Jorge Zalamea (1905-1969) was a Colombian writer, poet, journalist and diplomat. The literary career of this intellectual began when he was barely sixteen years old. At that time he worked as a theater critic for the newspaper The viewer.
Zalamea's literary work was characterized by being written with a cultured, precise and critical language. In the texts of this author sobriety was notorious, as well as the sense of equality and justice that formed part of his personality. A good part of the writer's work was of political, social, cultural and historical content.
Some of the most outstanding titles of Jorge Zalamea's literary production were: The abduction of the Sabine women, The Bethlehem hostel, The greater Burundún-Burundá has died, The dream of the stairs Y The metamorphosis of his excellence. On the other hand, the writer served as minister of education and ambassador.
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Jorge Zalamea Borda was born on March 8, 1905 in Bogotá, Colombia. He came from a cultured family with a high socioeconomic level. It is known that his father was Benito Zalamea, a notable accountant for the energy company.
Jorge studied at institutions in his hometown. He was trained in the Modern Gymnasium and the Military School. Zalamea was attracted to literature as a student, so he frequented the Cafe Windsor where prominent young intellectuals met. There he met León de Greiff.
Later he entered the School of Agronomy and after a while he retired. Zalamea's talent for writing opened the doors of the newspaper for him The viewer when I was only sixteen. There he began to write theater reviews and began his literary career.
The young Zalamea remained in his first years of youth developing journalistic work in different print media in his hometown. At the beginning of the twenties he joined the group "Los Nuevos", which aimed to reform the literature and politics of Colombia.
Later he joined a theater company and toured various countries in America performing between 1925 and 1927. At that time, Jorge published his first play, which was the play The return of Eva. At that time, the intellectual began to wonder about the bond that united the reader with poetry..
Jorge Zalamea began his diplomatic career in the late 1920s. So he went to Spain in 1928 to serve as a commercial advisor on behalf of his country. After that he was appointed as vice consul in England. The author was in Europe until 1935 and at that time he wrote From Jorge Zalamea to Colombian youth.
The diplomat returned to his country after living seven years in Europe. He was immediately appointed by President Alfonso López Pumarejo as Minister of Education in 1936. That same year he announced The Department of Nariño: scheme for a sociological interpretation, an essay of socio-political content.
After passing through the education cabinet, Zalamea held the position of Secretary General of the Presidency in 1937. During the exercise of his political functions, the writer continued to develop his literature. At that time he published the work The national industry.
Zalamea kept holding political and diplomatic posts for a long time. He was elected Chamber representative for Cundinamarca in 1941. That year was one of the most productive as a writer. He released five works, including: The abduction of the Sabine women, The hostel of Bethlehem Y The Wonderful Life of Books.
Subsequently, Jorge was appointed Colombian ambassador to Mexico in 1943 during Pumarejo's second presidential term (1942-1945). Some time later he performed the same function in Italy.
During his diplomatic functions in Mexico and Italy, Zalamea met again with the poetic work of the French Saint-John Perse and began its translation. First translated Praise in 1946 and after Rain, snow, exile.
In the words of the Colombian writer, Perse became a kind of "consolation" in difficult times of his life.
Jorge Zalamea returned to Colombia in 1948. That same year he began to work as director of the publication Review, work that he carried out until 1951. On April 9, 1948, the liberal political leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitán was assassinated and this led to the disturbances known as "El Bogotazo".
The writer was not oblivious to the events. From the microphones of the National Radio he supported the Colombian people to defend themselves from the injustices and atrocities of tyrannical governments. Some of his adversaries considered that the intellectual incited people to violence.
Magazine Review de Zalamea became a stone in the shoe for politicians on duty. The scathing articles caused the outlet to be censored. Finally, after fighting for a time against the bans, the publication stopped circulating on October 14, 1951..
Jorge went into exile a year later due to the constant threats he received. He settled in Buenos Aires and there he continued with his literary work. At that time, the writer published Greater Burundun-Burundá has died, which was considered one of his most renowned works.
The writer undertook a trip around the world between 1952 and 1959. Zalamea toured Egypt, China, the Middle East and India. During that journey he began to develop The dream of the stairs, his best known poem. This prose text represented the voice of the least favored to denounce the inequality and misery of the peoples.
Zalamea returned to his country in mid-1959 and in October he began to develop the literary cycle "Poesía al Aire Libre". In the last years of his life, the author dedicated himself to finishing The dream of the stairs and published it in 1964. He attended various cultural and literary events.
Jorge Zalamea died on May 10, 1969 in the city where he was born, he was then sixty-five years old..
The literary style of the Colombian writer Jorge Zalamea was characterized by the use of a cultured, well-elaborated and precise language. His works were critical, analytical, profound, and at times with a high level of irony. The author sought in every possible way to connect with the needs of the readers, especially his poetry..
The predominant themes in this writer's publications were justice, equality, human struggle, man, history, politics, culture and society in general..
- The return of Eva (1927). Theater.
- From Jorge Zalamea to Colombian youth (1933). Political essay.
- The Department of Nariño: scheme for a sociological interpretation (1936). Sociopolitical essay.
- The national industry (1938).
- The abduction of the Sabine women (1941).
- The Belén hostel (1941).
- The Wonderful Life of Books: Travels Through the Literatures of Spain and France (1941).
- Nine Colombian artists (1941).
- Introduction to Ancient Art (1941).
- Praise (1946). Translation of Saint-John Perse's work.
- Rain, snow, exile. Translation of a work by Saint-John Perse.
- Anabasis (1949). Translation of Saint-John Perse's work.
- Minerva at the spinning wheel and other essays (1949).
- Greater Burundun-Burundá has died (1952).
- Eulogies and other poems of Saint-John Perse (1964).
- The dream of the stairs (1964).
- Poetry ignored and forgotten (1965).
- The metamorphosis of his excellence (1966).
- Literature, politics and art (1966).
- The waters of Vietnam (1967).
- Songs: of dawn, of combat and of dusk (1975).
This work was one of the most important and recognized by Jorge Zalamea. It was a publication of political and historical content in relation to various events that occurred in Colombia. The text had a high satirical tone and a particular language and aesthetics.
Zalamea exposed in this work the arrival of a politician to power and how he became a dictator. It was a story about the wickedness, ambition and oppression of the peoples. Finally, the life of the ruler succumbed like that of any mortal.
“… While the great Burundún-Burundá waited in its palace for a hymn of Regüeldos, the city, darkly in solidarity with the murdered horde, moaned deafly, bleated pitifully, not daring to squawk as wild ducks might do at the moment of their unexpected car accident.
“But the greater Burundún-Burundá had been corroborated in its maximum foresight: its celestial police were invisible. And one hundred percent effective. The lack of appetite of fools would pass ... ".
“… Now I only want the living and wounding word that, like a sling stone, clears the breasts and, like vahorous unsheathed steel, knows how to find the path of blood. I just want the scream that destroys the throat, leaves the taste of entrails on the palate and calcines the profirient lips. I just want the language that is used on the steps ... ".
- Casa de las Américas Prize in 1965, for the essay work Poetry ignored and forgotten.
- Lenin Peace Prize in 1968.
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