Ruben Bonifaz Nuño (1923-2013) was a Mexican writer, poet and essayist who stood out for his studies and knowledge of the ancient civilizations of Rome and Greece. It is noteworthy the performance of this author as a translator of the most representative classical works of these civilizations.
The work of Bonifaz Nuño was characterized by the use of a precise language, being the classic and modern mixed in his texts. Among the titles that stood out the most from the author were: The cloak and the crown, The fire of the poor, The tiger's wing, The flame in the mirror Y Albur of love.
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Rubén Bonifaz Nuño was born on November 12, 1923 in the city of Córdoba, Veracruz. He came from a cultured family that was dedicated to telegraphy. Although the data about his family are not known, it is known that his parents taught him respect for all people, regardless of race or religion.
Bonifaz attended her primary and secondary studies in her hometown and from an early age she showed interest in letters and literature. Later he went to the capital of the country to train as a lawyer at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), where he graduated in 1949.
During his university years he published his first poetic work, which he titled The death of the angel. In 1951 he began to consolidate his literary career by receiving a one-year scholarship from the Mexican Center for Writers, and two years later his second collection of poems came to light: Images.
The nascent writer also dedicated a good part of his life to academic teaching, teaching Latin classes at UNAM in the 1960s. Four years later he joined the Commission on Plans for the Instruction of Classical Letters at the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters.
Bonifaz Nuño, in addition to dedicating himself to writing and teaching, applied his time to the translation of classic works by authors such as: Homero, Virgilio and Ovidio. He was also an outstanding passionate and connoisseur of the Nahuatl language; his command of this language was increased by his closeness to the aborigines.
Bonifaz was a prominent writer who never displaced his intellectual and literary activities. Some of his latest works were: Trovas of the united sea Y Skeletons. He passed away on January 31, 2013 in Mexico City at the age of eighty-nine..
- Member of the Mexican Academy of the Language since August 19, 1962. He occupied the V chair on August 30, 1963.
- National Prize for Literature and Linguistics in 1974.
- Rafael Heliodoro Valle Latin American Prize for Letters in 1980.
- Diploma of Honor, Rome, 1981.
- Alfonso Reyes International Award in 1984.
- Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Colima in 1985.
- Commemorative Medal of the Palace of Fine Arts in 1997.
- Ibero-American López Velarde Award in 2000.
Rubén Bonifaz Nuño's literary style was characterized by the use of clear and precise language, both sober and expressive. Much of his work encompassed poetry, in which he touched on loving and passionate themes with melancholy features. The metaphors and symbols further enriched his lyrics.
- The death of the angel (1945).
- Images (1953).
- The demons and the days (1956).
- The cloak and the crown (1958).
- Plain song to Simón Bolívar (1959).
- Poor fire (1961).
- Seven of swords (1966).
- The tiger's wing (1969).
- The flame in the mirror (1971).
- Three poems from before (1978).
- Otherwise the same (1979).
- Ace of golds (nineteen eighty one).
- The heart of the spiral (1983).
- Albur of love (1987).
- Bracelet for Lucía Méndez (1989).
- From the temple of her body (1992).
- Trovas of the united sea (1994).
- Skeletons (2003).
- Friend that I love (2004).
- The honor of danger (2012).
- For those who come to the parties (2012).
- Love and Anger: Gaius Valerius Catullus (1977).
- The kingdoms of Cynthia. About Propercio (1978).
- Aeneid (1973). Of the Roman poet Virgil.
- Art of loving Y Love remedies (1975). Of the Roman writer Ovid.
- Metamorphosis (1979). Ovid.
- Of the nature of things (1984). Of the Roman Lucretius.
- Olympic (1990). From the Greek Pindar.
- Hippolytus (1998). From the Greek poet Euripides.
- Iliad (2008). Homer's.
"In the vertigo of the angelic well
turn and bloom in the deserts
of salt, and provides doors for them
and warm birds and fruits ...
I, the outcast; I, the victim
of the pact, I return, the fired,
to the arms where I hold you.
From knee to knees, yours,
the palm of tenacious space
he puts on Sunday and tenses his call:
its noble sky of bells,
its consummation in wisdom,
their common flag of spikes ...
And with what demands do you claim me;
you enrich me with what jobs;
what calls do you condemn me to?.
When a swallow spin
arterial, becomes transparent
through barren deserts;
governs the incomprehensible in words;
collect the desired fruit from the gates
with the bolts pulled out ".
"Friend I love: don't get old.
Let time stop without touching you;
don't take off your cloak
of perfect youth. Still
next to your sweet girl body
stay, to find you, time.
If your beauty has been
the key of love, if your beauty
with love he has given me
the certainty of bliss,
the company without pain, the flight,
stay beautiful, always young.
... Keep me in the joy of looking at you
come and go in rhythm, walking
and, when walking, rocking
as if you came back from the water faucet
carrying a pitcher on his shoulder ... ".
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