José Mancisidor facts for kids

José Mancisidor Ortiz (born in Veracruz, Mexico, on April 20, 1894 – died in Monterrey, Nuevo León, on August 22, 1956) was a famous Mexican writer, historian, and politician. He wrote many books and played a part in Mexico's history.

Biography

José Mancisidor Ortiz was born in Veracruz, Mexico, on April 20, 1894. He was the fifth of eleven children. His parents were Jorge Tomás Mancisidor Oyarzábal and Catalina Ortiz Alpuche.

He went to the "Francisco Javier Clavijero" School for his first years of education. Later, he learned a trade at a special school for the Mexican Navy. This school was located at the historic San Juan de Ulúa Fortress. He reached the rank of sergeant there.

In April 1914, José Mancisidor helped defend the port of Veracruz. This was when the United States Marine Corps occupied the city. He then joined the Constitutionalist Army led by General Cándido Aguilar. He became a lieutenant in the First Regiment of Artillery.

His military career lasted until 1920. He was part of the Mexican Revolution with the Constitutionalist Army of Venustiano Carranza. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel of Artillery. He was even appointed Military Commander and Governor of the Quintana Roo territory.

In 1917, he married Dolores Varela. They had five children together: Orlando, Arnaldo, Kolda, Elvia, and Yolanda.

Between 1920 and 1922, he worked as a city council member (called a municipal syndic) in Xalapa. In December 1923, he helped organize the city's defense. This was during an uprising led by Adolfo de la Huerta.

From 1926 to 1929, he was a local representative for the Xalapa district. He supported an uprising by General Arnulfo R. Gómez. However, after Gómez was executed in 1927, Mancisidor accepted the government's offer of forgiveness. In 1929, he joined another uprising, the Escobar uprising, which also failed.

After his political and military roles ended, José Mancisidor became the director of the Veracruz state government press. This was under Governor Adalberto Tejeda.

In 1932, even though he only had primary education, Mancisidor became a History Professor. He taught at the Veracruzan Normal School "Enrique C. Rébsamen." During these years, he wrote for the Simiente journal and started his own journal called Ruta. He also created his own publishing company, "Integrales." He published his first novels, La asonada (The Riot) and La ciudad roja (The Red City).

In April 1935, he traveled to New York City. He was the Mexican Delegate to the First American Writers Congress. This meeting helped create the League of American Writers. This congress was supported by people who wanted to encourage literature for working-class people. José Mancisidor stayed true to this idea and published many works.

In June 1935, the governor of Veracruz, Gonzalo Vázquez Vela, became the Secretary of Public Education. He invited José Mancisidor to join his team. Other important people like Luis Chávez Orozco and Rafael Ramos Pedrueza were also on this team.

In 1936, he visited the Soviet Union. There, he met leaders like President Mikhail Kalinin. He also attended the funeral of the famous writer Maxim Gorky.

When Manuel Ávila Camacho became president, changes happened in the Secretariat of Public Education. Mancisidor left his position there. However, he continued to teach history classes. He taught at the National Professors School, the National Normal School, and the Worker's University of Mexico.

José Mancisidor died on August 22, 1956. He fainted while giving a speech at the Autonomous University of Nuevo León in Monterrey.

Works

Novels

• La asonada (1931)
• La ciudad roja (1932)
• Nueva York revolucionario (1935)
• De una madre española (1938)
• En la rosa de los vientos (1940)
• Frontera junto al mar (1953)
• El alba de las simas (1955)
• Nuestro petróleo (1956)
• Se llamaba Catalina (1958)
• Otra vez aquellos días, unfinished.
• La semilla del hombre, unfinished.
• Imágenes de mi tiempo, unfinished.

Short stories

• Cómo cayeron los héroes (1930)
• 120 días (1937)
• El juramento (1947)
• El destino (1947), received an award from Cuba.
• La primera piedra (1950), a collection of stories.
• Me lo dijo María Kaimlova (1955)

Essays

• Carranza y su política internacional (1929)
• Lenin (1934)
• Marx (1934)
• Romain Rolland (1935)
• Zola, soñador y hombre (1940)
• Hidalgo y la cuestión agraria (1944)
• Miguel Hidalgo, constructor de una patria (1944)
• Henri Barbusse, ingeniero de almas (1945)
• Stalin, el hombre de acero (1950)
• Balzac, el sentido humano de su obra (1952), awarded during Balzac's 100th anniversary.
• El Huertismo (1953)
• Sobre literatura y filosofía (1956)
• Máximo Gorki, su filosofía y su religión (1956)
• El fin del porfiriato

Plays

• Juárez, a play in three acts.
• Frontera junto al mar (1953)

Screenplays

• El joven Juárez (1955)
• Yanga
• Tres relatos
• El duelo
• Valentín Gómez Farías
• El camino de la libertad (1956)
• El asesino
• El juramento
• El mundo de la infancia y adolescencia de Juárez
• El caso de Pascual Durán

History Books

• Síntesis histórica del movimiento social mexicano (1940)
• Historia de las luchas sociales en México
• Hidalgo, Morelos, Guerrero (1956), a history book about three heroes.
• Historia de la Revolución Mexicana (1958)

Anthologies

• Angulos de México (1940), a collection of short stories.
• Antología de cuentistas mexicanos del siglo XIX (1946)
• Antología de cuentistas contemporáneos (1946)

Conferences

• Zola (1933)

See also

In Spanish: José Mancisidor para niños