Rafael Arévalo Martínez
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Rafael Arévalo Martínez (25 July 1884,
Guatemala City Guatemala City (, also known colloquially by the nickname Guate), is the Capital city, national capital and largest city of the Guatemala, Republic of Guatemala. It is also the Municipalities of Guatemala, municipal capital of the Guatemala Depa ...
–12 June 1975,
Guatemala City Guatemala City (, also known colloquially by the nickname Guate), is the Capital city, national capital and largest city of the Guatemala, Republic of Guatemala. It is also the Municipalities of Guatemala, municipal capital of the Guatemala Depa ...
) was a Guatemalan writer. He was a novelist, short-story writer, poet, diplomat, and director of Guatemala’s national library for more than 20 years. Though Arévalo Martínez’s fame has waned, he is still considered important because of his short stories, and one in particular: ''The man who resembled a horse'' and the biography of president
Manuel Estrada Cabrera Manuel José Estrada Cabrera (21 November 1857 – 24 September 1924) was the President of Guatemala from 1898 to 1920. A lawyer with no military background, he modernised the country's industry and transportation infrastructure, via granting c ...
, ''¡Ecce Pericles!''. Arévalo Martínez was director of the Guatemalan National Library from 1926 until 1946, when he became for a year Guatemala’s representative before the Pan American Union in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
He was the political and literary counterpart of his more famous countryman, Nobel Prize winner
Miguel Ángel Asturias Miguel Ángel Asturias Rosales (; 19 October 1899 – 9 June 1974) was a Guatemalan poet-diplomat, novelist, playwright and journalist. Winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1967, his work helped bring attention to the importance of i ...
; while Arévalo Martínez was an unapologetic admirer of the United States, Asturias was a bitter critic of the New Orleans–based
United Fruit Company The United Fruit Company (later the United Brands Company) was an American multinational corporation that traded in tropical fruit (primarily bananas) grown on Latin American plantations and sold in the United States and Europe. The company was ...
(now part of
United Brands Company Chiquita Brands International Société à responsabilité limitée, S.à.r.l. (), formerly known as United Fruit Company, United Fruit Co., is a Swiss company producing and distributing bananas and other produce. The company operates under ...
), which he felt had plundered his country.


Biography

Arévalo Martinez was a shy child, prone to sickness but with acute talent. His mother took care of him, given that his father died when he was only four years old. He attended Nia Chon and San José de los Infantes, schools, but could not even finish high school due to his health problems. Along with artist, writers and poets like
Carlos Mérida Carlos Mérida (December 2, 1891 – December 21, 1985) was a Guatemalan artist and naturalized Mexican who was one of the first to fuse European modern painting to Latin American themes, especially those related to Guatemala and Mexico. He was ...
,
Rafael Rodríguez Padilla Rafael Rodríguez Padilla (January 23, 1890 – January 24, 1929) was a Guatemalan painter, printmaker and sculptor. In 1920 he was cofounder and became the first director of the Guatemalan ''Academia Nacional de Bellas Artes'' (National Academy ...
,
Rafael Yela Günther Rafael Yela Günther (September 18, 1888 – April 17, 1942) was a Guatemalan painter and sculptor. Biography Yela studied sculpture under his father Baldomero Yela Montenegro (1859–1909), a sculptor and marble-carver, and afterwards ...
, Carlos Valenti, and Carlos Wyld Ospina among others, worked very closely with
Jaime Sabartés Jaume Sabartés i Gual (, , born in Barcelona, 10 June 1881 - died in Paris, 12 February 1968), was a Catalan Spanish artist, poet and writer. He was a close friend of Pablo Picasso and later became his secretary/administrator. Early life Sabar ...
, a Spaniard that arrived to
Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
in 1906 from
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, where he was a close friend of
Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...
; the group was known as the "1910 generation". Arévalo Martínez and the other members of his generation were crucial for the literature and arts of the 20th century in
Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...
as they abandoned Modernism in search of new trends. Later on Arévalo Martínez created his own style, although there are a number of Guatemalan writers that are grateful for his grammar advice. Arévalo Martinez worked both prose and poetry. His first literary work appeared in 1905 when his first poem was printed in a newspaper, and in 1908 he published ''Woman and children'' for the ''Electra'' magazine contest, that he won. In 1911, along with
Jaime Sabartés Jaume Sabartés i Gual (, , born in Barcelona, 10 June 1881 - died in Paris, 12 February 1968), was a Catalan Spanish artist, poet and writer. He was a close friend of Pablo Picasso and later became his secretary/administrator. Early life Sabar ...
decided to rent with their wives a house to save for both families. With Francisco Fernández Hall in 1913 founded was editor in chief of the magazine ''
Juan Chapín Juan Chapín is a character created by Guatemalan writer José Milla y Vidaurre in his novel ''Un viaje al otro mundo pasando por otras partes'' -A trip to the other world, going through other parts-, which he wrote while in exile in Europe after ...
'', main outlet for the "1910 generation". He wrote for several newspapers and magazines, both nationally and internationally; In 1916, Arévalo Martínez lived for a while in
Tegucigalpa Tegucigalpa ( )—formally Tegucigalpa, Municipality of the Central District ( or ''Tegucigalpa, M.D.C.''), and colloquially referred to as ''Tegus'' or ''Teguz''—is the capital and largest city of Honduras along with its sister city, Comaya ...
where he was working as editor in chief for ''El Nuevo Tiempo'', but went back to Guatemala a few months later. Over there, he was named secretary of the Central American Office, where he had already worked editing their magazine in 1915. In 1921 he was appointed as correspondent for the
Real Academia Española The Royal Spanish Academy (, ; ) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with national language academies in 22 other Hispanopho ...
and on 15 September 1922, along with Alejandro Córdova, Carlos Wyld Ospina and Porfirio Barba Jacob founded the newspaper ''
El Imparcial ''El Imparcial'', founded in 1918, was "an anti-'' Popular'', pro-Independence tabloid" in Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of ...
''. He was president of the "Ateneo Guatemalteco", director of the National Library for almost twenty years and in 1945 he was named the Guatemalan detalate before the Pan American Union and director of the Mexican Library in Guatemala.


