Franz Tamayo Solares (28 February 1879 in

La Paz La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the third-most populous city in Bo ...

– 29 July 1956) was a

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

n intellectual, writer, and politician. The

Franz Tamayo Province Franz Tamayo is a province in the Bolivian department of La Paz. It lies in the western part of the nation, and includes the Ulla Ulla National Reserve - which today is part of the Apolobamba Integrated Management Natural Area - in the high An ...

is named after him. He was renowned for his oratory. A prominent Bolivian poet and philosopher, he wrote a number of educational treatises and also practiced law, journalism, and diplomacy. Tamayo was of

Mestizo (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed European and Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturally European even though thei ...

background; he had both Aymara and

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 Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

ancestry.

Career and influence

Tamayo's

racial A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

concepts were and continue to be very influential in Bolivian thought, life, and culture. He considered

Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

(indigenous or originary people) skilled only in the faculties of physical labor, such as agricultural work or military service, but deficient in faculties of the mind that

whites White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as ...

( creoles or those of European descent) excelled in.

Mestizos (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed European and Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturally European even though thei ...

(of mixed descent) he considered proficient in both the areas of physical and mental labor and therefore able to function as citizens of the Bolivian Republic, assuming acculturation to European culture. This

racialized In sociology, racialization or ethnicization is a political process of ascribing ethnic or racial identities to a relationship, social practice, or group that did not identify itself as such. Racialization or ethnicization often arises out of th ...

understanding of the mestizo (or

Cholo ''Cholo'' () is a loosely defined Spanish term that has had various meanings. Its origin is a somewhat derogatory term for people of mixed-blood heritage in the Spanish Empire in Latin America and its successor states as part of ''castas ...

) and modern

citizen Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

would greatly influence and underline Bolivia's politics and

national identity National identity is a person's identity or sense of belonging to one or more states or to one or more nation, nations. It is the sense of "a nation as a cohesive whole, as represented by distinctive traditions, culture, and language". National i ...

after the 1952 revolution. In politics, Tamayo originally supported the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a l ...

but switched to the opposition Republican Party around 1920. In 1931 he was appointed Minister of Foreign Relations by president

Daniel Salamanca Daniel Domingo Salamanca Urey (8 July 1869 – 17 July 1935) was a Bolivian politician who served as the 33rd president of Bolivia from 1931 to 1934 until he was overthrown in a ''coup d'état'' on November 27, 1934, during the country's ...

. He actually won the 1934 presidential elections, but these were annulled by the leaders of the military coup that toppled Salamanca from power. This is an old anecdote about Franz Tamayo that is illustrative of his character: ''Tamayo lived in

, and every morning he would get up early and spend 15 minutes gazing from his balcony to the imposing Illimani, the highest of the mountains surrounding the city.'' ''After a while, a man came to live in the same building as Tamayo, and one morning he saw him in his "ritual". "Franz", he called out, for Tamayo was well known in the city. "Franz!". After some minutes of shouting and receiving no answer, he lost his temper and shouted "For God's sake, Franz, what is your problem? I am trying to say 'good morning' to you" Tamayo turned around, his eyes on fire, and shouted. "¡Silencio! Dos cumbres se contemplan" ("Silence!, two giants gaze upon each other.)'' Another anecdote is: ''Tamayo was serving in the Bolivian House of Representatives when he gave one of his famed impassioned speeches before that august body. Inevitably, someone took exception to his thinking and booed the great poet and orator, tossing (of all things) a horseshoe at him to show his displeasure. Tamayo calmly picked up the horseshoe and said aloud "incidentally, would the gentleman who has lost his shoe please come up front to claim it?"''

References

*Mesa José de; Gisbert, Teresa; and Carlos D. Mesa, "Historia De Bolivia."

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tamayo, Franz 1879 births 1956 deaths Bolivian people of Aymara descent Bolivian male writers Bolivian people of Spanish descent Mestizo writers Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (Bolivia) Foreign ministers of Bolivia Liberal Party (Bolivia) politicians Republican Party (Bolivia) politicians Writers from La Paz Candidates for President of Bolivia