Latin American writers have seldom limited themselves to monogeneric expression, both by taste and by necessity. Modern examples can be found on the foremost 'Boom' writers: Julio Cortazar, Carlos Fuentes, Mario Vargas Llosa and Gabriel Garcia Marquez who, while being known mostly for narrative fiction, where they have produced important and enduring works, have essayed other genres. They have shown interest in various forms of visual and aural arts: drama, film and radio scripts, as demonstrated by Cortazar's Los reyes, Nada a Pehuajo and Adios, Robinson; Fuentes' Todos los gatos son pardos, El tuerto es rey and Orquideas a la luz de la luna; Vargas Llosa's La senorita de Tacna, Kathie y el hipopotamo and La Chunga; and Garcia Marquez' El secuestro. As they have acknowledged an influence of cinematic and dramatic techniques on their narrative, adopting the genres themselves is a natural development and for some a return to their first works. The generic differences lying between the perception of the visual and auditive images of drama and film and the concept of the mental image of narration is one of the subjects focused on, covering ways in which they adapted technical and thematically to the change. The approach to the scripts has followed an eclectic methodology, basically semiotic, that takes into account thirteen sign systems in the written text and its intrinsic performance. As it studies the script, not its final production, only those aspects of staging revealed through the directions included and the text itself are covered. I have also focused on other traditional subjects: Title, Structure, Time, Space, Language, Characters and Themes, considering them as part of the meaningful substance of the whole system forming the work. The thematic aspects covered were isotopies, subjects that are developed through various systems, allowing the text to function as a whole. Coincidences between each author's works have been found, proving the theory that they have prevailed between generic distinctions, creating according to their own rules not those imposed by traditional definitions.

In the second half of the twentieth century Costa Rica has witnessed a resurgence of the performing arts. Motivated by political and social reforms, playwrights have searched for a national identity through the dramatic medium. Chapter I examines historical developments of the genre. Until the turning point of 1948, when a democratic administration established a ministry for the arts to expand and diversify audiences, theatre was primarily reserved for the bourgeoisie, dependent on European models and critiques. Chapter II examines dramaturgy by national playwrights of the generacion socialdemocrata: Samuel Rovinski, Alberto Canas, and Daniel Gallegos. They transformed a stagnating art form into a dynamic cultural phenomenon. Emerging playwrights such as Miguel Rojas, Ana Istaru, and Guillermo Arriaga connect audiences dramatically to social, economic, and political upheavals in Central America. The Teatro Joven in Chapter III is motivated by national and regional issues. Miguel Rojas focuses on historical drama linking the developing nation to the present. The independence movement, folklore, and the advent of industrialism are threads in the national fabric spun by his dramas. Ana Istaru is an accomplished poet as well as award-winning actress and playwright. She poignantly portrays the Costa Rican women's experience, characterizing memorable female figures who speak for the voiceless victims of injustice, social conventions, or neglect. Guillermo Arriaga addresses regional crises and social degeneration. He attacks political corruption, class and gender power struggles, and clashing value systems. These dramatists herald a new social consciousness. Chapter IV analyzes their plays through a semiotic approach. Correlating levels of meaning in the semantic, syntactic, and pragmatic dimensions of representative plays connect texts to their cultural context. Thematic and stylistic tendencies established by the generacion socialdemocrata are developed through structural and linguistic experimentation. Chapter V, the conclusion, relates textual messages to more critical and informed audiences who challenge playwrights to create original drama relevant to a new generation. In the continuum of socially conscious playwrights, the Teatro Joven develops the objectives of the "dramaturgos nacionales de la Social Democrata." Examining these objectives means observing the creators at work and their works in creation.

This dissertation presents a study of carnavalesque parody in three works by Virgilio Pinera. The first chapter consists of a study of the genesis of the master narratives of literary modernity in Latin America as formulated in the writings of Jose Marti and elaborated by the arielista writers in the first decades of the century. The chapter also includes a study of the literary group Origenes to which Virgilio Pinera belonged and a brief biographical essay about the author. The second chapter begins with a study of the theory of parody based on the theoretical writings of Linda Hutcheon. This study is followed by an analysis of the short story "El album" as a parody of the cuban neobarroque, an aesthetic shared by some of the members of Origenes. The chapter concludes with a study of the novel La carne de Rene as a padody of the Buildungsroman and of the master narratives of Latin American literaty modernity. The third chapter begins with a study of the popular tradition in Cuban theatre which was influential in the development of Virgilio Pinera's theories about theatre. This study is followed by a comparative study of Tembladera, a play by Juan Antonio Ramos which is based on the arielista modern ideology, and Electra Garrigo, Pinera's first play. The final chapter includes the conclusions of this dissertation.