Manuel Benjamín Carrión Mora (April 20, 1897 in Loja – March 9, 1979 in Quito) was an Ecuadorian writer, diplomat and cultural promoter.

Biography

He was born into an aristocratic family in Loja. He was a lawyer by training, and occupied various positions in the public arena, including Minister of Education and legislator. He was also a diplomat in several countries of

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and the Americas and most notably served as the ambassador to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. Carrión was also a professor at the

Central University of Ecuador , image = Escudo de la Universidad Central del Ecuador.png , caption = , alt = , motto = ''Omnium Potentior est Sapientia'' , established = , type = National university , president = , ...

, and a journalist. In this later capacity he founded the

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as p ...

'' El Sol'' with

Alfredo Pareja Diezcanseco Alfredo Pareja Diezcanseco (October 12, 1908 – May 1, 1993) — born Alfredo Pareja y Díez Canseco — was a prominent Ecuadorian novelist, essayist, journalist, historian and diplomat. An innovator of the 20th-century Latin American nove ...

. Due to his political views, he was close to the

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and later communist realms of Ecuadorian society. In 1934 he published what many critics consider to be his greatest work, ''Atahuallpa'', a biography of the

Spanish conquest of the Inca empire The Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, also known as the Conquest of Peru, was one of the most important campaigns in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. After years of preliminary exploration and military skirmishes, 168 Spanish sol ...

, which has been translated into English and French. In 1944, he founded the

Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana La Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana (''The House of Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republi ...

(House of Ecuadorian Culture) and became its first President. He was a tireless crusader for the House, and despite great odds, was able to inaugurate its first and main building in May 1947. The building stands now as an icon of the city of Quito. Benjamín Carrión Palace was completed in 1948. From the beginning he emphasized the importance of the House's Museums, Library and Press. He published the influential literary magazine '' Letras del Ecuador'' under the direction of among others, his nephew

Alejandro Carrión Alejandro Carrión Aguirre (11 March 1915 – 4 January 1992) was an Ecuadorian poet, novelist and journalist. He wrote the novel ''La espina'' (1959), the short story book ''La manzana dañada'' (1983), and numerous poetry books. As a journalist ...

. He also published a number of key Ecuadorian authors. The House of the Culture has, in its more than 20 years of work, supported a multitude of writers and painters both inside and outside the country. It has also allowed for Ecuadorian culture to be known in the international field. Though his legacy as a writer can be considered controversial in importance, he stands as Ecuador's foremost promoter of culture.

Awards and honors

* 1968: Benito Juárez Prize (Mexico) * 1975: The first recipient of Ecuador's highest national prize Premio Eugenio Espejo

Bibliography

* ''El desencanto de Miguel García'' (1929) * ''Obras de Benjamín Carrión'' * ''Nuevas Cartas al Ecuador'' * ''Los Creadores de la Nueva América'' * ''Mapa de America'' (1931) * ''San Miguel de Unamuno'' * ''Santa Gabriela Mistral'' * ''Puerto Rico'' * ''Índice de la Poesía Ecuatoriana Contemporánea'' * ''Por Qué Jesús No Vuelve'' * ''El Santo del Patíbulo'' * ''Atahuallpa'' (1934) * ''El Cuento de la Patria'' * ''El Nuevo Relato Ecuatoriano'' * ''El Libro de los Prólogos'' * ''El Pensamiento Vivo de Juan Montalvo'' * ''América Dada al Diablo'' * ''Correspondencia de Benjamín Carrión''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carrion, Benjamin 1897 births 1979 deaths People from Loja, Ecuador Ecuadorian male writers Ecuadorian journalists Male journalists Government ministers of Ecuador Members of the National Congress (Ecuador) Ambassadors of Ecuador to Chile Ambassadors of Ecuador to Mexico Academic staff of the Central University of Ecuador 20th-century journalists