Out of José Victorino Lastarria's writing characterization as "viobra", this article examines Recuerdos literarios as a text whose testimonial character is set in the weave of literature progress. In this context, the query on the link between the new literature and the author's I goes through vicissitudes and struggles that represent traditional literature in the related period. Throughout the book Lastarria confronts Andrés Bello so ardently that he even compares both the Discurso de instalación de la Sociedad Literaria with the Discurso de instalación de la Universidad de Chile in order to found national literature.