Joaquín Gutiérrez
Don Joaquín Gutiérrez | |
---|---|
San José, Costa Rica | |
Occupation | Writer, journalist |
Language | Spanish |
Nationality | Costa Rican |
Citizenship | Costa Rica, Chile |
Period | 1937–1999 |
Genre | Fantasy, children's, socialist realism |
Literary movement | '40s Generation |
Notable works | Cocorí, Puerto Limón (Port Limón), Murámonos Federico (Let's Die, Federico), La Hoja de Aire (The Sheet Made of Air) |
Notable awards | Magón National Prize for Culture, Rapa Nui Prize for Literature, José Martí World Literature Prize |
Spouse | Elena Nascimento |
Joaquín Gutiérrez Mangel (30 March 1918 – 16 October 2000) was a Costa Rican writer who won multiple awards, and whose children's book Cocorí has been translated into ten languages. In addition to writing children's books, Gutiérrez was a chess champion, war correspondent, journalist, story-teller, translator, professor, and communist activist.
Early life
Born to Paul Gutiérrez and Estela Mangel Rosas in
In 1937, he published his first book, Poesías ("Poems"). His second book of poetry was published in 1938, titled Jicaral. In 1939, at the age of twenty-one, Gutiérrez was named Costa Rica's national chess champion and he traveled to
Life in Chile and return to Costa Rica
Shortly thereafter, Gutiérrez traveled to Chile. He was attracted by the election of Pedro Aguirre Cerda, Chile's first leftist president.[1] He returned to Costa Rica but was drawn back to Chile by a job offer from Editorial Nascimiento, one of Chile's largest publishing houses. He began working there while also contributing to Frente Popular (People's Front) and El Siglo (The Century), two leftist newspapers.[1] In 1941, Gutiérrez was awarded the Rapa Nui Prize for Literature in Chile.[3] There, he met his wife, Elena Nascimento, with whom he had two daughters.[4]
Gutiérrez's communist sympathies increased during this time. He even arranged for Soviet spy Iosif Grigulevich to obtain a falsified Costa Rican passport in 1949, under the name Teodoro B. Castro. Grigulevich would go on to represent Costa Rica diplomatically while being involved in assassination attempts against Leon Trotsky and Josip Broz Tito.[5][6]
While in Chile, Gutiérrez worked as a translator for several news agencies, including
He returned to Chile to continue working as a translator and journalist. Chilean President Salvador Allende put Gutiérrez in charge of Editora Nacional Quimantú, a publisher that focused on literature for the working class in that country.[8] In 1972, when Augusto Pinochet deposed and began a military dictatorship, Gutiérrez returned to Costa Rica.[9]
He continued his literary career and even began teaching at the
Gutiérrez remained politically active, even running for vice-president two times with Pueblo Unido (People's United), a leftist coalition party.[citation needed]
Until his last few months, Gutiérrez continued writing. He died of heart failure in 2000 at 82 years old following a respiratory infection.[9] He is buried at the Cementario General (General Cemetery) in downtown San José. He is the grandfather of film director Ishtar Yasin Gutierrez.[citation needed]
Gutiérrez's literature
Along with famous Costa Rican writers Fabián Dobles, Yolanda Oreamuno, Carlos Luis Fallas, and Carmen Lyra, Gutiérrez was considered a member of "the '40s Generation." All members of the communist left, these writers espoused political ideology in their writing.[2] Most of these writers focused on social problems, such as land distribution, multinationals, and social reforms, as did Gutiérrez. Many of the writers were active military and political participants in the Costa Rican Civil War, although Gutiérrez was in the United States and Chile at the time.[11] He became a close friend of poet Pablo Neruda,[1] who would write an introduction to Gutiérrez's 1968 book, La hoja de aire.[citation needed]
His most widely known book, Cocorí, was a short novel published in 1947. The book follows a titular character in his search for why a flower lived only one day. In 1994, the book was made required reading in Costa Rican schools.
