This text written by the Chilean architect, Carlos Feuereisen, is a folkloric meditation on the need to introduce the visual culture of the pre-Hispanic peoples into the design of decorative art and architecture made in Chile in the early 1930s. In his essay, Feuereisen states his belief that the greatest tendency toward “nationalization” of things within a given country arises from its architecture. He questions why, to procure “sabor local” [local flavor], it is necessary to resort to the trite and “adulterado estilo llamado ‘colonial’” [adulterated style, called “Colonial”], which is neither modern nor indicative of any progress in the history of architecture. Referring to his country, Chile, he raises the possibility of ¿“(…) una arquitectura autóctona?” [an indigenous architecture]. His response is affirmative. He believes that the Native legacy consists of models that could be developed within current architectural concepts. Examples of ceramics and weavings may provide a basis for “una decoración arquitectónica [con] un sello característico, netamente nacional” [architectural decoration with a characteristic, clearly national, stamp]. The writer is convinced of the possibility of some kind of “arquitectura autóctona” [indigenous architecture]. He thinks highly of reinforced concrete, especially in countries like Chile, which are so prone to earthquakes, and sees it as the preferred construction material for schools. However, he opposes those international trends that eschew all superfluous decoration[, that is, anything] apart from the clear purpose of the construction. In his opinion, “conviene tener en cuenta estos dos principios si se quiere llegar a la creación de una arquitectura chilena” [it is suitable to bear in mind these two principles—i.e., both construction and decorative values—if we wish to achieve the creation of a Chilean architecture]. Feuereisen believes that the straight line so constantly used in those works, “no parece estar indicada en la arquitectura autóctona” [seems to have no precedent in indigenous architecture]. Given all this information, he supports the idea that we should never imitate or copy indigenous themes, rather, we should interpret them. To conclude his proposal, Feuereisen raises the great problem of preserving, “aquella ingenuidad que les es propia y que le da el carácter que tiene” [the ingenousness of that architecture, from which it derives its very nature], in today’s work.