This entry intends to determine the nature of the relationship between realism and the fantastic in magical realism, where the marvelous comes into play, and how exactly the lines between such apparently distinct categories as reality and fantasy are crossed or made indistinguishable. By taking a closer look at how the creation of this new combination of dissimilar elements fits into the cultural landscapes in which it originated, reasons can be found for why magical realism has become so successful in the Americas, Latin America and beyond. Magical realism has offered the world a literary model of resistance, being rebellious, anti-establishment, non-European, and anti-colonialist in its origins. While the genre in its original calling and form is no longer «en vogue» its variants keep on nourishing alternative literary modes and visions in the Americas and beyond.