Una suma de negaciones: Apuntes sobre el género testimonial y el Premio Casa de las Américas (1970-1976)

This article examines the years of institutionalization of the testimonial genre through an analysis of two of the winning works of Casa de las América’s annual literary prize in the category ‘testimony’ between 1970-1976. The aim is to address the political and aesthetic conceptualization of t h e t e s t i m o n i a l g e n r e , e s t a b l i s h e d a n d institutionalized by means of the award. The study also seeks to analyse how the relationship between poetic and politics is articulated in the awardwinning works. Assuming that the modalities and the degree of discursive intervention of the writer-editor conditions the literariness of this category of stories, the analysis in particular addresses the authorial presence in order to approach the tensions between aesthetics and politics in the testimonial genre. Key words:Testimony, Revolution, Casa de las Américas, Genre, Politics, Poetics