dramatically suppressed the proliferation of literature. Writers actively searched for alternatives to Western modernism. Modernists in the mold of Rubén Darío frequently condemned the prosaic nature of the times, yet were dazzled by the opulence and refinement of turn-of-the-century Europe. While modernists condemned the vulgarity of the new rich, they were not inclined to denounce the art that wealth produced. Among new literary generations this attitude changed; they began to reject even the foundations of modernism. From his post as consul in Antwerp, Alberto Masferrer observed this crisis; the writings of Alberto Guerra Trigueros (1898–1950) also reflected the trend towards otherness as a model of progress. This search for alternatives led many to embrace Eastern mysticism, Amerindian cultures, and primitivism that saw the antithesis of disenchanted modernity in traditional ways of life. Theosophy and other sui generis adaptations of eastern religions gained popularity. These ideas were particularly attractive to a group of writers including Alberto Guerra Trigeros, Salarrué (1899-1975), Claudia Lars (1899-1974), Serafín Quiteño, Raúl Contreras, Miguel Ángel Espino, Quino Caso, Juan Felipe Toruño. These writers found their aesthetic creed in an art defined as a radical antagonist of social modernity. Guerra Trigueros was the artist with the most solid theoretical training of this group and the most familiar with the intellectual trends and aesthetics in Europe. Apart from being a respected author, he also played an important role as a diffuser of new aesthetic ideas. In his essays, he advocated for a radical redefinition of the language and themes in poetry, which had been dominated by the modernist aesthetic. He promoted free verse and poetry with a colloquial tone, redeeming everyday language in what he called "vulgar" poetry. Though lyricism of a classical mold was more popular among his contemporaries (who also were distancing themselves from modernism), Guerra Trigueros's became more visible in the following generations (for example, in the writing of Pedro Geoffroy Rivas, Oswaldo Escobar Velado, and Roque Dalton). Populism and authoritarianism In the early 1930s, Salvadorean fiction was centered on the work of Salarrué, which is as diverse as it is voluminous. While uneven, his work formed the continuation and culmination of the synthesis of cultivated literary language with the popular voice begun by Ambrogi. His Cuentos de barro (1933), which may be considered the most popular Salvadorean book, uses popular speech and elevates the primitivism of country life to the status of national utopia. He