[1] The "Decapitated Generation" was a group of four young Ecuadorian poets in the first decades of the 20th century.

These four writers were greatly influenced by the modernist movement of Rubén Darío and by 19th-century French romantic poetry.

The term "generación decapitada" originated in the middle of the 20th century, when Ecuadorian journalists and historians decided to name them, noting similarities in the authors' poetry.

Silva was the lowest class of the four poets, troubled by his dark skin and economic status.

He did however attend a prestigious high school and work as a journalist at El Telégrafo, a major newspaper in the city.