In the 1960s and 70s Latin American literature experienced what came to be known as a literary "Boom."  In the world of fiction, writers such as Gabriel García Márquez, Mario Vargas Llosa, Julio Cortázar, Alejo Carpentier, and Carlos Fuentes published some of the best novels and short stories of the time, and became widely translated and celebrated with international awards.  Coinciding with a number of major political and social movements in the region, this literary "Boom" helped to put Latin America on the map in a different way than before.  In this introduction to the "Boom" of Latin American literature, we will start with the Argentine Jorge Luis Borges, the most important precursor of the "Boom" (and of modern Latin American literature), and then talk about the main writers involved in the "Boom" itself, including their most important writings.  The presentation will be followed by a Q&A.