Antonio Castro Leal (March 2, 1896 – January 7, 1981) was a Mexican

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

and

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Biography

Antonio Castro Leal was born on March 2, 1896, in

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí, officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí, is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 59 municipalities and is named after its capital city, San Luis Potosí. It ...

. He received his licenciate and doctor of law degrees from 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 ...

and his PhD from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Castro Leal was rector of

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 1929 during the student strikes that ultimately lead to the university becoming autonomous, after which he resigned his post. In 1934 as Director of the Department of Fine Arts he inaugurated the

Palacio de Bellas Artes The Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts) is a prominent cultural center in Mexico City. It hosts performing arts events, literature events and plastic arts galleries and exhibitions (including important permanent Mexican murals). "Bella ...

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 ...

. He lived in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

from 1949 to 1954 as Mexico's ambassador and executive board member for

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

, after which he moved to

Coyoacán Coyoacán ( ; , Otomi: ) is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City. The former village is now the borough's "historic center". The name comes from Nahuatl and most likely means "place of coyotes", when the Aztecs named a pre- ...

, in Mexico City, where he lived for the rest of his life. He died on January 7, 1981.

Main posts held

(This is an incomplete list.) *Rector of the

(UNAM),1928–29 *Director of the Department of Fine Arts, 1934 *Mexican ambassador to

, 1949–52 *Member of UNESCO's executive board, 1950–54 *Member of the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

, 1958–61 (for the Federal District's eighteenth district)

Works

(This is an incomplete list.) * ''Las cien mejores poesías liricas mexicanas'' (ed. with Manuel Toussaint and Alberto Vázquez del Mercado) (1914) * ''The Church Problem in Mexico'' (pamphlet) (1926) * ''Las cien mejores poesias mexicanas'' (ed.) (1935) * ''Juan Ruiz de Alarcón. Ingenio y sabiduría'' (1939) * ''Twenty Centuries of Mexican Art'' - (introd.) (1940) * ''Revista de literatura mexicana'' (1940–1941) * ''El libro de oro del cine mexicano'' (''The Golden Book of Mexican Cinematography'') (coord.) (1948) (Comisión Nacional de Cinematografía, México, D.F.) * ''Las dos partes del Quijote'' (1949) * ''La poesía mexicana moderna'' (1953) * ''Una historia del siglo XX'' (1955) * ''Las ideas de Salvador Díaz Mirón'' (1956) * ''La novela de la Revolución Mexicana'' (1958–1960) * ''El laurel de San Lorenzo'' (1959) * ''Un mensaje a la América Latina y una elegía por España'' (poem) (1960) * ''Alejandro de Humboldt y el arte prehispánico'' (1962) * ''El Primer Congreso Internacional de Americanistas'' (1963) * ''El pensamiento musical de Carlos Chávez'' (1963) * ''La novela del México colonial'' (1964) * '' Luis G. Urbina'' (1964) * ''Las tragedias de Shakespeare'' (1965) * ''Thoreau y su discípulo Cassius Clay'' (1967) * ''¿A dónde va México? Reflexiones sobre nuestra historia contemporánea'' (1968) * ''Hombres e ideas de nuestro tiempo'' (1969) * ''Díaz Mirón, su vida y su obra'' (1970) * ''El español, instrumento de una cultura'' (1970) * ''La poesía de Manuel José Othón'' (1971) * ''El imperialismo andaluz y otras historias'' (1984)

As a translator

Castro Leal also translated Maurice Dobb's ''Introduction to Economics'' for Mexico's Fondo de Cultura Económica.

References

* * * *

Biography

Main posts held

Works

As a translator

References

See also