His novel Puerto Limón, published in 1950, took place during the
Awards and honors
In Costa Rica, Gutiérrez received the Magón National Prize for Culture, was awarded a chair in the Academia Costarricense de la Lengua (Costa Rican Language Academy),[15] and was named by the newspaper, La Nación, as the most important national literary figure of the twentieth century. He is in the Costa Rican Sports Hall of Fame for his exceptional chess career.[1] In 1941, Gutiérrez was awarded the Rapa Nui Prize for Literature in Chile.[3] He also received the José Martí World Literature Prize[2] and the El Premio Casa de las Américas (Americas House Prize) in Cuba for his novel Te acordarás, hermano.[10] The University of Costa Rica awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1992.[3]
To honor his contributions to literature, a
Works
- Poesía, 1937, San José (Costa Rica)
- Jicaral, 1938, San José (Costa Rica)
- Cocorí, 1947, Santiago (Chile)
- Manglar, 1947, Santiago (Chile)
- Puerto Limón, novela, 1950, Santiago (Chile)
- Del Mapocho al Vístula, 1953, Santiago (Chile)
- La hoja de aire, 1968, Santiago (Chile)
- Murámonos, Federico, 1973, San José (Costa Rica)
- Volveremos, 1974
- Te conozco mascarita, 1977, Santiago (Chile)
- Te acordarás, hermano, 1978, Havana (Cuba)
- Chinto Pinto, 1982, San José (Costa Rica)
- Vietnam: Crónicas de guerra, 1988, San José (Costa Rica)
- Obras completas, 1998–2003, San José (Costa Rica)
- Crónicas de otro mundo, Editorial Universidad de Costa Rica, 1999, San José (Costa Rica)
- Los azules días, memorias, Editorial Universidad de Costa Rica, 1999, San José (Costa Rica)
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Brenes, Danny (20 October 2010). "Diez años sin don Joaquín" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
- ^ a b c Díaz, Doriam (17 October 2000). "El escritor Joaquín Gutiérrez falleció ayer: Cocorí se quedó sin papá". La Nacion (Costa Rica) (in Spanish). San Jose. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
- ^ a b c d e "Protagonistas del Siglo XX: JOAQUÍN GUTIÉRREZ". La Nacion (Costa Rica) (in Spanish). San Jose. 24 November 1999. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
- ^ Méndez Garita, William (28 October 2000). "Despedida a Don Joaquín Gutiérrez". El Nuevo Diario (in Spanish). Managua. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
- ISBN 9968-15-294-3.
- ^ Fernández, Arnaldo (27 May 2011). "Semblanza académica: I. R. Grigulevich". Emilio Ichikawa (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 30 May 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
- ^ Revista Comunicacion by Gerardo Contreras, accessed 25 May 2012 https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/166/16612111.pdf
- ^ El Poder de la Palabra: Joaquín Gutiérrez Mangel, accessed 17 April 2014 http://www.epdlp.com/escritor.php?id=1794
- ^ a b c Díaz, Doriam (17 October 2000). "El escritor Joaquín Gutiérrez falleció ayer: Cocorí se quedó sin papá". La Nacion (Costa Rica) (in Spanish). San Jose. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
- ^ a b c "Biografías de traductores: Joaquín Gutiérrez Mangel (1918–2000) Costa Rica" (PDF). Biographic entry (in Spanish). Alacant, Spain: Universitat d'Alacant. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
- ^ "BOLETIN DE INFORMACION COSTARRICENSE". Centro de Información Costarricense (in Spanish). College Park, Maryland. 27 March 1948. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
- ^ a b c d Eduardo Mora, Jose (2 May 2003). "MEP avala discriminación de Cocorí". Semenario Universidad (in Spanish). San Jose. Archived from the original on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
- ^ Rodríguez Jiménez, Olga Marta (2004). "¿Hay elementos racistas en Cocorí?" (PDF). Káñina, Rev. Artes y Letras (in Spanish). XXVIII (Special): 55–59. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
- ^ Arias Formoso, Rodolfo (20 April 2003). "¿Cocorí racista?". La Nacion (Costa Rica) (Revista Dominical) (in Spanish). San Jose. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
- ^ "Notas: Joaquín Gutiérrez Mangel (1975)". website (in Spanish). San José: Ministerio de Cultura. Archived from the original on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
- ^ Díaz, Doriam (19 June 2000). "Homenaje a Eunice". La Nacion (Costa Rica) (in Spanish). San Jose. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
- ^ "Presidenta Chinchilla inauguró Curso Lectivo 2012". El Pais (Costa Rica) (in Spanish). San Jose. 2 August 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2014.