Juan María Montalvo Fiallos (13 April 1832 - 17 January 1889) was an Ecuadorian essayist and novelist. His writing was strongly marked by

anti-clericalism Anti-clericalism is opposition to clergy, religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historically, anti-clericalism in Christian traditions has been opposed to the influence of Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secul ...

and opposition to presidents Gabriel García Moreno and Ignacio de Veintemilla. He was the publisher of the magazine El Cosmopolita. One of his best-known books is Las Catilinarias, published in 1880. His essays include Siete tratados (1882) and Geometría Moral (posthumous, 1902). He also wrote a sequel to Don Quixote de la Mancha, called Capítulos que se le olvidaron a Cervantes. He was admired by writers, essayists, intellectuals such as

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 ...

and

Miguel de Unamuno Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo (; ; 29 September 1864 – 31 December 1936) was a Spanish essayist, novelist, poet, playwright, philosopher, professor of Greek and Classics, and later rector at the University of Salamanca. His major philosophical ...

. He died in Paris in 1889. His body was embalmed and is exhibited in a mausoleum in his hometown of Ambato.

Biography

His grandfather, José Santos Montalvo, born in Andalucía, migrated to América and after some years working as a cinchona bark gatherer across Panamá, Venezuela and Colombia, he arrived at Ecuador where he worked as a seller of fabrics. In Guano, Ecuador, he met Jacinta Oviedo, whom he married and had many children, one of them was Marcos, father of Juan Montalvo, who worked also as a traveller fabrics seller. In one of Marcos' business trips, he arrives at Quinchicoto, a small town near Ambato, where he meets María José Fiallos and with whom he marries in the church "La Matriz" in Ambato, January 1, 1811. Born in Ambato to José Marcos Montalvo and Josefa Fiallos, he studied philosophy and law in

Quito Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...

before returning to his hometown in 1854. He held diplomatic posts in Italy and France from 1857 to 1859. A political liberal, Montalvo's beliefs were marked by

and a keen hatred for the two

caudillo A ''caudillo'' ( , ; , from Latin language, Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of Personalist dictatorship, personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise English translation for the term, though it ...

s that ruled Ecuador during his life: Gabriel García Moreno and Ignacio de Veintemilla. After an issue of '' El Cosmopolita'' viciously attacked Moreno, Montalvo was exiled to

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

for seven years. Moreno's assassination was attributed to Montalvo's writings. He was a dedicated champion of

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

and an enemy of the writer Juan León Mera. In the late seventies Juan Montalvo was twice exiled to France, remaining there from 1879, as punishment for ''Las catilinarias'' (1880), the work that made him famous throughout intellectual circles in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and the rest of

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

. Alongside full-length books, Montalvo was an accomplished essayist, and his '' Siete Tratados'' (1882) and ''Geometría Moral'' (published in 1902, after his death) were popular in Ecuador and were banned by Veintemilla. He also wrote a sequel to

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ( ; ; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was a Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelist ...

's ''

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

'', called ''Capítulos que se le Olvidaron a Cervantes'' ("Chapters Cervantes Forgot"), published posthumously in 1895. He died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

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 ...

. His mummified body now rests in a

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

in his birthplace of Ambato.

Family

Juan Montalvo's father was Marco Montalvo Oviedo of

Guano Guano (Spanish from ) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. Guano is a highly effective fertiliser due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. Guano was also, to a le ...

, and his mother was María Josefa Fiallos y Villacreces of Ambato. Montalvo was the youngest of 7 siblings: Francisco, Francisco Javier, Mariano, Alegría, Rosa, Juana and Isabel. Montalvo married María Guzmán Suárez in Ambato on 17 October 1868 and had two children with her. In 1882 he met Augustine Contoux with whom he had one child.

Legacy

Montalvo's likeness appears on the Ecuadorian five-centavo coin.

Works

* ''Las catilinarias'' (1880) * ''Capítulos que se le olvidaron a Cervantes'' (1868) - Montalvo's only novel * ''Libro de las pasiones'' (published posthumously in 1935) contains the dramas ''La Leprosa'', ''Jara'', ''Granja'', ''El Descomulgado'' and ''El Dictador'' * ''Siete Tratados'' (1882) * ''Geometría Moral'' (published posthumously in 1902) * ''Judas'' (1872)

Literary and political magazines founded by Montalvo

* ''La Razón'' (1848) * ''El Veterano'' (1849) * ''La Moral evangélica'' (1854) * ''El Espectador'' (1855) * ''El Cosmopolita'' (1865) * ''El Regenerador'' (1872)

References

* Pareja Diezcanseco, Alfredo (1989), Entry: "Juan Montalvo (1832-1889)"; In: Solé, Carlos A. (editor in chief) and María Isabel Abreu (associate editor), ''Latin American Writers - Volume 1'';

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Charles Scribner's Sons Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City that has published several notable American authors, including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjori ...

, 3 volumes.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Montalvo, Juan 1832 births 1889 deaths Ecuadorian diplomats People from Ambato, Ecuador Tuberculosis deaths in France 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Ecuadorian male novelists 19th-century male writers