Oliverio Girondo #06 - Ex-voto

Girondo published his first collection of poetry in 1922 (the same year that brought us other cutting edge works, such as Finnegans's Wake, The Waste Land, Trilce, The Enormous Room, Paulicéia Desvairada, The Marine Cemetery, etc). In this poem, "Exvoto"– the Latin derivation meaning "offering" –Girondo satyrizes the "chicas de Flores", an affluent neighborhood of Buenos Aires. He pokes at their pretentiousness, snootiness in a way that is likely chauvinistic; however, if we take in its historical & cultural context, we do not interpret Girondo the machista, but Girondo the general thorn in the side of a society that was still struggling with all the classist baggage left over from a major immigration to Argentina. Exvoto comes from 20 Poems To Be Read On The Tram, which is definitely not his greatest poetic achievement, but its importance is indisputable, since it pronounces the trajectory of modern Argentine literature– both in theme & form –& places Girondo alongside Vallejo, Andade, Arce & Huidobro in that group of innovators that brought modernism to Latin America.