Writing

Arévalo Martínez's best book of poems was Las rosas de Engaddí (1923; "The Roses of Engaddí"), but he is not remembered as a poet. He published two interconnected utopian novels, El mundo de Los Maharachías (1938; "The World of the Maharachías") and Viaje a Ipanda (1939; "A Voyage to Ipanda"). In the first novel a shipwrecked man named Manuol icfinds a civilization of creatures that resemble monkeys but are superior to men. The Maharachías' sensitive tails are almost spiritual. In the second novel the tone is more intellectual and political, and the result is less satisfactory. Arévalo Martínez is remembered mostly for the title story of his collection El hombre que parecía un caballo (1920; "The Man Who Resembled a Horse"), which was once considered the most famous Latin American short story of the 20th century. First published in 1915, the story was so successful that Arévalo made other experiments in the same vein. These "psychozoological stories," as he called them (probably remembering Kipling), involve a dog or a lioness or some other animal. "The Man Who Resembled a Horse" purports to be the satirical portrait of Colombian poet Porfirio Barba Jacob, who is given the character of a blaspheming, egotistical, and amoral man. The story's power lies in the delirious and oblique account of homoerotic desire. The protagonist's resemblance to a horse embraces his graceful, yet brutal sexuality and his total disregard for morality. The story is deliberately decadent, luxuriant in tone, and its version of sexual desire owes much to
Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philology, classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche bec ...
and
Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies seen as originating fro ...
, who were very popular at the time Arévalo Martínez wrote it. Roberto González Echevarría


List of works


Narrative

* ''Una vida'', 1914 * ''El hombre que parecía un caballo'', 1914 * ''El trovador colombiano'', 1920 * ''El señor Monitot'', 1922 * ''La oficina de paz de Orolandia'', 1925 * ''El mundo de los maharachías'', 1938 * ''Viaje a Ipanda'', 1939 * ''Manuel Aldano'', 1914 (teatro) * ''Ecce Pericles'' (biography of
Manuel Estrada Cabrera Manuel José Estrada Cabrera (21 November 1857 – 24 September 1924) was the President of Guatemala from 1898 to 1920. A lawyer with no military background, he modernised the country's industry and transportation infrastructure, via granting c ...
)


Poetry

* ''Maya'', 1911 * ''Los Atormentados'', 1914 * ''Las rosas de Engaddi'', 1927 * ''Por un caminito así'', 1947 * "Entregate por entero", 1950


Notes and references


References


Bibliography

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Works by Arévalo Martínez

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External links


Rafael Arevalo Martinez (Guatemalan writer) – Encyclopædia Britannica
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arevalo-Martinez, Rafael 1884 births 1975 deaths Guatemalan novelists Guatemalan male novelists 20th-century Guatemalan poets 20th-century Guatemalan male writers Guatemalan male poets