Primo Feliciano Velázquez Rodríguez (6 June 1860 – 19 June 1953) was a Mexican

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

, attorney and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

who specialized in regional history. He was a translator of

Nahuatl Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...

and Latin and a

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of local literature. In 1946-1948, he published the definitive ''Historia de San Luis Potosí'' (''History of San Luis Potosi'') in four volumes. Velázquez was born in Santa Maria del Rio, San Luis Potosi to Octaviano Velázquez and María de la Concepción Rodríguez. He was twelve years old when he was enrolled at the Seminary of San Luis Potosi (Seminario Conciliar Guadalupano Josefino), and he graduated in 1878, took an advanced degree in 1879, and passed his law examination there in October 1880. Subsequently, he assumed the Latin chair and the Civil Law chair there. In 1883, he published ''La Voz de San Luis'' (''The Voice of San Luis''), a series of broadsides to celebrate the centennial of the birth of

Agustín de Iturbide Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu (; 27 September 178319 July 1824), commonly known as Agustín de Iturbide and later by his regnal name Agustín I, was the first Emperor of Mexico from 1822 until his abdication in 1823. An offi ...

. The next year, he joined with Ambrosio Ramirez and Juan N. Ruelas to found the newspaper ''El Estandarte'' (''The Standard'') in San Luis Potosi which proceeded to publish articles critical of the government, as well as literary and historical articles, written mostly by Velázquez. Velázquez espoused Christian social doctrine in his editorials, and encouraged others to submit articles on local history and folklore. ''El Estandarte'' was very successful going from biweekly to daily in 1890 and continuing to be published until the end of 1911. Velázquez made his home a gathering point for those interested in the history of San Luis Potosi, and impromptu seminars were regular occurrences. He was a pioneer in archaeological research in San Luis Potosi, not only excavating himself, but encouraging the work of others. Velázquez belonged to a number of organizations, local, national, and international, among them were:

Academia Mexicana de la Historia The Academia Mexicana de la Historia (''Mexican Academy of History'', also known by the acronym AMH), is a national academy in Mexico, which promotes history in Mexico. History While Antonio López de Santa Anna issued mandates to establish a Me ...

, Real Academia de la Lengua, and

Sociedad Mexicana de Geografía y Estadística ''Sociedad Mexicana de Geografía y Estadística'' (Mexican Society for Geography and Statistics) is a national organization founded on 18 April 1833 to promote the mapping and boundary demarcation of the newly independent Mexican state. The aim ...

Selected works

* 1945 ''Códice Chimalpopoca: Anales de Cuauhtitlán y leyenda de los soles'' translated direct from the Nahuatl by Primo Feliciano Velázquez, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Imprenta Universitaria, Mexico City, Reviewed: Barlow, R. H. (1947) "Review" ''The Hispanic American Historical Review'' 27(3): pp. 520-526; and Brotherston, Gordon (1997) "Review" ''Bulletin of Latin American Research'' 16(2): pp. 252-253 * 1946/1948 ''Historia de San Luis Potosí'' Sociedad Mexicana de Geografía y Estadística, Mexico City, *"D. Joaquín Garcia Icazbalceta" ''Memorias de la Academia Mexicana de la Historia: Correspondiente de la Real de Madrid'', II, pp. 101–157

Notes

References

* Meade, Joaquín (1954) "Datos biograficos del licenciado don Primo Feliciano Velázquez" ("Biographical data on lawyer don Primo Feliciano Velázquez")''Memorias de la Academia Mexicana de la Historia'' January–March 1954

External links

Biography of Primo Feliciano Velázquez from the Academia Mexicana de la Historia
in Spanish
Brief biography of Primo Feliciano Velázquez, with photographs
in Spanish {{DEFAULTSORT:Velazquez, Primo Feliciano Historians of Mexico Mexican male essayists 19th-century Mexican journalists Mexican male journalists Mexican ethnographers 20th-century Mexican historians Linguists from Mexico Mexican Mesoamericanists Historians of Mesoamerica Translators from Nahuatl 20th-century Mesoamericanists 19th-century newspaper publishers (people) 1860 births 1953 deaths 20th-century Mexican translators 20th-century Mexican essayists 20th-century Mexican male writers 19th-century Mexican historians 20th-century Mexican journalists