Sor Juana Inés de La Cruz was already writing some of the best Spanish anywhere from a convent in 17th century Mexico City. In many ways she was the very beginning of Spanish-American literature, a pioneering spirit that would continue throughout the years. The first Nobel Prize in Literature ever awarded to a Latin American was given to Gabriela Mistral in 1945, and it was only the second time the award had ever been given to someone who wrote in the Spanish language. Mistral's tradition has been continued in Chile well into the current century by Isabel Allende's fantastic novels, while screenwriter Laura Esquivel went on to write the world-famous Like Water for Chocolate, and Sandra Cisneros and Julia Alvarez continued the tradition by writing in English from the United States.
