Alfonso Reyes Ochoa (17 May 1889 in

Monterrey, Nuevo León Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

– 27 December 1959 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 ...

) was a Mexican writer, philosopher and diplomat. He was nominated for the

Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...

five times and has been acclaimed as one of the greatest authors in the

Spanish language Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...

. He served as

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Biography

He was the ninth of the twelve children of

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Bernardo Reyes Ogazón,

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of the State of Nuevo León and the Secretary of War and Navy of President

Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori (; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915) was a General (Mexico), Mexican general and politician who was the dictator of Mexico from 1876 until Mexican Revolution, his overthrow in 1911 seizing power in a Plan ...

(considered by some to be his natural successor), and his wife Aurelia Ochoa-Garibay y Sapién, member of a prominent family of

Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...

, direct descendants of

Conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

Diego de Ochoa-Garibay, as documented by Reyes in his ''Parentalia''. Alfonsoreyes1910

Reyes was educated at various colleges in

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

, Liceo Francés de México, Colegio Civil de Monterrey, and later at the Escuela Nacional Preparatoria and graduated from the Escuela Nacional de Jurisprudencia, which later became the law school at

UNAM The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a 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 countries. It also has 34 ...

in 1913. In 1909, he helped to found the

Ateneo de la Juventud Ateneo may refer to: Cultural institutions * Ateneo de la Juventud, a society of Mexican writers, philosophers and intellectuals * Ateneo de Madrid, a private cultural institution located in the capital of Spain * Ateneo de Ponce, a nonprofit, ...

, along with other young intellectuals including Martín Luis Guzmán,

José Vasconcelos José Vasconcelos Calderón (28 February 1882 – 30 June 1959), called the "cultural " of the Mexican Revolution, was an important Mexicans, Mexican writer, philosopher, and politician. He is one of the most influential and controversial pers ...

, Julio Torri, and Pedro Enríquez Ureña, to promote new cultural and aesthetic ideals and educational reform in Mexico. In 1911, Reyes published his first book, ''Cuestiones estéticas''. The following year, he wrote the short story ''La Cena'' ("The Supper"), which is considered a forerunner of

surrealism Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

and Latin American

magical realism Magical realism, magic realism, or marvelous realism is a style or genre of fiction and art that presents a realistic view of the world while incorporating magical elements, often blurring the lines between speculation and reality. ''Magical rea ...

. In that year he was also named Secretary of the '' Escuela Nacional de Altos Estudios'' 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 ...

. Reyes obtained his law degree in 1913, the same year that his father died while he was participating in an

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

against the then President Francisco I. Madero. Alfonso Reyes was posted to Mexico's diplomatic service in France in 1913. After Germany invaded France in 1914, he moved to

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, Spain, and pursued a literary career as journalist, investigator, translator, critic, and writer. In 1915, he wrote what is probably his best-known essay, ''Visión de Anáhuac (1519)'' with its famous epigraph, "Viajero: has llegado a la región más transparente del aire'", the source of the title of

Carlos Fuentes Carlos Fuentes Macías (; ; November 11, 1928 – May 15, 2012) was a Mexican novelist and essayist. Among his works are ''The Death of Artemio Cruz'' (1962), '' Aura'' (1962), '' Terra Nostra'' (1975), '' The Old Gringo'' (1985) and '' Christop ...

's novel '' La región más transparente'' (1958). ''Visión de Anáhuac'' is inspired by the “vitalist” philosophy of

Henri Bergson Henri-Louis Bergson (; ; 18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a French philosopher who was influential in the traditions of analytic philosophy and continental philosophy, especially during the first half of the 20th century until the S ...

and can be seen as a study on the metamorphosis in the process of creative evolution. Reyes was reinstated in the diplomatic service in 1920. He was the second secretary in Spain in 1920, was in Paris from 1924 to 1927, and then served as the ambassador to

(1927–1930 and 1936–1937). He was the Mexican ambassador to

from 1930 to 1935 and again in 1938. In 1939, he retired from the diplomatic corps and returned to Mexico, where he organized what is today

El Colegio de México El Colegio de México, A.C. (commonly known as Colmex, English: The College of Mexico) is a Mexican institute of higher education, specializing in teaching and research in social sciences and humanities. The college was founded in 1940 by the Me ...

and dedicated himself to writing and teaching. He was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 1950.

Years in Spain

His time in Spain, where he resided from 1914 to 1924, was considered his best creative period when he became a great writer and master of literature. In Spain, where he experienced financial difficulties, he dedicated himself to literature and combined it with journalism. He worked at the Centro de Estudios Históricos ( Historical Study Center) of Madrid under the direction of

Ramón Menéndez Pidal Ramón Menéndez Pidal (; 13 March 1869 – 14 November 1968) was a Spanish philologist and historian."Ramon Menendez Pidal", ''Almanac of Famous People'' (2011) ''Biography in Context'', Gale, Detroit He worked extensively on the history of t ...

