Leopoldo Lugones
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Leopoldo Antonio Lugones Argüello (13 June 1874 – 18 February 1938) was an Argentine poet, essayist, novelist, playwright, historian, professor, translator, biographer, philologist, theologian, diplomat, politician and journalist. His poetic writings are often considered to be the founding works of Spanish-language modern poetry (not, however, modernismo). His short stories made him a crucial precursor and also a pioneer of both the fantastic and science fiction literature in Argentina.


Early life

Born in Villa de María del Río Seco, a city in Córdoba Province, in
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
's
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
heartland, Lugones belonged to a family of landed gentry. He was the firstborn son of Santiago M. Lugones and Custodia Argüello. His father, son of Pedro Nolasco Lugones, was returning from the city of
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
to
Santiago del Estero Santiago del Estero (, Spanish for ''Saint-James-Upon-The-Lagoon'') is the capital of Santiago del Estero Province in northern Argentina. It has a population of 252,192 inhabitants, () making it the twelfth largest city in the country, with a sur ...
when he met Custodia Argüello while stopping in Villa de María, a locality that was at that time disputed territory between the provinces of Santiago del Estero and Córdoba. It was his mother who gave young Leopoldo his first lessons and was responsible for his strict Catholic upbringing. When Lugones was six years old and following the birth of a second child, the family moved to the city of Santiago del Estero and later to Ojo de Agua, a small town situated in the south of the province of Santiago del Estero close to the border with Córdoba, where the poet's two younger brothers were born: Ramón Miguel Lugones (1880, Santiago del Estero), and the youngest of the four children, Carlos Florencio Lugones (1885, Ojo de Agua). Later his parents sent him to study at the Colegio Nacional de Monserrat, in Córdoba, where his maternal grandmother lived. In 1892 the family would move to that city, at the time when Lugones was beginning his forays into the fields of journalism and literature. He first worked for '' La Montaña'', a newspaper, and was in favour with the aristocratic
Manuel Quintana Manuel Pedro Quintana Sáenz (October 19, 1835 – March 12, 1906) was the President of Argentina from 12 October 1904 to 12 March 1906. He died in office. Biography Manuel Quintana was born on October 19, 1835, son of Eladio de la Quintana ...
, a candidate to become a
president of Argentina The president of Argentina, officially known as the president of the Argentine Nation, is both head of state and head of government of Argentina. Under Constitution of Argentina, the national constitution, the president is also the Head of go ...
. This brought him first to
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
in 1896, where his literary talent developed quickly. That year, he married Juana Agudelo, from whom he had a son, Leopoldo ''Polo'' Lugones, who would become the notorious chief of the
Federal Police A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for law enforcement within a specific jurisdiction through the employment and deployment of law enforcement officers and their resources. The most common type of law enforcement ...
during the dictatorship of
José Félix Uriburu José Félix Benito Uriburu (20 July 186829 April 1932) was an Argentine military officer and politician, he was the President of the Provisional Government of Argentina, ousting the successor to President Hipólito Yrigoyen by means of a ...
. In 1899, he became an active Freemason.


Career

Lugones was the leading Argentine exponent of the
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 ...
n literary current known as Modernismo. This was a form of Parnassianism influenced by
Symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: *Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea Arts *Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea ** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...
. He was also the author of the incredibly dense and rich stories of ''
La Guerra Gaucha ''The Gaucho War'' (''La guerra gaucha'') is a Argentine films of 1942, 1942 Argentina, Argentine historical drama and epic film directed by Lucas Demare and starring Enrique Muiño, Francisco Petrone, Ángel Magaña, and Amelia Bence. It is one ...
'' (1905). He was an impassioned journalist, polemicist and public speaker who at first was a
Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
, later a
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
/ traditionalist and finally a supporter of
Fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...
and as such an inspiration for a group of rightist intellectuals such as
Juan Carulla Juan Emiliano Carulla (20 July 1888 - 20 November 1968) was an Argentine physician and nationalist politician. He was most prominent under the military regime in power during the early 1930s. In France A native of the Entre Ríos Province, Carul ...
and Rodolfo Irazusta. Leopoldo Lugones went to Europe in 1906, 1911, 1913 and in 1930, in which latter year he supported the
coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
against the aging Radical party president, Hipólito Yrigoyen. Between 1924 and 1931, Lugones took part in the works of the
International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation The International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation, sometimes League of Nations Committee on Intellectual Cooperation, is an advisory organisation for the League of Nations which promotes international exchange between scientists, researche ...
of the
League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...
. On February 18, 1938, the despairing and disillusioned Lugones committed suicide by taking a mixture of
whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...
and
cyanide In chemistry, cyanide () is an inorganic chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Ionic cyanides contain the cyanide anion . This a ...
while staying at the river resort of El Tigre in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
. Political frustration has been the most widely cited cause of his suicide. Nevertheless, recent publications in Argentina have shed light on another possible motivation: Lugones was very enamored of a girl he met at one of his lectures in the university. He maintained a passionate and emotional relationship with her until, discovered and pressured by his son, he was forced to leave her, causing in him a depressive decline that would end his life. His descendants have had similarly tragic fates. It is believed that his son Polo, the chief of police during Uriburu's dictatorship, was the creator of the picana and the one who introduced it as a method of torture. Polo Lugones committed suicide in 1971. Polo's younger daughter, Susana "Pirí" Lugones, was detained and disappeared in December 1977 as a victim of the
Dirty War The Dirty War () is the name used by the military junta or National Reorganization Process, civic-military dictatorship of Argentina () for its period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983. During this campaign, military and secu ...
. His older daughter, Carmen, whom he called Babú, is still alive. One of Pirí's sons, Alejandro, committed suicide, like his great-grandfather, in Tigre. This comprises Lugones' tragic familial fate, curiously similar to that of Horacio Quiroga's, himself a friend and admirer of Leopoldo Lugones.


