Alonso, and Pedro Salinas, while assigning a central role to literary journals as spaces of cultural exchange. Daniel-Henri Pageaux engages with some of Zuleta’s interpretations, especially regarding Guillermo de Torre and Hispanicist conceptions of Hispanic American literature, pointing out their Eurocentric limitations. Finally, he examines Zuleta’s research on the Spanish exile of 1936 in Argentina, emphasizing her interest in individual cases and in forms of cultural reception. In this sense, he defends a broad comparatist perspective capable of articulating personal experiences and general theoretical frameworks. The text combines academic recognition with critical discussion in a balanced manner.