Juan Rulfo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Juan Rulfo
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| Born | Juan Nepomuceno Carlos Pérez Rulfo Vizcaíno 16 May 1917 San Gabriel, Jalisco, Mexico |
| Died | 7 January 1986 (aged 68) Mexico City, Mexico |
| Occupation | Writer, screenwriter, photographer |
| Notable works | El Llano en llamas (1953) Pedro Páramo (1955) |
Juan Nepomuceno Carlos Pérez Rulfo Vizcaíno, known as Juan Rulfo, was a famous Mexican writer, screenwriter, and photographer. He was born on May 16, 1917, and passed away on January 7, 1986. He is most famous for his 1955 novel Pedro Páramo and his collection of short stories, El Llano en llamas (1953). This collection includes the well-known story "¡Diles que no me maten!" ("Tell Them Not to Kill Me!").
Contents
Juan Rulfo's Early Life
Juan Rulfo was born in 1917 in Apulco, Jalisco, Mexico. He was registered in Sayula, Jalisco. His birth year was sometimes listed as 1918. This was because he gave a different date to join a military academy. His uncle, a government colonel, ran this academy.
Growing Up in Guadalajara
Rulfo's father was killed in 1923. His mother passed away in 1927. After this, his grandmother raised him in Guadalajara, Jalisco. His family were landowners. However, their wealth was lost because of the Mexican Revolution. This was a big conflict in Mexico. Another conflict was the Cristero War (1926–1928). This was a fight between Roman Catholics and the Mexican government.
Rulfo's Education Journey
From 1928 to 1932, Rulfo studied at the Luis Silva School. He finished elementary school and an extra year. He even graduated as a bookkeeper, but he never worked in that job. He went to a seminary (like a high school) from 1932 to 1934. He did not go to a university right away. The University of Guadalajara was closed due to a strike. Also, Rulfo had not taken the right classes to get into university.
Later, Rulfo moved to Mexico City. He joined the National Military Academy but left after three months. He then hoped to study law at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. In 1936, he got a job as an immigration clerk. This job helped him take literature classes at the university.
Juan Rulfo's Career as a Writer
Juan Rulfo started writing at the university. A coworker, Efrén Hernández, helped him. In 1944, Rulfo helped start a literary journal called Pan. He later traveled around Mexico as an immigration agent. In 1946, he worked for Goodrich-Euzkadi. He preferred being a traveling sales agent. This job made him travel all over southern Mexico. He was fired in 1952 for asking for a radio for his company car.
Writing with a Fellowship
Rulfo received a special grant from the Centro Mexicano de Escritores. This was supported by the Rockefeller Foundation. With this help, he wrote two important books between 1952 and 1954.
El Llano en llamas (The Plain in Flames)
His first book was El Llano en llamas (1953). It was a collection of realistic short stories. These stories showed life in rural Mexico during the Mexican Revolution and the Cristero War. One famous story is "¡Diles que no me maten!" ("Tell Them Not To Kill Me!"). It's about an old man who is about to be executed. He was captured by a colonel who was the son of a man the old man had killed years ago. Another well-known story is "No oyes ladrar los perros" ("Don't You Hear the Dogs Barking(?)"). This story is about a man carrying his hurt son to find a doctor.
Pedro Páramo (Pedro Páramo)
The second book was Pedro Páramo (1955). This short novel is about a man named Juan Preciado. He travels to his mother's hometown, Comala, to find his father. But he finds a ghost town instead. The town is full of spirits. At first, the book did not sell many copies. But later, it became very famous. Páramo greatly influenced other Latin American writers, like Gabriel García Márquez. Pedro Páramo has been translated into over 30 languages. The English version has sold more than a million copies in the United States.
The novel's name changed a few times. In 1947, Rulfo called it Una estrella junto a la luna (A Star Next to the Moon). Later, he thought about naming it Los murmullos (The Murmurs). He finished the book with the help of his grant. It was published in 1955.
Later Works and Other Jobs
Between 1956 and 1958, Rulfo worked on a short novel called El gallo de oro (The Golden Cockerel). It was not published until 1980. A newer, corrected version came out in 2010 after he passed away. Rulfo also had parts of two unfinished novels, La cordillera and Ozumacín.
From 1954 to 1957, Rulfo worked with "La comisión del rio Papaloapan". This was a government group helping communities along the Papaloapan River. From 1962 until his death in 1986, he worked as an editor for the National Institute for Indigenous People.
Juan Rulfo's Family Life
Juan Rulfo married Clara Angelina Aparicio Reyes on April 24, 1948, in Guadalajara, Jalisco. They had four children together: Claudia Berenice, Juan Francisco, Juan Pablo, and Juan Carlos Rulfo.
Juan Rulfo's Lasting Impact
Juan Rulfo's work had a huge impact on other writers. Gabriel García Márquez said that reading Pedro Páramo in 1961 helped him write his famous book, One Hundred Years of Solitude. Márquez noted that all of Rulfo's published writings are not very long, but they are as important and lasting as the works of ancient writers like Sophocles.
After Rulfo's death, his family created the Juan Rulfo Foundation. This foundation keeps more than 6,000 of his photographs. Some of Rulfo's photos have been published in a book called Juan Rulfo's Mexico. This book includes essays by writers like Carlos Fuentes.
Books by Juan Rulfo
- El llano en llamas (1953). This book has been translated into English as The Burning Plain, The Plain in Flames, and El Llano in Flames.
- Pedro Páramo (1955). Translated by Lysander Kemp and Margaret Sayers Peden.
- El gallo de oro (1980; revised 2010). Translated as The Golden Cockerel & Other Writings.
Images for kids
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Juan Rulfo, a famous Mexican writer.
See also
In Spanish: Juan Rulfo para niños
