Argentina Díaz Lozano facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Argentina Díaz Lozano
Argentina Díaz Lozano, 1932
Born	Argentina Bueso Mejía (1909-12-05)5 December 1909 Santa Rosa de Copán, Honduras
Died	13 August 1999(1999-08-13) (aged 86) Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Nationality	Honduran
Occupation	Writer, women's rights activist, suffragette, diplomat
Years active	1943–1999

Argentina Díaz Lozano (born December 5, 1909 – died August 13, 1999) was a famous writer from Honduras. Her real name was Argentina Bueso Mejía. She was a journalist and wrote many novels. Her stories often had a romantic style and showed strong themes about women's rights.

Argentina Díaz Lozano won many important awards for her books. These included the Golden Quetzel from Guatemala and the Honduran National Literature Prize "Ramón Rosa". She also received the "Order Cruzeiro do Sud" from Brazil. She became a member of the Academia Hondureña de la Lengua, which is a special group for writers. She is also the only woman from Central America whose work was officially considered for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Life Story of Argentina Díaz Lozano

Argentina Bueso Mejía was born on December 15, 1912, in Santa Rosa de Copán, Honduras. Her parents were Manuel Bueso Pineda and Trinidad Mejía. She went to school in Tegucigalpa from 1925 to 1928. Later, she finished her high school studies in Florida, USA.

In 1929, she married Porfirio Díaz Lozano. She decided to use his last names as her writing name, which is why she is known as Argentina Díaz Lozano. She also earned a degree in journalism from the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala.

Early Writing Career

While studying in Guatemala, Argentina started writing for newspapers. She published articles in several papers like Diario de Centroamerica. She even had her own weekly column called "Jueves Literarios" (Literary Thursdays). This column appeared in many Guatemalan newspapers.

Her first novel, Perlas de mi rosario (cuentos), came out in 1930. She wrote several more books after that. In 1944, she received her first big award for her book Peregrinaje (Pilgrimage). This book won a top literature prize in Latin America. The prize was given by the Pan-American Union and a publisher called Farrar & Rinehart.

Winning this award meant her book was published in Spanish in Chile. It was also published in English by Farrar & Rinehart with the title Enriqueta and I. This helped her gain recognition in Europe too.

Work and Activism

From 1945 to 1955, Díaz Lozano worked in the library at the University of San Carlos. She was also very active in supporting women's rights. She attended an important meeting called the Primer Congreso Interamericano de Mujeres. She represented groups from San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa that worked for peace and freedom.

Around 1951, she divorced her first husband but kept his name for her writing. A few years later, she married Darío Morales García, who was a diplomat from Guatemala.

Life in Europe and Later Works

In 1956, Argentina Díaz Lozano moved to Belgium with her second husband. He worked as a diplomat there. While in Europe, she studied Fine Arts in the Netherlands. She also published several books in French.

Her book Mansión in la bruma was even turned into a play. In 1964, this book won the Golden Quetzal award in Guatemala. It was named the best book of the year. After this, Díaz Lozano returned from Belgium. She was appointed as a Cultural Attaché for the Honduran Embassy in Guatemala. This meant she helped promote culture between the two countries.

In 1967 and 1968, she interviewed Clemente Marroquín Rojas, who was the vice president of Guatemala. She found him very interesting. In 1968, she published a book about him. For this work, she received the Honduran National Literature Prize "Ramón Rosa". She also became a member of the Academia Hondureña de la Lengua. The government of Brazil also honored her with the "Order Cruzeiro do Sud".

In 1971, she started a magazine called Revista Istmeña. She also wrote a novel in parts, using the pen name "Suki Yoto". This novel was later published as a full book in 1986.

Nobel Prize Nomination

In 1973, she published another novel called Aquel año rojo. In June of that year, she was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Her nomination was accepted, making her an official candidate for the 1974 award. This was a very special achievement. Argentina Díaz Lozano is the only woman from Central America whose books have been officially considered for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

After a big earthquake in Guatemala in 1976, Díaz Lozano made her home in Antwerp, Belgium. She continued to travel between Belgium and Guatemala. She kept writing and publishing books into the 1990s. In February 1999, she decided to visit her home country, Honduras.

Argentina Díaz Lozano passed away on August 13, 1999, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Awards and Honors

• 1944: Best Novel for Peregrinaje, in a Latin American Novel Contest
• 1964: Book of the Year for Mansión in la bruma, Golden Quetzel (Guatemala)
• 1968: Honduran National Literature Prize "Ramón Rosa"
• 1968: Admitted to the Academia Hondureña de la Lengua
• 1968: Order Cruzeiro do Sud, Brazil
• 1974: Considered for a Nobel Prize for Literature

Selected Works

• Perlas de mi rosario (cuentos) Tegucigalpa, Honduras: Talleres Tipográficos Nacionales (1930) (in Spanish)
• Luz en la senda, novela Honduras: Tipográficos Nacionales, (1937) (in Spanish)
• Método de mecanografía al tacto Guatemala: Talleres del Centro editorial (1939) (in Spanish)
• Topacios, cuentos Tegucigalpa, Honduras: Editorial Calderón (1940) (in Spanish)
• Peregrinaje Santiago, Chile: Zig-Zag (1944) (in Spanish)
• Enriqueta and I New York: Farrar & Rinehart, Inc. (1944) (in English)
• Mayapán: novela histórica Guatemala: Editorial del Ministerio de Educación Pública (1950) (In Spanish) (Reprinted in English by Indian Hills, Colorado: Falcon's Wing Press (1955))
• 49 días en la vida una mujer: novela histórica México: Editora Latino Americana (1956) (in Spanish)
• Amberes en mis sueños Antwerp: s.n., (1960) (in Spanish)
• Il faut vivre Brussels: Simone Eve Landercy (1960) (in French)
• Sandalias sobre Europa Guatemala: Asociación de Autores y Amigos del Libro Nacional (1964) (in Spanish)
• La maison dans la brume: roman Brussels: Simone Eve Landercy (1964) (in French)
• Fuego en la ciudad; novela histórica México: B. Costa-Amie (1966) (in Spanish)
• Aquí viene un hombre; biografía de Clemente Marroquín Rojas, político, periodista y escritor de Guatemala México: B. Costa-Amie (1968) (in Spanish)
• Aquel año rojo: novela México: B. Costa-Amic (1973) (in Spanish)
• Eran las doce ... y de noche: un amor y una época: novela México: B. Costa-Amic (1976) (in Spanish)
• And we have to live = Y tenemos que vivir Palos Verdes, California: Morgan Press (1978) (in English) and Guatemala: Editorial "José de Pineda Ibarra" (in Spanish)
• Ciudad errante (el hombre sin edad): novela en escenario histórico México: B. Costa-Amic (1983) (in Spanish)
• Caoba y orquídeas: novela Guatemala: CENALTEX, Ministerio de Educación (1986) (in Spanish)
• Ha llegado una mujer México: Editorial Diana (1990) (in Spanish)

Recording from the Library of Congress

You can listen to Argentina Díaz Lozano reading from her own work from 1960 here: [1]

See also

In Spanish: Argentina Díaz Lozano para niños