Ciro Alegría Bazán (November 4, 1909 – February 17, 1967) was a Peruvian journalist, politician, and novelist.

Biography

Born in Huamachuco District, he exposed the problems of the

Native Peruvians The Indigenous peoples of Peru, or Native Peruvians, comprise a large number of ethnic groups who inhabit territory in present-day Peru. Indigenous cultures developed here for thousands of years before the arrival of the Spanish in 1532. In 2017 ...

while learning about their way of life. This understanding of how they were oppressed was the focus for his novels. He attended classes at the University of Trujillo, and worked briefly as a journalist for the newspaper ''El Norte''. In 1930 Alegría joined the Aprista movement, dedicated to social reform as well as improving the welfare of Native Peruvians. He was imprisoned several times for his political activities before finally being exiled to Chile in 1934. He remained in exile in both Chile and later the United States up until 1948. Later, he taught at the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5,3 ...

, and wrote about the

Cuban revolution The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which placed Fulgencio Batista as head of state and the failed mass strike in opposition that followed. After failing to contest Batista in co ...

while in Cuba. His most well known novel, '' Broad and Alien is the World'' (1941) or ''El mundo es ancho y ajeno'', won the Latin American Novel Prize in 1941, and brought him international attention. It depicts an Andean community, living in the Peruvian highlands. The book was later published in the United States and has been reprinted many times, in multiple languages. He lived in Puerto Rico, USA and Cuba. Alegría returned to Peru in 1960. He joined President

Fernando Belaúnde Terry Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

's party ( Acción Popular) and was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1963. He died unexpectedly in Lima, Peru on February 17, 1967. After his death, his widow Dora Varona published many of his essays and reports he had written for various newspapers. He was 57 years old.

Works

Ciro Alegria published, among others, the following works: *''La serpiente de oro'' ("The snake of gold") *''Los perros hambrientos'' ("The hungry dogs") *''El mundo es ancho y ajeno'' ("Broad and Alien is the World", Merlin Press, United Kingdom). *''Duelo de caballeros'' ("Gentlemen's duel") *''La leyenda del nopal'' ("The legend of cactus") *''Las aventuras de Machu Picchu'' ("Adventurous Tales of Machu Picchu")

References

External links

New York Times obituary, February 17, 1967
*

Municipalidad Provincial Sánchez Carrión, n.d., in Spanish
"Broad and Alien is the World" - Merlin Press
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alegria, Ciro 1909 births 1967 deaths Peruvian journalists Male journalists Peruvian novelists Peruvian male writers Mestizo writers Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Peru Popular Action (Peru) politicians North Group (Trujillo) 20th-century novelists Male novelists 20th-century male writers 20th-century journalists

Biography

Works

See also

References

External links