"In these pages commentary will be made on the following: some millenarian visions of western culture; some characteristics of a potentially millenary society; the Colombia from the beginning of this century; and the Colombia of today. Some Colombian literature texts of the twentieth century will be commented on, and words spoken from some of our more renown cultural figures will be cited. All of this to obtain a possible explanation for the millenary impulse and its relationship with the present Colombia." -Palencia-Roth. Also published in El principio de la esperanza: ensayos-conferencias. Fundación para la Promoción de las Artes. Cali, Colombia: Carvajal Impresores, 1999, pp. 61-66.