Hay un timbre humano, un sabor vital y de subsuelo que contiene a la vez la corteza indígena y el sustrátum común a todos los hombres, al cual propende el artista, a través de no importa que disciplinas, teorías o procesos creadores. […] A ese rasgo de hombría y de pureza conmino a mi generación.

Vallejo is a poet of race. In Vallejo, for the first time in our history, Indigenous sentiment is given pristine expression. […] But the Indian is the fundamental, characteristic feature of his art. In Vallejo there is a genuine Americanism, not a descriptive or local Americanism. Vallejo does not exploit folklore. Quechua words and popular expressions are not artificially introduced into his language; they are spontaneous and an integral part of his writing. It might be said that Vallejo does not choose his vocabulary. He is not deliberately autochthonous. He does not delve into tradition and history in order to extract obscure emotions from its dark substratum. His poetry and language emanate from his flesh and spirit; he embodies his message. Indigenous sentiment operates in his art perhaps without his knowledge or desire.