Jose Eustaquio Palacios (1830-1898) was a Colombian writer, poet, novelist, and politician. This intellectual focused his work on the study and application of Spanish literature and grammar. His work was marked by the Hispanic and conservative influences that he inherited from his family.
Palacios' work was characterized by the use of a cultured and precise language, in accordance with the Spanish of the 19th century. An outstanding feature in his writings was the treatment of reality from a fantastic vision. The author wrote about family relationships, love, history, religion, and morals.
The best-known and most prominent publications of this Colombian writer were: Castilian grammar, Literature lessons, Esneda Y The royal ensign. The professional life of Eustaquio Palacios extended to the field of teaching and journalism.
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José Eustaquio was born on February 17, 1830 in the town of Roldanillo in Valle del Cauca. The writer, who had seven siblings, came from a cultured family descended from the Spanish nobility.
The relationship that the Eustaquio family attributed to the Spanish aristocracy had more of legend than truth, being a very common custom of the post-colonial era. What was true was the filial union between his mother and Captain Alonso Quintero Príncipe.
The childhood of Eustaquio Palacios was marked by the severe character of his father and the loving personality of his mother. In his childhood he went through difficult periods of poverty and to get out of debt his father sold the family home.
Little Eustaquio spent several seasons at the La Negra farm, which belonged to his paternal uncle. There he learned about life in the countryside, lived with slaves and spent hours reading. That childhood experience was decisive for the development of his literary work.
Palacios' early formative years were governed by the instructions in Carreño's manual and the Catholic precepts that his father strictly enforced. In his hometown school he learned literature, science and about the ethical and moral norms of the society of his time.
After his primary and secondary studies, he decided to train as a priest and entered the Convent of San Francisco. He continued his training in Bogotá and Popayán in the Jesuit seminaries. Finally, Eusebio retired and studied law at the University of Cauca.
Eustaquio Palacios met love shortly after completing his university studies. The meeting with Juana Francisca Mesa took place during the traditional activity of the time known as the "Pan de San Antonio". The couple married in 1856 and Palacios devoted himself fully to his family for a period of five years..
The taste that Eustaquio Palacios felt as a child for literature and writing led him to create his printing press in 1860. At that same time he developed, printed and published three of his most important works: Latin sentences, Spanish grammar Y Literature lessons, all educational content.
Palacios took a hiatus from his literary career in 1863 to venture into politics, more to please his friends than of his own free will. That is how he ran for councilor of Cali and then was elected president of the council of that same city.
Palacios' extensive knowledge and his vocation for letters led him to act as principal director of the Santa Librada School. There he taught Italian, Latin, geography, philosophy and Spanish..
The educator wanted to transcend his work as a teacher and founded the weekly publication The Cauca Railway in 1870. It was a newspaper of moral, news and literary content directed to the student community. On the other hand, the writer published several articles in favor of the completion of the Cali railway and the population of Buenaventura.
Palacios spent the last years of his life devoted entirely to writing and journalism. He wrote news, opinion pieces, literary criticism and educational reviews in his newspaper The Cauca Railway, which he led until the end of his days.
During the last stage of its existence the author published two important works. The first was the poem Esneda in 1874 and the second was the novel The royal ensign, both well received by critics and the public. Eustaquio Palacios died suddenly on February 6, 1898 in Cali, after suffering a fall and hitting his head..
The literary style of Eustaquio Palacios was characterized by the use of a cultured, simple and precise language. In his work, the classic and traditional customs that he inherited from his Hispanic roots were notorious. His writings were of a traditional and historical nature and he developed themes based on real events, but which he knew how to give them a touch of fiction..
- Latin prayers (1860).
- Castilian grammar (1860).
- Literature lessons (1860).
- Esneda (1874). Poem.
- The royal ensign (1886). Novel.
- Love forever. Poem.
- Autobiography.
It was one of the best-known and most important poetic works of Eustaquio Palacios, whose production took him several years and he finally made it known in 1874. In each of the verses the costumbrismo and the moral and religious norms that the author received during their training.
Palacios narrated the story of love and sacrifice of a mother towards her son. The writer reflected in a certain way the affective relationship he had with his mother and the Catholic faith that she instilled in him. This publication by the Colombian intellectual was recognized with the La Estrella de Chile award.
The author told the story of a mother who passed away and left her son alone. When he got to heaven, he asked God to give him back life to be with his son. She was pleased and was able to see her son grow up, but her happiness faded when the young man was killed in a conflict with the Pijao ethnic group..
It was the best known novel by Eustaquio Palacios and it was a love story. The protagonists of the work were Mrs. Inés and a young man named Daniel, among them a feeling arose that surpassed all the social conventions inherited from the colonial era.
The author exposed in the work the customs and traditions of the Colombian society of the XIX century. Palacios captured the life that slaves led on the estates, in his own words they experienced "a quiet and pleasant life." The religious, moral and Hispanic influence that the writer received was present in the work.
This novel had historical content and the writer set it in the city of Cali, between 1789 and 1792. At that time, José de Ezpeleta was the viceroy of New Granada. The author was in charge of doing a documentary investigation to give realism to each of the events that he related..
Eustaquio Palacios divided this novel into a dedication to his good friend Zenón Fabio Lemos and into twenty-seven chapters that collected the love story between Inés and Daniel, plus other historical and traditional situations of the 18th century. Here are some of the chapters that made up the work:
- "From Cali to Cañasgordas".
- "Doña Inés de Lara".
- "Daniel".
- "Sunday at the hacienda".
- "Cali in 1789".
- "The two orphans".
- "Serenade".
- "Disappearance".
- "October in Cañasgordas".
- "The sessions of the town hall".
- "The swearing of Carlos IV".
- "Pleasure and pain".
- "Confidences".
“… The aspect of that region was beautiful, as it always is; and for Daniel and Inés, happy with the confidence that they had made of their mutual love and that it had unloaded their hearts with a great weight, the landscape was truly charming.
“When leaving the house they had to climb a slightly inclined plane until they reached the ridge of the hill… When they reached the ridge of the hill, Daniel, who was leading, stopped to make the ladies notice the beauty of the landscape. The hacienda was presented to their eyes in all its extension, in a picturesque panorama, with its varied aspects ... ".
“My parents were poor and they had many children, in this order: Serafín, Juana Francisca, Patricia, José María, Josefa, Sebastián and Hermógenes. My mother also had an abortion of twins ... I spent my first years (1833 to 1835), like all children, playing, although I have never been happy, because the melancholic temperament dominates in me ...
"My father was a well-formed man, tall, robust and very white ... Very serious in his bearing and behavior, he never laughed with his children ... I have never met a more rigid man in the upbringing of his family ...
“My mother is an angel of kindness. It is difficult to find a woman of a softer, sweeter, more patient and humble character. She is very laborious ... she treats her children with holy care and love, we love her dearly, and we would have given our lives for hers ".
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