Luis Gonzaga Urbina (1864-1934) was a Mexican writer and poet who produced his work between Romanticism and Modernism. Due to the comprehensive quality of his texts, he has been considered one of the most important writers in Mexico during the 20th century..
Gonzaga Urbina's work mostly encompassed the genre of poetry, although she also devoted herself to writing texts with an academic profile in relation to literature. His writings were characterized by a well-kept language and impeccable aesthetics..
The following were some of the most important titles of this author: Naive, Lamps in agony, Lorena, Centennial Anthology, Mexican literature Y Tales lived and chronicles dreamed. Some of his works were conceived while he lived in Cuba and Spain.
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Luís was born on February 8, 1864 in Mexico City. Data on his family are scarce, it is known that he was orphaned at an early age, so he had to work quickly to support himself. Some scholars of his life affirm that his childhood and youth were difficult.
Gonzaga Urbina completed her first years of studies in schools in her hometown. Then he studied high school at the National Preparatory School of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), in those years he showed his interest in literature and began in journalism.
When he was just a high school student, Gonzaga Urbina began his career in journalism, perhaps due to the need to obtain money to survive. So the pages of the newspaper XIX century were at your disposal to act as editor.
At that time he made friends with the doctor, writer and poet Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera, who was key in the development of his work. He also received the support of the journalist and politician Justo Sierra, who helped him consolidate in the cultural and literary field and made him his personal assistant..
Luís Gonzaga Urbina quickly began to stand out in the labor field, always closely related to writing and literature. He taught Spanish literature classes both in the National Preparatory School and in the philosophy faculty of the UNAM.
In addition to the above, his journalistic work was increasing. He wrote several articles, including chronicles and critiques about art in print media such as: The Impartial Y Magazine of Magazines. He also participated in some of the editions of the Blue Magazine between 1894 and 1896.
Urbina's talent and perseverance in his work as a writer led him to literary publications. In 1890 he published his first poetic work entitled: Verses. Later the works came out: Naive, Sunsets Y Centennial Anthology, the latter in relation to the independence of Mexico.
Gonzaga Urbina's abilities and seriousness led him to direct the National Library in 1913; however, he did not agree with what he observed. So it did not take long to issue a detailed report to the Mexican authorities on the precarious situation of the institution..
His work at the National Library of Mexico lasted until 1915, the year in which he decided to leave his country. The departure from his land was motivated by the arrival of the military officer Álvaro Obregón to the presidency and by his disagreement with the revolution.
In 1915 the writer left for Havana, after having openly demonstrated his support for the politician Victoriano Huerta. Shortly after set foot on Cuban soil, he began to work as a journalist and also dedicated himself to teaching..
After two years of stay on the Caribbean island, he was sent to Spain, specifically Madrid, as a correspondent for the newspaper. The Herald of Havana. There he coincided with several countrymen, among them: Alfonso Reyes, Diego Rivera, Martín Luís Guzmán, among others..
Shortly after settling in Madrid, Gonzaga Urbina traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he stayed from April to August 1917. There he gave several lectures at the capital's main university house, which later became two of his academic works..
Upon his return to the Spanish capital, he assumed the diplomatic post of official of the Mexican embassy. In 1920 he finished his function as representative of the government of his country, and made a trip to Italy and another to his native land. His stay was not entirely pleasant due to the country's social-political upheaval..
In Mexico, he assumed for a short period the position of secretary of the National Museum of Archeology, Ethnography and History. He decided to resign after the murder of the politician Venustiano Carranza Garza, and returned to Spain. At that time he published: The minstrel heart Y Travel stamps: Spain in the days of war.
The writer lived the final years of his life in Madrid, between diplomatic posts and development of works. He was part of the historical commission called "Del Paso y Troncoso". One of his last publications was the chronicle: Lights of Spain.
At the end of the twenties, the author's state of health began to decline, and he ended up dying on November 18, 1934. The Mexican government soon repatriated his body, and by December of that same year he was buried in the Rotunda of Illustrious people of the capital city.
Luís Gonzaga Urbina's literary style was framed within Romanticism and Modernism, with the use of a well-structured, elegant, sober and brilliant language. It also highlighted an aesthetic full of beauty and attractiveness; in some of his works there were humorous features.
In the poetry of this Mexican writer there was no accentuated emotionalism, in addition the language he used was simple and precise. Although he used literary resources such as metaphor, he did not exaggerate when using it, that defined him as a moderate and balanced poet..
The chronicle was one of the genres that Urbina handled with the greatest skill. There was in her a correct, clear and sometimes satirical language, she also knew how to develop a broad theme, where the historical predominated; most of the newspapers where he worked saw his chronicles published
- Verses (1890).
- Naive (1910).
- Sunsets (1910).
- Lamps in agony (1914).
- Mariel's poem (1915).
- Glossary of vulgar life (1916).
- The minstrel heart (1920).
- Songbook of the serene night.
- Lorraine (1941).
- Centennial Anthology (1910).
- Mexican literature (1913).
- The national theater (1914).
- Mexican literature during the war of independence (1917).
- The literary life of Mexico (1917).
- Romantic anthology 1887-1917 (1917).
- Tales lived and chronicles dreamed (1915).
- Under the sun and facing the sea, impressions of Cuba (1916).
- Travel stamps: Spain in the days of war (1920).
- Lights of Spain (1924).
It was one of the main academic works of Gonzaga Urbina, whose main foundation was the libertarian struggle of Mexico. This work stood out in the area of documentary research, and was directed by the historian Justo Sierra, in collaboration with: Pedro Henríquez and Nicolás Rangel.
The work consisted of the poetic works of various writers, which were complemented by a biography of each of them. The following may be mentioned: José Mariano Beristain de Souza, Anastasio de Ochoa, José Agustín de Castro, José Manuel Sartorio, among others.
“Renda the punctual bee
for the pleasant pensil,
taking out a thousand flowers
and the nectar of its honeycomb.
And when eagerly such
record all the orchard,
doubt, liking the carnation
the fragrance and taste,
if the smell makes her sick
or it is perfumed by honey ... ".
"As at the bottom of the old grotto,
lost in the mountain kidney,
for centuries, silently,
a drop of water falls,
here in my dark and lonely heart,
in the most hidden of the entrails,
I hear it fall, for a long time,
slowly, a tear.
... I'm not crying today ... My life is already dry
and calm my soul.
However ... why do I feel like falling
like this, tear by tear,
such an inexhaustible source of tenderness,
such a vein of pain that does not end?
It is my inheritance, my inheritance that cries
at the bottom of the soul;
my heart collects, like a chalice,
ancestral pain, tear by tear ... ".
"I am very poor, but a treasure
I keep at the bottom of my trunk:
a gold colored box
that ties a bright blue ribbon.
I open it, what has it? ... Rose leaves,
dry relics of an old love,
dustless wings of butterflies,
myrtles, gardenias and tuberoses;
Many memories in each flower! ... ".
“… That almost unconscious faculty, idiosyncratic manifestation of the race, of spontaneously and easily finding rhythmic and rhymed expression, and of putting in the darkest brains a spark of primitive poetry; that faculty, I repeat, had spread and developed like a prolific seed in fertile ground ... ".
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