Carlos F. Galán (1831 in Cadiz, Spain – October 1906 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 Spanish-born writer, jurist and newspaper publisher in California and Mexico. He was an interpreter and translator of English,

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

. Galán was married to Laura H. Galán, and had twelve biological children, and two adopted sons. He resided in Mazatlan and

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities, and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales. It is located in northwest Mexic ...

, with his family until 1872.

Early life

Galán was born in Spain in 1831, In 1845, his family emigrated to Mexico. That same year, he started attending the military academy in

Chapultepec Chapultepec, more commonly called the "Bosque de Chapultepec" (Chapultepec Forest) in Mexico City, is one of the largest Nature Value Area´s in Mexico, measuring in total just over . Centered on a rock formation called Chapultepec Hill, one of ...

in Mexico City. While in the academy, he was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

for the

Mexican Army The Mexican Army () is the combined Army, land and Air Force, air branch and is the largest part of the Mexican Armed Forces; it is also known as the National Defense Army. The Army is under the authority of the Secretariat of National Defense o ...

. He fought for Mexico during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

in 1846–1848.

Political life

After the war, Galán moved to San Francisco. He began to study law, was admitted to the bar and practiced in that city. In the 1850s Galán worked in the gold fields during the California gold rush. He soon discovered that the working and living conditions for Mexicans were unbearable. Galán eventually returned to practicing law. He was a Chief Justice of

Lower California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was kno ...

as well as a member of its congress. In September 1867, he was elected as

governor of Baja California The governor of Baja California represents the executive branch of the government of the state of Baja California, Mexico, per the state's constitution. The official title is "Free and Sovereign State of Baja California" (''Estado Libre y Soberan ...

, but for one year only. He became ex-Officio governor of the same territory until May 1868.In 1870, Galán moved back to California. Galán died in Mexico City in October 1906.

Abra case

Galán was involved in a case concerning claims made regarding the Abra Silver Mining Company. Galán gave his testimony at

Washington DC 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, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

on the third of January 1874. Because of his work in the newspaper and as a lawyer, he investigated happenings pertaining to this particular mining company. He translated and wrote down the depositions of several witnesses for the case regarding the claims that alleged damages had been sustained in consequence of particular acts and omissions of duty upon the part of official representatives of

Republic of 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 ...

Prominent works

. He founded the first English and Spanish newspaper in lower California, called ''La Baja California''. He published the first large weekly in

, called the ''Occidental'' . From 1869 to 1872, Galán was also involved in another newspaper called ''La Voz de Pueblo,'' in Maztalan. Galán was a well educated man, and used his skills to edit several newspapers in Baja California and Sinaloa. He showed a predilection as a contributor for both an editor and a writer. Galan became editor of the newspaper ''La Voz del Nuevo Mundo'' in 1881 for one year. Galán wrote a series of sketches called "Recuerdos de California", (Memories of California), that were published on May 21, May 28, and June 11, 1881, in ''La Voz del Nuevo Mundo.'' These stories are narrated by the perceptive of a former Sonora mining camp resident.

Significance in American Literature

Galán contributed to American literature through his short

prose Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...

narratives in Spanish print culture coming out of California. His works show the cross-roads of U.S. and hemispheric U.S. literary history. Specifically, his three sketches titled "Recuerdos de California" (Memories of California) provide a look at the multinational working class community in California and a look at how the Latino/a community without privilege experienced the new order of U.S. dominance. Since the work dates to the late 19th Century, the focus on the region of California allows for a demonstration of the Latino/a community only a couple of decades removed from the aftermath of the U.S.-Mexican War. (See

Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo officially ended the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). It was signed on 2 February 1848 in the town of Guadalupe Hidalgo. After the defeat of its army and the fall of the capital in September 1847, Mexico e ...

) Additionally, as editor of ''La Voz del Nuevo Mundo'', Galán focused the newspaper on themes of Latino/a modernity and

cosmopolitanism Cosmopolitanism is the idea that all human beings are members of a single community. Its adherents are known as cosmopolitan or cosmopolite. Cosmopolitanism is both prescriptive and aspirational, believing humans can and should be " world citizen ...

in order to demonstrate the participation of the Latino/a community in the U.S. to modernity.

References

Bibliography

*Cutler, John A. "Confronting Frontier and Industrial Violence: Latino Narratives". ''The Heath Anthology of American Literature''. edited by Paul Lauter, Seventh ed.999-1002. Wadsworth, Boston, MA. 2014 *Cutler, John A. "Toward a Reading of Nineteenth-Century Latino/a Short Fiction." ''The Latino Nineteenth Century'', edited by Rodrigo Lazo & Jesse Aléman, New York University Press, 2016, pp. 124–145. {{DEFAULTSORT:Galan, Carlos F. 1831 births 1906 deaths Governors of Baja California Mexican judges Mexican military personnel of the Mexican–American War Mexican newspaper founders People from Cádiz Spanish emigrants to Mexico