Otto René Castillo
Otto René Castillo | |
---|---|
Born | Quetzaltenango, Guatemala | April 25, 1934
Died | March 23, 1967 Zacapa, Guatemala | (aged 32)
Occupation | Poet, revolutionary |
Language | Spanish |
Notable works | Poema Tecún Umán Vámonos patria a caminar |
Notable awards | Premio Centroamericano de poesía (1955) |
Partner | Nora Paíz Cárcamo |
Otto René Castillo (April 25, 1934 – March 23, 1967) was a
Early life and activism
Castillo was born in
In El Salvador, Castillo met Salvadoran poet
Family
Otto Rene Castillo never married in Guatemala, but during his stay in East Germany, he fathered three sons. Documentary filmmaker Karl-Heinz Mund, together with Werner Kohlert made a short commemorative documentary about Castillo, entitled Ganz Berlin ist in deinen Augen... (Todo Berlin esta en tus ojos...), produced by DEFA Studio fuer Dokumentarfilme in Berlin.
Publications and death
The early to mid-1960s saw the publication of the only two volumes of work put into print during Castillo's lifetime, Poema Tecún Umán and Vámonos patria a caminar. In 1966, he clandestinely returned to Guatemala and joined the guerrilla struggle with the Rebel Armed Forces, where he served as the chief of propaganda and education. After operating in the Sierra de las Minas for several months, he was captured by government forces and taken to Zacapa barracks alongside his comrade, Nora Paíz Cárcamo in March 1967. There they were interrogated, tortured, and burned alive.[2]
References
- ^ a b "In [1954], US intervention put an end to the Guatemalan democratic experiment, and the country's cultural leaders fled into exile."
Arias, Arturo. “Literary Production and Political Crisis in Central America.” International Political Science Review, Vol. 12, No. 1, The Politics of Art/Art et politique (January 1991), pp. 15–28. - ^ "In March 1967 Otto Rene Castillo was captured, tortured for four days, and burned alive." Paige, Jeffery M. "Social Theory and Peasant Revolution in Vietnam and Guatemala", Theory and Society, Vol. 12, No. 6 (November 1983), pp. 699–737.: [715]
External links
- Poems of Otto Rene Castillo
- Otto Rene Castillo Archive at marxists.org