Mariano Latorre (1886-1955) was a Chilean writer, novelist and academic whose work was developed within the Creole movement. The author focused on making known the idiosyncrasy of the Chilean and the influence of the geographical environment.
Literary criollismo was characterized by exposing the relationship between man and nature. The most outstanding features of Latorre's literary work were the use of simple and colloquial language, the description of the nature and culture of his country. The main objective of this author was to promote love, respect and knowledge for his native Chile.
Mariano Latorre traveled for many years throughout the Chilean territory in order to soak up the main characteristics of the regions and capture them in his texts. Some of his most prominent titles were: Cuentos del Maule, The shadow of the mansion, Zurzulita, On Panta, Men and foxes, Mallines Wind Y The golden choroy.
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Mariano was born on January 4, 1886 in the town of Cobquecura in the province of Itata. He came from a cultured family, of good socioeconomic status and of Spanish and French descent. His parents were Mariano de la Torre Sandelis and Fernandina Court Blezac.
Mariano Lautaro Latorre Court studied his first years of studies in institutions in his hometown and in Constitución. In those childhood days, he went to explore nature with his friends and was connected in a special way with the sea and rivers. Then he continued his high school in Parral, Valparaíso, Santiago and Talca.
Latorre began to get involved with literature and writing in his student years. He completed high school in 1905 and at the request of his father began his law degree at the University of Chile. Three years later he retired to train in Spanish and linguistics at the Pedagogical Institute.
After the death of his father in 1906, the young Mariano worked as a supervisor at the National Institute to pay for his studies. Later it began to make its way into print media such as Zig Zag. There he published the articles "At the beginning of autumn" and "Chilean landscape".
Latorre took off his professional life in 1908 when he began to teach Spanish at the Liceo de Santiago. At the same time he wrote for Andina Magazine Y Pro-Culture. The quality of his pen earned him a copywriting position at the publication Young Muse.
The nascent writer published his first narrative work Tales of Maule in 1912. With this publication he participated that same year in the Fine Arts Literary Contest and was the winner. Latorre's work was worthy of good reviews, but there was censorship by those who opposed the criollismo that the author began to promote..
Mariano Latorre graduated from teaching at the Pedagogical Institute in 1915 and that same year he married. He married Virginia Blanco Balzada on January 31 at the church of San Javier. As a result of the relationship, two children named Mariano and Mirella were born. The latter was a renowned radio and television actress.
The writer continued to develop his literary work and in 1915 he won the newspaper contest The Mercury with the story Vain giggling. Then Latorre decided to start a tour of the mountainous regions of Chile between 1915 and 1917 to learn about the landscape, culture, customs and history of the areas..
The result of Mariano's exploratory trips was the book Cradle of condors which he unveiled in 1918. In that work he reflected the hard life of the inhabitants of the mountain range in relation to the elements of nature. The author achieved respect and admiration with said publication.
Mariano Latorre's literary career was consolidated between 1918 and 1929. In those years he published works such as The shadow of the big house, Zurzulita, Ully, Men of the jungle Y Chileans of the sea, all within the ranks of criollismo. At that time he worked as a critic of new publications in the inserted "Los Libros" by Zig Zag.
Latorre's successful career as a writer led him to travel across America to participate in literary conferences and cultural events. He visited Colombia and Argentina between 1938 and 1941. In the city of Buenos Aires his work saw the light Chilean literature, which compiled the talks he gave about his work.
The writer appeared in Bolivia in 1943 and a year later was recognized with the National Prize for Literature of Chile.
The writer dedicated himself to developing his literary work based on the culture and history of his nation. In his last years of life he worked as a teacher and was rector of the Pedagogical Institute from 1945. Latorre published at the end of his life works such as Puerto Mayor, The golden choroy Y Chile, country of corners.
Mariano Latorre died unexpectedly on November 10, 1955 in Santiago de Chile at the age of sixty-nine. His funeral was attended by important personalities of the time. His remains were buried in the General Cemetery of the Chilean capital.
Mariano Latorre's literary style was characterized by being within the guidelines of criollismo, that is, by highlighting the characteristics of the different Chilean regions and their relationship with the geographical aspect. In the prose of the writer, a simple, colloquial and often regionalist language was evidenced.
Latorre's stories and novels stood out for their descriptive and expressive quality. The author wrote about man's relationship with nature, about his ability to adapt to hostile environments. Mariano wrote to the sea, the mountains, the dialects, the races, the customs and the history.
- Tales of the Maule (1912).
- Cradle of condors (1918).
- The shadow of the mansion (1919).
- Zurzulita (1920).
- Ully (1923).
- Men of the jungle (1923).
- Chileans of the sea (1929).
- The Chileanness of Daniel Riquelme (1931).
- On Panta (1935).
- Men and foxes (1937).
- Chilean literature (1941).
- Mapu (1942)
- Mallines Wind (1944).
- Puerto Mayor (1945).
- The golden choroy (1946).
- Chile, country of corners (1947).
- The snail (1952).
- The paquera (1958, posthumous edition).
- The island of birds (1959, posthumous edition).
- Memories and other confidences (1971, posthumous edition).
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