José Revueltas Sánchez (November 20, 1914 in

Santiago Papasquiaro Santiago Papasquiaro is a city located in a valley situated on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Madre Occidental in the Mexican state of Durango. As of 2010, the city of Santiago Papasquiaro had a population of 26,121, while the municipality has ...

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

– April 14, 1976 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, essayist, and political activist. He was part of an important artistic family that included his siblings

Silvestre Silvestre is a Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese given name or surname, or a French language, French surname. Notable people with the name include: Surname *Cindy Silvestre (born 1993), French kickboxer *Franck Silvestr ...

(composer), Fermín (painter) and Rosaura (actress).

Biography

Early life

José Revueltas Sánchez was born on November 20, 1914, in

. In 1920, the family relocated to

, first to the

colonia Roma Colonia Roma, also called La Roma or simply, Roma, is a district located in the Cuauhtémoc, D.F., Cuauhtémoc borough of Mexico City just west of the Historic center of Mexico City, city's historic center. The area comprises two ''colonia (Mexi ...

and then to

colonia Doctores Colonia Doctores (''English: Doctors' Colony'') is an official neighborhood just southwest of the historic center of Mexico City. It is bordered by Avenida Cuauhtémoc to the west, across from Belen Street to the north, Eje Central to the east ...

. He studied at the Colegio Alemán until the fourth grade and finished his primary education in public school. The family entered an economic crisis after the death of his father In 1923. He left school in 1925, but continued through self-education in the Biblioteca Nacional.

Political activism

Revueltas joined the

Mexican Communist Party The Mexican Communist Party (, PCM) was a communist party in Mexico. It was founded in 1917 as the Socialist Workers' Party (, PSO) by Manabendra Nath Roy, a left-wing Indian revolutionary. The PSO changed its name to the ''Mexican Communist ...

in 1928, but was expelled in 1943 for his criticisms of the organization's bureaucratic practices and for his critique of the Mexican Left, ''Mexico'': ''Ensayo de un proletariado sin cabeza'' (Essay About a Headless Proletariat). He founded the

Liga Espartaquista Liga (Spanish and Portuguese: ''League'') or LIGA may refer to: Sports Basketball * Liga ACB, men's professional basketball league in Spain * Liga Femenina de Baloncesto, women's professional basketball league in Spain Football Latin Ameri ...

(Spartacist League) and the Partido Popular Socialista (Popular Socialist Party, or PPS), from which he also was expelled for questioning and criticizing the Left.

Imprisonment

Authorities arrested Revueltas for his participation in a political "riot" in the

Zócalo Zócalo () is the common name of the town square, main square in central Mexico City. Prior to the European colonization of the Americas, colonial period, it was the main ceremonial center in the Aztecs, Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. The plaza us ...

in 1929. He was accused of

sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establ ...

and rioting and sent to the maximum-security penal colony

Islas Marías The Islas Marías ("Mary Islands") make up an archipelago in Mexico, consisting of four islands. They are located in the Pacific Ocean, some off the coast of the state of Nayarit and about southeast of the tip of Baja California. They are part ...

. He was freed on bail after six months. He was again incarcerated in Islas Marías from July to November 1932, and again in 1934 for organizing a strike among agrarian peasants in Camarón,

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

. He was again imprisoned in 1958 for his participation in the Railwaymen's Movement. In 1968 he was accused of being the "intellectual author" of the student movement that culminated in the Tlatelolco massacre, so he was arrested and sent to the

Palacio de Lecumberri The Palacio de Lecumberri is a large building, formerly a prison, in the northeast of Mexico City, Mexico, which now houses the General National Archive (Mexico), General National Archive (''Archivo General de la Nación''). Known in popular cult ...

prison (aka The Black Palace), where he wrote one of his more popular books: ''El apando'' (The Punishment Cell) (A. Revueltas 1998; Valle, Alvárez Garín, and J. Revueltas 1970). ''Translated from the Spanish Wikipedia article.''

Death and memorial

Revueltas died on April 14, 1976, at the age of 61. The official cause of death was post-cardiac arrest. A memorial for Revueltas was held at the

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México 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 ...

. Secretary of Public Education Victor Bravo Ahuja attended on behalf of President

Luis Echeverría Luis Echeverría Álvarez (; 17 January 1922 – 8 July 2022) was a Mexican lawyer, academic, and politician affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) who served as the 57th president of Mexico from 1970 to 1976. Previously, ...

, Ahuja was encouraged to leave by Professor Martín Dosal, who had been imprisoned with Revueltas. President

Andrés Manuel López Obrador Andrés Manuel López Obrador (; born 13 November 1953), also known by his initials AMLO, is a Mexican former politician, political scientist, public administrator and writer who served as the 65th president of Mexico from 2018 to 2024. He se ...

announced in 2021 that the former prison where Revueltas was held would be rehabilitated as the environmental and cultural education center "Muros de Agua-José Revueltas".

Writings

*''Los muros de agua'' (1941) *''El luto humano'' (1943) Published in English as ''Human Mourning'' and also as ''The Stone Knife'' *''Dios en la tierra'' (1944) *''Los días terrenales'' (1949) *''Los errores'' (1964) *''El apando'' (1969) Published in English as ''The Hole'' *''México 68: Juventud Y Revolución'' (1968–1972)

References

Sources

*Revueltas, Andrea. 1998. "José Revueltas y el 68. (escritor mexicano)." ''Siempre! ''45, no. 2363 (October): 58–60. *Revueltas, Rosaura. 1980. ''Los Revueltas: Biografía de una familia''. México: Editorial Grijalbo. *Sáinz, Gustavo, et al. 1977. ''Conversaciones con José Revueltas''. Introduction by Jorge Ruffinelli, bibliography of works by and about José Revueltas by Marilyn R. Frankenthaler. (Cuadernos de texto crítico 3). Veracruz: Universidad Veracruzana, Centro de Investigaciones Lingüístico-Literarias. *Slick, Sam L. 1983. ''José Revueltas''. Edited by Luis Davila. Twayne's world authors series 683. Boston: Twayne Publishers. *Valle, Eduardo, Raúl Álvarez Garín, and José Revueltas. 1970. ''Los procesos de México 68; tiempo de hablar''. México: Editorial Estudiantes.

External links

The Afterlife of Cotton:, On José Revueltas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Revueltas, Jose 1914 births 1976 deaths Writers from Durango People from Santiago Papasquiaro Mexican communists Mexican male writers Xavier Villaurrutia Award winners