Álvaro Menéndez Leal (March 13, 1931 – April 6, 2000), known as ''Álvaro Menen Desleal'', was a Salvadoran poet, storyteller, playwright, essayist, and journalist.
Career
Menéndez belonged to the ''
Committed Generation
The Committed Generation ''(la Generación Comprometida in Spanish)'' was a literary generation that emerged in El Salvador during the 1950s, in which writers from various Latin American countries lived in El Salvador in exile or for diplomatic ...
'' alongside authors such as
Manlio Argueta
Manlio Argueta (born 24 November 1935) is a Salvadoran writer, critic, and novelist. Although he is primarily a poet, he is best known in the English speaking world for his novel '' One Day of Life''. ,
Ítalo López Vallecillos
Ítalo López Vallecillos (November 15, 1932 – February 9, 1986) was a Salvadoran poet, historian, journalist and editor.
Biography
He was the creator and ''guide'' of the mythical Committed Generation of El Salvador, to which Roque Dalto ...
and
Roque Dalton
Roque Antonio Dalton García (14 May 1935 – 10 May 1975), known professionally as Roque Dalton, was a Salvadoran poet, essayist, journalist, political activist, and intellectual. He is considered one of Latin America's most compelling poets ...
. He has been writing for the magazine ''El Diario de Hoy'' since 1950 and was a member of its editorial board from 1953. In addition, in 1956 he founded the first news program on Salvadorian television, ''Telediario salvadoreño''. His fate changed with every change of government in the country. He was arrested in 1953 for an alleged conspiracy against
Oscar Osorio's regime, on the other hand, he worked as a cultural attaché in Mexico and was director of the National Theater.
He had his breakthrough as a writer with the play ''Luz negra'', with which he won first prize at the ''Juegos Florales Hispanoamericanos Conmemorativos de Quezaltenango'' in Guatemala in 1965. For the essay ''Ciudad casa de todos'' he was awarded second prize at the ''Certamen Nacional de Cultura'' in 1967. In 1970 he was a prize winner of the ''Certamen Centroamericano "Miguel Ángel Asturias"'' organized by the ''Consejo Superior Universitario Centroamericano''. 20 years later he won first prize at the ''Certamen Nacional de Literatura'' held on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the ''Universidad de El Salvador'' with the piece ''La bicicleta al pie de la muralla''.
Works
* ''La llave'' (1962)
* ''Cuentos breves y maravillosos'' (1963)
* ''El extraño habitante'' (1964)
* ''Los gimnastas'' (1964)
* ''Luz negra'' (1965)
* ''El circo y otras piezas falsas'' (1965)
* ''Ciudad casa de todos'' (1968)
* ''Una cuerda de nylon y oro'' (1969)
* ''Tres piezas falsas'' (1969)
* ''La ilustre familia androide'' (1972)
* ''Hacer el amor en el refugio atómico'' (1974)
* ''Revolución en el país que edificó un castillo de hadas'' (1977)
* ''Los Vicios de Papa'' (1978)
* ''El fútbol de los locos'' (1998)
* ''Tres novelas breves y poco ejemplares'' (2000)
* ''La bicicleta al pie de la murala'' (2000)
Sources
The Biography: Biography of Álvaro Menéndez Leal (1931–2000)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Menendez Leal, Alvaro
Salvadoran literature
Spanish-language writers
Salvadoran poets
Salvadoran male poets
1931 births
2000 deaths