Alonso Quesada was the pseudonym of Rafael Romero Quesada (1886-1925), a Spanish poet, writer and storyteller, who belonged to the group of modernist authors of Gran Canaria, headed by Tomás Morales Castellano.
Quesada's work was oriented towards everyday themes, and at the same time it was characterized by being sarcastic and ironic, and at the same time marked by its existential affliction. In addition, in it he reflected the contrast between the reality of things and what he carried within himself.
Alonso Quesada published his first book in 1915, and titled it The linen of dreams. However, life was not enough for him to see all his works published. His death left an early void in Canarian literature, and at the same time created a marked mark within modernism and postmodernism of the 20th century..
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Alonso Quesada was born on December 5, 1886 in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. From his family it is known that his father was a military man, and that he died when the poet was twenty years old, leaving the young man in charge of the responsibility of his mother, his three sisters and his two aunts..
Alonso studied at the San Agustín school in Las Palmas, where he met his friend, who would also be a poet, Tomás Morales Castellano. Quesada's illusion to continue studying was overshadowed when, in 1907, his father ceased to exist.
The young Quesada had to put aside his studies to take care of his family. So he started working as a journalist, and at the same time he also served as an assistant at the Bank of Spain. A few years later he worked in the Port Works Board.
Quesada did not have the opportunity to pursue university studies, however he knew how to develop his talent for writing and poetry. From an early age he began to read important works, which is why he had extensive cultural and intellectual knowledge.
Alonso Quesada was an expert in the literature and history of Spain, of the great classics, and also expressed his admiration for the important writers of his time. He maintained friendship with renowned intellectuals such as Agustín Millares Carlo, Luís Doreste Silva, among others.
Quesada's attitude towards life was almost always one of frustration, many times he felt hopeless. However, he saw a ray of light enter when, in 1915, he published his first work The linen of dreams. His happiness lasted even more when he met his great love.
During those years, Rita Suárez came into the life of Alonso, a young woman who in 1920 became his wife and life partner. She was his muse for the creation of the play Plain, and also with her he had his only daughter, named Amalia, in 1922.
Quesada's life was not entirely positive or melodious, the fact of having to dedicate himself to activities that were not of his interest, and to postpone so many others that were, was frustrating.
Having to fight tuberculosis devastated him. This disease took his breath away early on November 4, 1925 in the same city where he was born..
Alonso Quesada's work featured a literary style closely linked to his life and the circumstances in which he lived. Hence, many times he wrote about everyday life, and that he printed irony and sarcasm on his texts, with a unique agility.
The language used by the poet in his works was simple, but cultured. Although there was a certain black humor in his compositions, you could also perceive a degree of sensitivity that he often combined with his moods.
It is important to highlight that Alonso Quesada was an author who cultivated various literary genres. In each of them he left his talent, grace, cunning and determination as a specialist in letters reflected. Poetry, chronicles, narratives and theater were part of his life as a writer.
Quesada's poetry was precise and direct, he used an easily understood language, mostly colloquial. Framed within modernism, with its own personality characteristics such as irony, and having as main themes day-to-day, nature, friends, sadness among others..
The contact that the Spanish writer had with journalism at an early age led him to become a great chronicler. His style in this genre was aggressive, without ceasing to have elegance, at the same time it was characterized by being malicious and at the same time thoughtful..
In the case of the narrative genre, Alonso Quesada demonstrated creativity and cunning. He always remained close to his usual irony, to which he added flexibility in terms of setting up scenarios, and he dedicated himself to being more descriptive and detailed..
As the author of plays, Alonso developed it within symbolism. In them he developed characters who faced conflicts due to moral and physical aspects. The texts were set in the realistic qualities of the city where he grew up and spent his life.
- The linen of dreams (1915).
- Chronicles of day and night (1919).
- The shady (1922).
- The scattered roads (1944).
- Lunar (1950).
- Smoking room (1972).
- The concerns of the Hall (1975).
- Insular (1982).
- Memoranda (1982).
It was the first and most recognized work of Alonso Quesada, which he wrote in single or blank verse, that is, provided with measures, but not with rhyme. In this collection of poems he developed themes related to everyday events..
“I came to tremble to speak before him, because I drank the words, not only with my ears, but with my eyes. I have never understood better the sanctity of the word and everything that we routinely priests of it profane.
… I, who have read the Colloquium in the Shadows, with the emotion of such memories, I don't know what to say to you about that poem; but he puts the mysterious and stormy taciturn in front of me, hungry for substantial knowledge, who asked me for what I don't know if I can give ".
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