José Joaquín Pesado Pérez (1801-1861) was a Mexican writer and politician, who also stood out in the journalistic area. His written work was not abundant. However, it was enough to leave a legacy in the field of Mexican literature..
Pesado's work was characterized by being simple, with the use of precise language. Poetry and the novel were some of the genres developed by the writer. Some of his most prominent titles were The Aztecs Y The inquisitor of Mexico.
As a politician, José Pesado served in various positions, and also became governor of the state of Veracruz. In a general sense, his life was always linked to writing and the political and social events of his country. He was so prominent that he managed to make history with each of the tasks he carried out.
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José Joaquín was born on February 9, 1801 in the city of Palmar de Bravo, Puebla. He came from a middle class family. His parents were Domingo Pesado, originally from Galicia, and Josefa Francisca Pérez Sarmiento Casado y Toro, of Mexican nationality..
José Joaquín was orphaned when he was seven years old. For this reason his mother decided to move to the town of Orizaba, where he began to study. However, his education was given at home, under the supervision of his mother..
From an early age he showed interest in studies, and had the ability to learn different subjects. In his youth he had already reached a high level of knowledge, especially in letters. He also had a knack for languages, including Latin.
José Pesado married for the first time when he was barely twenty-one years old, on February 19, 1922, with María de la Luz Llave Segura. As a result of that love, nine children were born: Guadalupe, María del Carmen, Susana, Juan, Isabel, José, Joaquín, Samuel and Esther.
Pesado's passion for politics was born in his younger years. His thinking was aligned with the ideas of freedom, so he was a member of the liberal party. Later, in 1838, he obtained the post of Minister of the Interior during the presidency of Anastasio Bustamante..
At that time it was also his turn to assume the leadership of Foreign Relations and declare war on France after its first invasion of Mexican territory. In the mid-nineteenth century he was part of the government of Nicolás Bravo Rueda, and fulfilled several ministerial functions.
José Joaquín Pesado combined letters with politics. For a time he exposed his ideas of freedom in the newspaper The opposition, together with his friend and colleague Modesto de Olaguíbel. Later he joined the conservative ranks and led the baton in the dissemination of that political group.
The writer participated in the choice of lyrics for the National Anthem of his country, a task he carried out in the company of the jurist José Bernardo Cuoto Pérez, who was his cousin. On February 3, 1854 they chose the work presented by the poet and playwright Francisco de Paula González.
- Governor of Veracruz from 1834 and for a year.
- Minister of the Interior of Mexico in 1838.
- Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1838 for about a month, from November 14 to December 10.
- Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Government and Police from July 29 to October 20, 1846.
During the last years of his life, Joaquín Pesado was active in politics and writing. He also married for the second time in 1842 with Ana Segura Argüelles, with whom he had seven children. The writer died in Mexico City on March 3, 1861.
- Member of the Lateran Academy.
- Member of the Mexican Academy of Language.
- Corresponding member of the Royal Spanish Academy.
José Joaquín Pesado's literary style was characterized by the use of simple, precise and well-structured language. Also in his short work there was a presence of the religious. He was also interested in making known indigenous culture and literature, and in general the Mexican idiosyncrasy..
In the poetry of this Mexican writer you can see the assonance and consonant rhyme, which made it more expressive with the frequent use of exclamations. Some of his poems were written in the first person singular, as if recounting his own experiences. On the other hand, love and passion were also subjects of interest to him.
- Frustrated love (1838).
- The inquisitor of Mexico (1838).
- Original and translated poetry (1839).
- Question of Tehuantepec (1852).
- The aztecs. Poetry. (1854).
- Epic essay. Beginning of a poem entitled: "The revelation" (1856).
- Sites and scenes of Orizaba and Córdoba (1860).
- The liberator of Mexico D. Agustín de Iturbide. Biography (Posthumous edition, 1872).
It was one of Pesado's novels, which he published in 1838. Love was the main argument. With this work the writer made a space within the romantic and passionate writers of his country. In the plot, destiny had a primary place and the characters evolve through the different difficulties that are presented to them..
It was another of José Joaquín Pesado's short novels, which was published in the same year that Frustrated love. Perhaps that is why in some later editions they published them together. The work was of a historical nature, and the subject was the inquisition that was carried out in Mexico in the seventeenth century by the Holy Office.
The language used by the author was clear and precise, which facilitated the understanding and comprehension of the work. The Indians and the Spaniards who conquered New Spain played a predominant role. Narration, dialogue and description were constant literary elements in the text.
"-Sir," said the maiden, coming out of her dejection, "what need is there for me to declare the faith that I follow??
-The one to obey this court.
-Only to God do I manifest my heart.
-Do not be obstinate, because this court has the power to punish the offense you do to heaven.
-Only God has the revenge of my wrongs.
-Is it true that you follow the religion of Moses?
-If my answer were affirmative, it would be the basis of my condemnation; and if negative, it could be useless. This unfair inequality makes me choose, as the most prudent party, that of silence.
-Your blindness is great, Sara, how can you deny that your family celebrated Jewish celebrations in Veracruz??
-If I am a delinquent, I am it alone ".
It was the best known book of poems of the Mexican writer, which was published in 1854 and distributed in about sixty pages. The work dealt with the different ancient verses of the indigenous Mexicans, which were translated into Spanish with the collaboration of the historian Faustino Galicia.
This work by Pesado was considered the first inspired by the songs of the natives of the Aztec territory. Some scholars have argued that at the time he was not given the deserved recognition, perhaps because of the support that Pesado showed the Church, added to his later conservative ideas..
Hail fearless warrior
in the death of a warrior
in value, first;
speed like the eagle,
and like the fierce tiger;
the one with the fearless face,
the right-handed arrowhead:
Well it is, that in high songs
always your fame alive,
and in war exercises
youth receive
of your inflamed spirit
unquenchable burning.
… And about the diaphanous air
arms wielding,
knows how to stop the momentum
of the enemy side;
strong shield of Mexico
glory of the city ".
"The chariot of the Lord, caught up
at night, in a storm that roars and grows,
the heavens of the heavens tremble,
between the whirlwinds and the cloudy.
… The forest burns, wounded with a living flame;
and the current looks like fire
of the river, through the fields spread.
To the terrible roar of the burning lightning,
spear from the sad and downcast chest,
cry of anguish the terrified people ".
"So, my beautiful Elisa,
and beautiful how much he dodges,
your sweet homeland and your family leave?
Ah! What fatal star
starting motivates you
disdaining my tears and complaints?
My tears, that one day
they moved your pity, my dear!
... I miserable in both,
to the cold grave
this fateful day in my memory
I will have with a long cry.
Your rigor, your detour,
and my unhappy longing will make history
of Elisa and her lover,
of his detachment and his constant love ".
"When I was a child and in my garden
the fragile branches did not reach,
for the divine Phillies he sighed,
that no woman, more goddess seemed.
My chest keeps his portrait imprinted,
she forgets who loves her the most,
and I remember his sweet kiss ".
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