Colombian literature during Spanish rule focused on religion, with notable authors like Juan de Castellanos and Francisca Josefa del Castillo. After independence, literature had romantic and political themes influenced by Simón Bolívar and others. In the late 19th century, costumbrista literature criticized society and government. Modernism and nothingism movements followed in the early 20th century, inspired by violence. Colombian architecture was originally European but later drew from England and France. In the 1940s, most Colombians lived in simple cinder block homes. Popular dances included bambuco, vallenato, and porro, while music genres included salsa, adopted from Puerto Rico, and folk music in African communities.