Óscar Castro Zúñiga facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Óscar Castro Zúñiga
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Castro in 1940
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| Born | March 25, 1910 Rancagua, Chile
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| Died | November 1, 1947 (aged 37) Santiago, Chile
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| Nationality | Chilean |
| Education | Escuela Superior Nº3 de Rancagua Instituto O'Higgins de Rancagua Self-Study education |
| Occupation | Writer, poet, and librarian |
| Movement | Realism and Criollismo |
| Spouse(s) | Isolda Pradel |
| Partner(s) | Estela Sepúlveda (1934-?) Isolda Pradel (Circa 1935-1947) |
| Relatives | Baltazar Castro |
| Awards | Atenea Award (1944) |
Óscar Castro Zúñiga (born March 25, 1910 – died November 1, 1947) was a famous Chilean writer and poet. He wrote many different kinds of stories and poems. His stories were often very realistic and showed life in the Chilean countryside, which is a style called criollismo.
Contents
Early Life and Education (1910 – early 1930s)
Óscar Castro Zúñiga was born in Rancagua, Chile, on March 25, 1910. He was the third of five children born to Francisco Castro and María Esperanza Zúñiga.
In 1917, he started school at Escuela Superior № 3, a public school in Rancagua. However, he got very sick with a severe cough and had to stop school for a while. In 1923, his father left the family. His uncle, Julio Valenzuela, helped the family and enrolled Óscar in Instituto O'Higgins, a private school. Óscar stayed there for at least one year. For reasons we don't know, he decided not to let his uncle keep helping him with school. He became a self-taught person, meaning he taught himself. Life became very hard for him and his family, especially during the Great Depression and a time of public unrest in Chile. Even with these problems, his uncle Julio Valenzuela was very important in helping Óscar start his writing career. He even paid for Óscar's first published works.
Writing Career (1926–1947)
Starting as a Poet and Writer
Óscar Castro started writing poems in 1926. His first poems were published in a local newspaper called Don Fausto. He used the pen name "Raúl Gris" to honor his younger brother. In 1929, he published his first poem under his real name. It was called Poema a su ausencia and appeared in local newspapers.
In 1934, his brother Javier passed away. Later that year, on October 25, 1934, Óscar Castro and some friends started a writing group called "Los Inútiles". This happened after a group of journalists in Rancagua broke up. Around this time, he also started a relationship with Estela Sepúlveda. They wrote many letters to each other and stayed close for many years. In 1935, he began working as an editor for the newspaper La Tribuna.
Towards the end of the 1930s, he started a long relationship with an actress and writer named Ernestina Zúñiga, who was known as Isolda Pradel. They later got married. There are different stories about how they met and how their relationship grew. Some stories say that Óscar's mother did not approve of his relationship with Pradel and even made him leave home. However, Pradel and others close to Óscar never confirmed this. The couple faced many challenges, which are often shown in their writings.
Growing Fame and Posthumous Recognition
Óscar Castro's writing became well-known across Chile in 1936. This was when he wrote Responso a Federico García Lorca, a tribute to a Spanish writer who died in the Spanish Civil War. A few months later, on June 12, 1937, his mother died. That same year, a publishing company called Editorial Nascimento published his first book of poems, Camino en el alba.
In 1939, he won an award in Argentina for a collection of short stories about farmers. These stories were published in magazines. The same year, Editorial Zig-Zag published his first storybook, Huellas en la Tierra. In 1941, the Ministry of Education appointed him as a librarian at the Liceo de Hombres de Rancagua. This school was later renamed Liceo Óscar Castro Zúñiga in 1971, thanks to a campaign by students and members of the literary group Los Inútiles. He also worked there as a journalist and a Spanish language teacher. In that same year, he helped create a night school for workers in Rancagua.
In 1942, his work was included in a book called Tres Poetas Chilenos (Three Chilean Poets). This book also featured poems by Nicanor Parra and Victoriano Vicario.
In 1945, his daughter Leticia Esmeralda suddenly died. A few months later, Óscar was diagnosed with a serious illness called tuberculosis. He was in the hospital for two months. In 1946, he took a job at the Liceo Juan Antonio Rios in Santiago. He started working there on March 8, 1947, and often traveled back to Rancagua. Even with support from his friends who were writers, his health got much worse. He entered the Hospital del Salvador on September 12 and passed away in Santiago on November 1, 1947.
Many of his works were not published before he died. During his lifetime, some critics made fun of his writing. They called it "provincial" or "cheesy" because of his political activism and unique style. However, after his death, his unpublished works became very popular. This happened in the 1950s, a time of strict rules in Chile. Publishing companies like Editorial Zig-Zag and Editorial Nascimiento published all his works that had not been seen before. Also, in 1970, Ariel Arancibia created songs from Óscar Castro's poems for an album called Homenaje a Óscar Castro.
Writing Style
Óscar Castro's writing style is considered very special in Chilean literature of the 20th century. His poems were inspired by writers like Federico García Lorca and traditional songs. He used language that was very specific to Chilean society at the time. He also strongly criticized the unfairness and differences in Chilean society. His deeper poems were similar to the works of Walt Whitman and Luis de Góngora.
By the late 1930s, Castro was seen as a leader of "poetry of clarity" in Chile. This style was a response to more complex and hidden writing styles of the time. Castro's writing changed over time. At first, his poems were often sad, clear, and full of beautiful comparisons. They had perfect rhythm and showed his skill in writing romances (a type of poem). You can see this in books like Viaje del alba a la noche (1938).
On the other hand, his stories, like Llampo de Sangre (1950), were more realistic. They were close to the criollismo style, showing a raw look at life. This realistic vision has greatly influenced modern Chilean literature. It inspired many Chilean writers in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, such as Pedro Lemebel, Hernán Rivera Letelier, Juan Radrigán, and Nona Fernández.
Works
Poetry Books
- 1937: Camino en el alba
- 1938: Viaje del alba a la noche
- 1944: Reconquista del hombre
- 1948: Glosario gongorino (published after his death)
- 1950: Rocío en el trébol (published after his death)
Novels and Short Stories
- 1940: Huellas en la tierra
- 1950: Llampo de sangre (published after his death)
- 1945: Comarca del jazmín
- 1951: La vida simplemente (published after his death)
- 1965: Lina y su sombra (published after his death)
- 1967: El valle de la montaña (published after his death)
Collections of His Work
- 1939: 8 nuevos poetas chilenos (edited by Sociedad de Escritores de Chile)
- 1942: Tres poetas chilenos (edited by Tomás Lago)
- 1975: Cuentos completos (Complete Stories)
- 2000: Epistolario íntimo de Óscar Castro (His personal letters, edited by Pedro Pablo Zegers & Thomas Harris)
- 2004: Obra reunida (Collected Works)
- 2018: Cartas a Estela (Letters to Estela, edited by Flavio Vicente Lillo)
- 2019: Para que no me olvides (So You Don't Forget Me, edited by Universidad de Valparaíso)
Re-edited Works
- 2016: Siete veces Lucero + versión original (edited by Claudia Apablaza)
Music Based on His Works
- 1970: Homenaje a Óscar Castro Zúñiga: Los Cuatro de Chile, Hector y Humberto Duvauchelle (Music by Ariel Arancibia, Lyrics by Óscar Castro Zúñiga)
See also
In Spanish: Óscar Castro para niños
