Bernardo de Balbuena (1568-1627) was a renowned poet and ecclesiastic, admired for his great achievements in both areas. As a writer he is known for his extensive poetry developed in works such as the Golden age in the jungles of Erífile Y Mexican greatness, among other.
The recognition of his poetry placed him among the most important poets of colonial America. In addition, he held various religious positions, among which the one linked to the abbey in Jamaica in 1608 stands out..
His ecclesiastical career continued to rise and in 1620 he was named the first bishop of Puerto Rico, an appointment he held until the day of his death..
This character is remembered for being an outstanding representative in the field of letters, as well as an exemplary priest who knew how to alternate his work as a writer with his priestly commitments in a balanced way..
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Bernardo de Balbuena was born on November 20, 1568 in Valdepeñas de Gregorio Villanueva, Spain. His mother was named Luisa de Velasco and he was the illegitimate son of Bernardo de Balbuena.
He lived his childhood and adolescence with his mother in Spain, since his father abandoned him since he was a child. This fact marked him in the deepest.
The influence that the lack of his father had in his childhood can be seen in his work The Bernardo or Victoria de Roncesvalles, where the author expresses in a tangential way the difficulty that it meant for him to grow up without a close father figure.
With the passing of the years and still being very young, he traveled to Mexico to reconnect with his father and carry out his studies..
Balbuena grew up in Nueva Galicia and in 1584 applied for a license to live in Mexico with his father. Upon arrival, he studied theology and entered a seminary to be ordained as a priest..
His studies were carried out at the University of Mexico between 1585 and 1590. During those years Bernardo de Balbuena won his first poetic competitions; at that time I was already living in the city of Guadalajara.
While in Mexico, his careers as a poet and priest were on the rise. In 1592 he was appointed priest of the Royal Audience of Guadalajara, having just 30 years of age.
Balbuena settled in San Pedro Lagunillas, in Nueva Galicia, and as a good chaplain he administered the sacraments, gave Mass and spent time writing without neglecting his obligations as a priest..
In 1603 he returned to Mexico City. Thanks to his discipline and his love for letters, he managed to present his work in 1604 Mexican greatness. In this text he describes Mexico City and it was his beginning to be recognized in the world of letters..
He finally said goodbye to Mexico in 1606 and traveled to Madrid, where he did a doctorate in Theology at the University of Sigüenza. Parallel to this, he continued in the search to train to obtain an important ecclesiastical position.
After two years in Spain he published the Golden age in the jungles of Erífile, work that was printed in 1608 in Madrid. It is a series of pastoral lyric poems with pieces of prose.
On the other hand, while his passion for letters and poetry grew, in 1610 he was appointed abbot in Jamaica. During that period he developed his work The Bernardo or Victoria de Roncesvalles, which was published in 1624.
Later, in 1620 he achieved an important promotion within the church and was named bishop of San Juan de Puerto Rico..
In general, little historical data on Bernardo de Balbuena is kept. This is due, among other things, to the fact that in 1625 a serious tragedy occurred for the poetry of that writer, a fact that filled him with sadness and accompanied him until the end of his days..
During that year, the Dutch privateer Balduino Enrico, who starred in the assault on San Juan de Puerto Rico, destroyed Bernardo de Balbuena's palace and caused significant losses in literature, since it destroyed much of his work. The writer never recovered from this tragedy.
With the destruction of its library, works such as poems were lost The divine Cristiados Y Laura's Highness.
On October 11, 1627, at the age of 59, Bernardo de Balbuena died in San Juan, Puerto Rico. As mentioned above, the loss of his work was a sadness that accompanied him until his last days..
It is a poem written in 1604 that, through its narrative, describes the grandeur and majesty of Mexico City in nine chapters. It is considered the most important descriptive lyric poem of the time.
In this work you can see how Bernardo de Balbuena used and mixed humanistic culture with Renaissance poetry; in addition, it is a constant praise towards Mexico City.
In its first impression it was not very homogeneous. It was published in two editions with different dedications: the first printing was made in Mexico by Melchior de Ocharte, and the second by Diego López Dávalos.
With the passing of the years Mexican greatness reprinting continued. Its last edition saw the light in Madrid in 2011.
It was published in Madrid in 1608. It is a pastoral poem that contains twelve eclogues, narrated in the first person with exceptional poetic prose..
Golden age in the jungles of Erífile It is considered by critics as one of the best poems that existed in Spain. However, many readers of the time did not support Balbuena's work..
This was a work that took many years to complete, but in the end it turned out to be a fantastic work of 24 songs and 40,000 verses. It was printed in 1624 by Diego Flamenco in Madrid and was reprinted from 1808 to 1914.
The Bernardo or Victoria de Roncesvalles was one of his most ambitious, imaginative and scholarly works, inspired by Italian Renaissance authors such as Ludovico Ariosto and Matteo María Boiardo.
-Apologetic Compendium in Praise of Poetry.
-Poem I am lost, lady, among the people.
-Lyric poetry.
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