Abraham Valdelomar facts for kids
Pedro Abraham Valdelomar Pinto (born April 27, 1888 – died November 3, 1919) was a Peruvian writer, poet, journalist, and playwright. He is seen as a key figure in starting new artistic trends in Peru. He was known for his stylish public image and for creating the magazine Colónida. Valdelomar believed that writers should be well-known and that their work could be popular with many people.
Since 1991, his picture has been on the Peruvian sol S/ 50 banknote.
Contents
Life Story
Early Life
Valdelomar was born and grew up in the port city of San Andres, Pisco. His childhood by the coast and in a loving home often inspired his short stories and poems. After studying at the famous Guadalupe School in Lima, he started studying literature at the National University of San Marcos in 1905.
However, in 1906, he began drawing cartoons and writing poems for magazines like Aplausos y silbidos and Monos y Monadas. He soon left university to focus on journalism. By 1910, he was writing for newspapers. The next year, he published his first stories, including two novels, La ciudad de los tísicos and La ciudad muerta.
A Diplomat and Writer
Valdelomar also became very interested in politics. In 1912, he helped Guillermo Billinghurst win the presidential election. As a thank you, Billinghurst made Valdelomar the editor of the newspaper El Peruano in 1912. The next year, he was sent to Rome as a diplomat. While there, he wrote his most loved and prize-winning story, El Caballero Carmelo.
In 1914, Billinghurst was removed from power. Valdelomar had to return to Peru. He then worked as a secretary for the historian Jose de la Riva-Agüero. With Riva-Agüero's help, he wrote La mariscala. This was a biography of Francisca Zubiaga, who was the wife of President Agustín Gamarra.
A Trendsetter in Lima
He went back to working as a journalist for the newspaper La Prensa. He used the pen name "El Conde de Lemos" and worked with the young writer José Carlos Mariátegui. Valdelomar was a very stylish and noticeable person in Lima's streets and cafes. He famously said, "Peru is Lima; Lima is the Jirón de la Unión; the Jirón de la Unión is the Palais Concert; and the Palais Concert is me." This showed his big personality and how important he felt.
He started an important, but short-lived, magazine called Colónida. It had four issues in 1916, with Valdelomar editing the first three. He also led an intellectual movement with the same name. That same year, his poems "Tristia" and "El hermano ausente en la cena de Pascua..." were included in a poetry book called Las voces múltiples. These poems influenced the early works of César Vallejo, a poet Valdelomar mentored.
Valdelomar traveled across the country giving lectures. He wanted to reach and teach many people. He often offered his first lectures in each town for free or at a low price to workers and farmers. Later, he would charge more once people were eager to hear him.
Later Years and Legacy
On a trip to Ayacucho, he had a bad fall. He broke his spine and suffered serious head injuries. He died the next day, at the age of 31.
His best stories are in two collections: El caballero Carmelo (1918) and Los hijos del sol (1921). El caballero Carmelo started a new style of "local fiction," focusing on everyday life in Pisco. Los hijos del sol was a creative retelling of legends from the Inca empire. He also wrote two important essays: "La sicologia del gallinazo," a guide to Lima's unique character, and "Belmonte el tragico," a study of bullfighting.
Legacy
On April 27, 2019, a Google Doodle celebrated Valdelomar’s 131st birthday.
See Also
In Spanish: Abraham Valdelomar para niños
