Juan María Montalvo y Fiallos (13 April 1832 in Ambato – 17 January 1889 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

) was an

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

ian author and essayist.

Biography

His grandfather, José Santos Montalvo, born in Andalucía, migrated to América and after some years working as a cinchona bark gatherer across Panamá, Venezuela and Colombia, he arrived at Ecuador where he worked as a seller of fabrics. In Guano, Ecuador, he meets Jacinta Oviedo, whom he married and had many children, one of them was Marcos, father of Juan Montalvo, who worked also as a traveller fabrics seller. In one of Marcos' business trips, he arrives at Quinchicoto, a small town near Ambato, where he meets María José Fiallos and with whom he marries in the church "La Matriz" in Ambato, January 1, 1811. Born in Ambato to José Marcos Montalvo and Josefa Fiallos, he studied philosophy and law in Quito before returning to his hometown in 1854. He held diplomatic posts in Italy and France from 1857 to 1859. A political

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

, Montalvo's beliefs were marked by anti-clericalism and a keen hatred for the two

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s that ruled Ecuador during his life:

Gabriel García Moreno Gabriel Gregorio Fernando José María García Moreno y Morán de Butrón (24 December 1821 – 6 August 1875), was an Ecuadorian politician and aristocrat who twice served as President of Ecuador (1861–65 and 1869–75) and was assassinated d ...

and Ignacio de Veintemilla. After an issue of '' El Cosmopolita'' viciously attacked Moreno, Montalvo was exiled to Colombia for seven years. Moreno's assassination was attributed to Montalvo's writings. He was a dedicated champion of

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which people, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choo ...

and an enemy of the writer Juan León Mera. In the late seventies Juan Montalvo was twice exiled to France, remaining there from 1879, as punishment for ''Las catilinarias'' (1880), the work that made him famous throughout intellectual circles in the

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and the rest of

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

. Alongside full-length books, Montalvo was an accomplished essayist, and his ''Siete Tratados'' (1882) and ''Geometría Moral'' (published in 1902, after his death) were popular in Ecuador and were banned by Veintemilla. He also wrote a sequel to

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best kno ...

's ''

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of West ...

'', called ''Capítulos que se le Olvidaron a Cervantes'' ("Chapters Cervantes Forgot"), published posthumously in 1895. He died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

. His

mummified A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furt ...

body now rests in a mausoleum in his birthplace of Ambato.

Family

Juan Montalvo's father was Marco Montalvo Oviedo of Guano, and his mother was María Josefa Fiallos y Villacreces of Ambato. Montalvo was the youngest of 7 siblings: Francisco, Francisco Javier, Mariano, Alegría, Rosa, Juana and Isabel. Montalvo married María Guzmán Suárez in Ambato on 17 October 1868 and had two children with her. In 1882 he met Augustine Contoux with whom he had one child.

Legacy

Montalvo's likeness appears on the Ecuadorian five-centavo coin.

Works

* ''Las catilinarias'' (1880) * ''Capítulos que se le olvidaron a Cervantes'' (1868) - Montalvo's only novel * ''Libro de las pasiones'' (published posthumously in 1935) contains the dramas ''La Leprosa'', ''Jara'', ''Granja'', ''El Descomulgado'' and ''El Dictador'' * ''Siete Tratados'' (1882) * ''Geometría Moral'' (published posthumously in 1902) * ''Judas'' (1872)

Literary and political magazines founded by Montalvo

* ''La Razón'' (1848) * ''El Veterano'' (1849) * ''La Moral evangélica'' (1854) * ''El Espectador'' (1855) * ''El Cosmopolita'' (1865) * ''El Regenerador'' (1872)

References

* Pareja Diezcanseco, Alfredo (1989), Entry: "Juan Montalvo (1832-1889)"; In: Solé, Carlos A. (editor in chief) and María Isabel Abreu (associate editor), ''Latin American Writers - Volume 1''; New York:

Charles Scribner's Sons Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan R ...

, 3 volumes.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Montalvo, Juan 1832 births 1889 deaths Ecuadorian diplomats Ecuadorian male writers People from Ambato, Ecuador Tuberculosis deaths in France 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Male novelists 19th-century male writers