. In 1919, he was named the Mexican Commission Secretary " Francisco del Paso y Troncoso", the same year that ''

Cantar de mio Cid ''El Cantar de mio Cid'', or ''El Poema de mio Cid'' ("The Song of My Cid"; "The Poem of My Cid"), is an anonymous '' cantar de gesta'' and the oldest preserved Castilian epic poem. Based on a true story, it tells of the deeds of the Castilian h ...

'' was put into prose. Many of his friends insisted that he was a natural in Spanish and should pursue a career in politics, but he declined to do so. One time he was presented with an offer to teach, but he rejected it. He was more interested in the

aesthetics Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste (sociology), taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Ph ...

Benedetto Croce Benedetto Croce, ( , ; 25 February 1866 – 20 November 1952) was an Italian idealist philosopher, historian, and politician who wrote on numerous topics, including philosophy, history, historiography, and aesthetics. A Cultural liberalism, poli ...

. He published numerous essays about poetry of the

Spanish Golden Age The Spanish Golden Age (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Siglo de Oro'', , "Golden Century"; 1492 – 1681) was a period of literature and the The arts, arts in Spain that coincided with the political rise of the Spanish Empire under the Catholic M ...

, such as

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

y Góngora; on top of that he was one of the first writers to study poetry of

Juana Inés de la Cruz Juana Inés de Asbaje y Ramírez de Santillana, better known as Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (12 November 1651 – 17 April 1695), was a Hieronymite nun and a Mexican writer, philosopher, composer and poet of the Baroque period, nicknamed "Th ...

. From 1917 he produced '' Cartones de Madrid'', his small masterpiece, '' Visión de Anáhuac'', '' El suicida'', and in 1921, ''El cazador''. He was a collaborator of ''Revista de Filología Española'', '' Revista de Occidente'' and ''Revue Hispanique''. His works about

Spanish literature Spanish literature is literature ( Spanish poetry, prose, and drama) written in the Spanish language within the territory that presently constitutes the Kingdom of Spain. Its development coincides and frequently intersects with that of other ...

, older

classical literature Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek and Roman literature and their original languages, ...

and

are notable, and among the more notable of that time, ''Cuestiones estéticas'' (1911). In Spain he organized a ceremony on 11 September 1923 at the

Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid (Spanish language, Spanish for "Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid") is an botanical garden in Madrid (Spain). The public entrance is located at Plaza de Murillo, next to the Museo del Prado, Prado Museum. Histo ...

( Real Botanical Garden of Madrid) to honor the memory of the symbolic poet

Stéphane Mallarmé Stéphane Mallarmé ( , ; ; 18 March 1842 – 9 September 1898), pen name of Étienne Mallarmé, was a French poet and critic. He was a major French Symbolist poet, and his work anticipated and inspired several revolutionary artistic schools o ...

. After 1924 he developed a diplomatic and social life in Paris, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro (he served as an ambassador of Mexico to Argentina and Brazil). He translated a Mallarmé and edited his own literary mail, ''Monterrey'', publishing it in 1930. He wrote to friends abroad in every part of the world and gave talks, spoke at conferences and contributed to homages and cultural events. He published among others, ''Cuestiones gongorinas'' (1927), ''Capítulos de literatura española'' (1939–195), ''Discurso por Virgilio'' (1931). His poetic works reveal a profound knowledge of the formal means, notably ''Ifigenia cruel'' (1924), ''Pausa'' (1926), ''5 casi sonetos'' (1931), ''Otra voz'' (1936) and ''Cantata en la tumba de

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, a g ...

'' (1937). Reyes worked as a translator of works from

Laurence Sterne Laurence Sterne (24 November 1713 – 18 March 1768) was an Anglo-Irish novelist and Anglican cleric. He is best known for his comic novels ''The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman'' (1759–1767) and ''A Sentimental Journey Thro ...

G. K. Chesterton Gilbert Keith Chesterton (29 May 1874 – 14 June 1936) was an English author, philosopher, Christian apologist, journalist and magazine editor, and literary and art critic. Chesterton created the fictional priest-detective Father Brow ...

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

and as an editor of works by

Juan Ruiz de Alarcón Juan Ruiz de Alarcón (c. 1581 – 4 August 1639) was a New Spain, New Spanish writer of the Spanish Golden Age, Golden Age who cultivated different variants of dramaturgy. His works include the comedy ''La verdad sospechosa'' (:es:La verdad so ...

