Mercedes Durán Flores (August 9, 1933 – July 7, 1999), better known by the pseudonym Mercedes Durand, was a Salvadoran poet and journalist. She was a member of 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 ...

, a literary generation established in El Salvador in the 1950s, as well as the related Grupo Octubre. The poetry she wrote between 1979 and 1981 is considered some of the most important testimonial writing of this

critical period In developmental psychology and developmental biology, a critical period is a maturational stage in the lifespan of an organism during which the nervous system is especially sensitive to certain environmental stimuli. If, for some reason, the org ...

in her country. Over the course of her life, Durand directed and presented various television and radio programs, and worked on numerous literary magazines in Mexico and El Salvador. From 1963 to 1970, she taught in the humanities department of the

University of El Salvador The University of El Salvador (UES) is the oldest and the most prominent university institution in El Salvador. It serves as the national university of the country. The main campus, Ciudad Universitaria, is located in the capital of San Salvador ...

, before her exile to Mexico amid political repression of academics. Her poetry was marked by a deep intimacy, romantic themes, precision, and simplicity, with her autobiographical poems centering on nature and love.

Early life and education

Durand was born in

San Salvador San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

, in 1933. She began writing poetry at only 8 years old. After graduating from normal school in 1950, from 1952 to 1958 she pursued literary studies at the

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public university, public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countri ...

(UNAM), under a scholarship from the Salvadoran government of

Óscar Osorio Óscar Osorio Hernández (14 December 1910 – 6 March 1969) ruled as a member of the Revolutionary Council of Government from 14 December 1948 to 14 September 1950. He was President of El Salvador from 14 September 1950 until 14 September 1 ...

. Starting in 1950, she became a member of the

and the Grupo Octubre, two interrelated groups of writers in El Salvador in this period.

Career

Durand worked as a journalist and television producer, including as desk editor and contributor at ''

La Prensa Gráfica ''La Prensa Gráfica'', commonly known as ''La Prensa'', is a daily newspaper published in El Salvador by Grupo Dutriz. ''La Prensa'' is a mainstream metropolitan newspaper, and became one of the first newspapers to print in color in Central Am ...

'' from 1958 to 1960, and as news editor at the ''Tribuna Libre'' from 1965 to 1967. She also wrote stories, poems, and essays for such Salvadoran publications as ''Humanismo'' and ''Cultura'' in the 1950s and '60s. In 1960, she won first prize in the

Usulután Usulután () is the fifth largest city in El Salvador, and capital of the Usulután Department in the south-east of El Salvador. As of 2006, it is estimated to have population of 71,636 people. Usulután rests in a rich agricultural valley and ...

Floral Games Floral Games were any of a series of historically related poetry contests with floral prizes. In Occitan, their original language, and Catalan they are known as (, ; modern or ). In French, they became the (), and in Basque (). The origina ...

. She taught in the humanities department of the

from 1963 to 1970. While at the university, she served as a member of the school's editorial board and as director of the magazine ''Vida Universitaria''. However, in July 1972, President

Arturo Armando Molina Arturo Armando Molina Barraza (6 August 1927 – 18 July 2021) was a Salvadoran politician and military officer, who served as President of El Salvador from 1972 to 1977. He was born in San Salvador. He served between 1 July 1972 and 1 July 1 ...

ordered an intervention into the university's activities, shutting down its academic and administrative operations and persecuting the university community. Durand was among the academics who were targeted in this period, and in 1972 she left for exile in Mexico. While in Mexico, she worked as an editor on the wire section of ''El Día'' from 1975 to 1976; for the news broadcaster Canal 13 in 1977; for the publisher Magisterio from 1975 to 1977; and as a

copy editor Copy editing (also known as copyediting and manuscript editing) is the process of revising written material (" copy") to improve quality and readability, as well as ensuring that a text is free of errors in grammar, style, and accuracy. ''The Ch ...

at the publishing house Posada from 1974 to 1976. She also wrote scripts for the comic book publisher Novaro from 1973 to 1975, and taught at UNAM's Center for Communication Studies. From 1976, she was a founding member of the

Latin American Federation of Journalists The Latin American Federation of Journalists (, FELAP), founded on June 7, 1976, is an association that represents journalism organizations—federations, unions, circles, and schools—in Latin America and the Caribbean, representing more than 80 ...

Personal life and death

In 1952, Durand married the Salvadoran poet Mauricio de la Selva, with whom she had one son. They divorced in 1958, and she later remarried the leftist activist Mario Salazar Valiente. The couple returned to El Salvador after the 1992

Chapultepec Peace Accords The Chapultepec Peace Accords were a set of Peace treaty, peace agreements signed on January 16, 1992, the day in which the Salvadoran Civil War ended. The treaty established peace between the El Salvador, Salvadoran government and the Farabund ...

, but Salazar Valiente died of a heart attack one day later, which drove Durand to return to Mexico in grief. She died in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

in 1999, at age 65.

Selected works

* ''Espacios'', Mexico, 1955 * ''Sonetos elementales,'' San Salvador'','' 1958, illustrated by the painter

Carlos Cañas Carlos Cañas (September 3, 1924April 14, 2013) was a Salvadoran painter who studied art and theory at the School of Arts of El Salvador. In 1950, he received a scholarship to study art, history, aesthetics, and literature in Madrid at the Real A ...

* ''Poemas del hombre y del alba'', San Salvador, 1961 * ''Las manos en el fuego'', with , 1969 * ''Las manos y los siglos'', Mexico, 1970 * ''Juego de Güija'', San Salvador, 1970 * ''Todos los vientos'', poetry anthology, San Salvador, 1972 * ''A sangre y fuego'', 1980 * ''Sarah, la luna, la muchacha y otros poemas'', Ciudad Juárez, 1982 * ''La guerrilla de las ondas y otros ensayos'', San Salvador

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Durand, Mercedes 1933 births 1999 deaths People from San Salvador Salvadoran women poets Salvadoran women journalists Salvadoran academics Salvadoran exiles Salvadoran expatriates in Mexico National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni 20th-century Salvadoran women writers 20th-century journalists 20th-century women journalists 20th-century Salvadoran poets 20th-century scholars 20th-century women academics