This lecture by the Mexican historian and art critic Jorge Alberto Manrique (b. 1936) is of particular interest in that it refers to a fundamental concern in the fields of art history and art criticism in Latin America. This was a matter of great importance at the Encuentro Iberoamericano de Críticos de Arte y Artistas Plásticos [Iberian-American Gathering of Art Critics and Visual Artists].Manrique explored the thesis propounded by his mentor Edmundo O’Gorman on the “Invención de América” [Invention of America], and addressed a subject-matter that is a frequent bone of contention on the agenda at these gatherings: the question of cultural identity and the issue of the existence and validity of Latin American art. His lecture generated a great deal of interest at the 1978 gathering, as demonstrated by the fact that it was selected to be included in the general catalogue under the heading Colección Pintura y Escultura Latinoamericana. Museo de Bellas Artes de Caracas [Collection of Latin American Painting and Sculpture: Museum of Fine Arts, Caracas] (Caracas: Museo de Bellas Artes, 1979), pp. 15-17; 345pp. The First Iberian-American Gathering of Art Critics and Visual Artists was held in 1978 at the Museo de Bellas Artes [Museum of Fine Arts] in Caracas. In addition to Jorge Alberto Manrique, the list of attendees included the following art critics, professors, and artists: Julio Le Parc, Jorge Glusberg, Juan Acha, Adelaida de Juan, Carlos Rodríguez Saavedra, Jacqueline Barnitz, Berta Taracena, Antonio Berni, Galaor Carbonell, Marco Miliani, Alirio Rodríguez, Roberto Montero Castro, Élida Román, Ida Rodríguez [Prampolini], Carlos Arean, Marta Traba, Roberto Pontual, and Aracy A. Amaral. An important forerunner to this event was the “Austin Symposium” organized by University of Texas in late October 1975, which was attended by many of those who were later at the 1978 gathering. By then, the book concerning the earlier event had already been published in Venezuela: El artista latinoamericano y su identidad [The Latin American Artist and His Identity] by Damian Carlos Bayón (edit.) (Caracas: Monte Ávila Editores (Colección Estudios), 1977) 150pp,, illustrated in black and white.