Selected bibliography


Novella

* ''El ángel de la sombra'' (1926)


Short story collections

*''
La guerra gaucha ''The Gaucho War'' (''La guerra gaucha'') is a Argentine films of 1942, 1942 Argentina, Argentine historical drama and epic film directed by Lucas Demare and starring Enrique Muiño, Francisco Petrone, Ángel Magaña, and Amelia Bence. It is one ...
'' (1905) *'' Las fuerzas extrañas'' (1906). ''Strange Forces'', trans. Gilbert Alter-Gilbert (Latin American Literary Review Press, 2001). *''Cuentos fatales'' (1924)


Poetry

*''Las montañas del oro'' (The Mountains of Gold) (1897) *''Los crepúsculos del jardín'' (The Twilight of the Garden) (1905) *''Lunario sentimental'' (Lunario sentimental) (1909) *''Odas seculares'' (Secular Odes) (1910) *''El libro fiel'' (The Faithful Book) (1912) *''El libro de los paisajes'' (The Book of Landscapes) (1917) *''Las horas doradas'' (The Golden Hours) (1922) *''Romances del Río Seco'' (Romances of the Seco River) (posthumously, 1939)


Essays

*1903: ''La reforma educacional. Un ministro y doce académicos'' *1904: ''El imperio jesuítico'' *1910: ''Didáctica'' *1910: ''Las limaduras de Hephaestos. Piedras liminares'' *1910: ''Las limaduras de Hephaestos. Prometeo (un proscripto del sol)'' *1915: ''El ejército de la Ilíada'' *1916: ''El problema feminista'' *1917: ''Mi beligerancia'' *1919: ''Las industrias de Atenas'' *1919: ''La torre de Casandra'' *1923: ''Acción. Las cuatro conferencias patrióticas del Coliseo'' *1924: ''Estudios helénicos'' *1925: ''La organización de la paz'' *1928: ''Nuevos estudios helénicos'' *1930: ''La grande Argentina'' *1930: ''La patria fuerte'' *1931: ''Política revolucionaria'' *1932: ''El estado equitativo. Ensayo sobre la realidad argentina''


In popular culture

''
La guerra gaucha ''The Gaucho War'' (''La guerra gaucha'') is a Argentine films of 1942, 1942 Argentina, Argentine historical drama and epic film directed by Lucas Demare and starring Enrique Muiño, Francisco Petrone, Ángel Magaña, and Amelia Bence. It is one ...
'' (''The Gaucha War'') is a
1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...
Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...
historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...
and
epic film Epic films have large scale, sweeping scope, and spectacle. The term is slightly ambiguous, sometimes designating a film genre and at other times simply big-budget films. Like epics in the classical literary sense, it is often focused on a her ...
directed by
Lucas Demare Lucas Demare (July 14, 1910 – September 6, 1981) was an Argentina, Argentine film director, screenwriter, and film producer notable for his work during the Golden Age of Argentine cinema, classical era of Argentine cinema and beyond. Biogr ...
and starring Enrique Muiño, Francisco Petrone, Ángel Magaña, and Amelia Bence. The film's script, written by Homero Manzi and Ulyses Petit de Murat, is based on the short story collection by Leopoldo Lugones published in 1905. The film premiered in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
on November 20, 1942, and is considered by critics of Argentine cinema as one of the most successful films in the history of the cinema. Di Núbila, Domingo, ''La época de oro. Historia del cine argentino I'', Buenos Aires, Ediciones del Jilguero, 1998, p. 392, .


See also

*
List of Argentines Argentine people, Argentines who are notable include: Artists *Roberto Aizenberg, painter and sculptor *Oscar Alemán, jazz guitarist *Antonio Alice, portrait painter *Marcelo Álvarez, tenor *Fermín Arango, painter *Martha Argerich, concert p ...


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lugones, Leopoldo 1874 births 1938 suicides Argentine male writers Argentine fascists Argentine Freemasons Argentine Roman Catholics Argentine socialists Burials at La Recoleta Cemetery Christian fascists Modernist writers People from Córdoba Province, Argentina Suicides in Argentina Suicides by cyanide poisoning 1938 deaths