, Cantar del Mio Cid,

Lope de Vega Félix Lope de Vega y Carpio (; 25 November 156227 August 1635) was a Spanish playwright, poet, and novelist who was a key figure in the Spanish Golden Age (1492–1659) of Spanish Baroque literature, Baroque literature. In the literature of ...

Baltasar Gracián Baltasar Gracián y Morales (; 8 January 16016 December 1658), better known as Baltasar Gracián, was a Spanish Jesuit priest and Spanish Baroque literature, Baroque prose writer and philosopher. He was born in Belmonte de Gracián, Belmonte, n ...

Juan Ruiz Juan Ruiz (), known as the Archpriest of Hita (''Arcipreste de Hita''), was a medieval Castilian poet. He is best known for his ribald, earthy poem, ''El'' ''Libro de buen amor'' ('' The Book of Good Love''). Biography Origins He was born ...

Francisco de Quevedo Francisco Gómez de Quevedo y Santibáñez Villegas, Order of Santiago, Knight of the Order of Santiago (; 14 September 1580 – 8 September 1645) was a Spanish nobleman, politician and writer of the Baroque era. Along with his lifelong rival, ...

Legacy

The Argentinian writer

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo ( ; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator regarded as a key figure in Spanish literature, Spanish-language and international literatur ...

referred to Reyes as "the greatest prose writer in the Spanish language of any age". At least five avenues in

's metropolitan area, three in the municipality and one in Mexico City are named after Reyes. There are many monuments built in honor of Alfonso Reyes in different Spanish speaking countries around the world. On 17 May 2018,

Google Doodle Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running annual Bu ...

commemorated Alfonso Reyes' 129th birthday.

Works

The

Fondo de Cultura Económica Fondo de Cultura Económica (FCE or simply "Fondo") is a Spanish language, non-profit publishing group, partly funded by the Mexican government. It is based in Mexico but it has subsidiaries throughout the Spanish-speaking world. It was founded ...

published his complete works in 26 volumes, titled ''Obras Completas de Alfonso Reyes''.

Nonfiction

*'' Cuestiones estéticas'' *'' El suicida'' *'' Visión de Anáhuac'' *'' Vísperas de España'' *'' Cartones de Madrid'' *'' Simpatías y diferencias'' *'' Calendario'' *'' Homília por la cultura'' *'' Capítulos de literatura española'' *'' Pasado inmediato'' *'' Estudios helénicos'' *'' La filosofía helenística'' *'' La X en la frente'' *'' Memorias de cocina y bodega'' *'' Las burlas veras'' *'' La experiencia literaria''

Fiction

*'' Los tres tesoros'' *'' El plano oblicuo'' *'' Árbol de pólvora'' *'' Quince presencias''

Poetry

* ''Huellas'' (1922) * ''Pausa'' (1926) * ''Cinco casi sonetos'' (1931) * ''Sol de Monterrey'' (1932) * ''Romances del Río de enero'' (1933) * ''A la memoria de Ricardo Guiraldes'' (1934) * ''Golfo de México'' (1934) * ''Yerbas del tarahumara'' (1934) * ''Minuta. Juego Poético'' (1935) * ''Infancia'' (1935) * ''Otra voz'' (1936) * ''Cantata en la tumba de

'' (1937) * ''Villa de Unión'' (1940) * ''Algunos poemas, (1925-1939)'' (1941) * ''Romances (y afines)'' (1945) * ''La vega y el soto (1916-1943)'' (1946) * ''Cortesía (1909-1947)'' (1948) * ''Cuatro poemas en torno a Monterrey'' (1948) * ''Homero en Cuernavaca'' (1949) * ''Poema del Cid (Traducción)'' (1949) * ''La Iliada de Homero. Primera parte: Aquiles agraviado. Translated by Alfonso Reyes'' (1951) * ''Obra poética'' (1952) * ''Nueve romances sordos'' (1954) * ''Bernardo Mandeville. El panal rumoroso o la redención de los bribones. Paráfrasis libre de Alfonso Reyes'' (1957)

References

External links

The web page of Alfonso Reyes' house in Mexico City
known as "la Capilla Alfonsina". * Robb, James Willis Distinguished professor at The George Washington University and a published authority on Alfonso Reyes left his research documents on Mr. Reyes to the university library for scholarly research. {{DEFAULTSORT:Reyes, Alfonos 1889 births 1959 deaths Members of El Colegio Nacional (Mexico) Mexican male essayists Mexican male poets 20th-century Mexican philosophers Writers from Monterrey Hellenists Members of the Mexican Academy of Language Ambassadors of Mexico to Brazil Ambassadors of Mexico to Argentina 20th-century Mexican poets 20th-century Mexican translators 20th-century Mexican essayists 20th-century Mexican male writers National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni International members of the American Philosophical Society Burials at the Panteón de Dolores National Prize for Arts and Sciences (Mexico)