Manuel Payno facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Manuel Payno
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | June 21, 1810 Mexico City, Mexico |
| Died | November 5, 1894 Mexico City, Mexico |
| Occupation | Politician, essayist, novelist, short-story writer |
| Nationality | Mexican |
| Genre | Poetry, costumbrism, picaresque, journalism |
| Notable works |
|
Manuel Payno (born in Mexico City in 1810, died in San Ángel Tenanitla in 1894) was a famous Mexican writer, journalist, politician, and diplomat. He believed in a moderate form of liberalism, which is a political idea focused on individual rights and freedoms. Payno's most well-known book is Los bandidos de Río Frio, which means The Bandits of Río Frío. This novel is a great example of Costumbrismo, a style of writing that shows the customs and daily life of a place. It became a very important part of Mexican literature and has inspired many other writers and artists. Several movies have also been made based on this book.
Contents
Manuel Payno's Early Life
Manuel Payno's father was Manuel Payno Bustamante González, who started the Matamoros Customs office in northern Tamaulipas. Not much is known about his mother. Some sources say her name was María Josefa Cruzado Pardo, and she came from an important family in Puebla. Other sources say her last name was Flores.
Payno started working at the Matamoros Customs office, just like his friend Guillermo Prieto. In 1840, he became the secretary for General Mariano Arista. Later, he became a lieutenant colonel and led a section of the Mexican Ministry of War. He also managed a tobacco shop for a while.
Fighting in the War and Working in Finance
In 1847, Manuel Payno helped fight against the American army during the Mexican-American War. He set up a secret postal service that ran between Mexico City and Veracruz.
He later served as the Minister of Finance, which means he was in charge of the country's money. He held this important job during the time of President José Joaquín de Herrera (1850–1851) and also during the government of Ignacio Comonfort.
Challenges During Wars
Manuel Payno faced some tough times in politics. He was accused of being involved in a political uprising led by Félix Zuloaga. Because of this, he was removed from politics for a while.
He was also pursued during the Second French Intervention in Mexico. Eventually, he accepted the government of Maximilian of Habsburg. After the Republic was restored, with Benito Juárez as president, Payno was elected as a deputy, which is like a representative in the government.
A Teacher and Diplomat
Manuel Payno also worked as a teacher. He taught at the National Preparatory School, which was created by Gabino Barreda. He was also a professor at the School of Commerce, where he taught about Political Economy.
In 1882, while he was a senator, the president of Mexico, Manuel González, sent him to Paris as an agent. In 1886, he became a consul in Santander, Spain, and later the consul general for all of Spain, living in Barcelona.
In 1891, he returned to Mexico. In 1892, he was elected senator again. He held this position until he passed away on November 5, 1894, in San Ángel, Mexico City. He also wrote a book called "Tratado de la propiedad" (Property Treaty), which was a study of Roman Law and public law related to property.
Manuel Payno's Writing Career
Manuel Payno was very active in many different areas, and he was also a well-known writer and novelist. He loved to read and combined his political work with being a journalist and writer. His journalism included articles about history, politics, and finance.
He wrote for several newspapers, including El Ateneo Mexicano, The Ten and Nine Century, The New Year, The Bulletin of the Society of Geography and Statistics, The Federalist, and Don Simplicio. He was also a member of the Royal Spanish Academy.
He wrote novels like El fistol del diablo (The Devil's Tiepin) (1845–1846). In this book, he focused on fun rather than strict moral lessons.
Another novel, El hombre de la situación (The Man of the Situation) (1861), is a costumbrista novel. It describes the last years of the Viceroyalty of New Spain and the first years of independent Mexico. The story follows a father and son, one from Spain and the other a Criollo (born in the New World). The book shows details of daily life in society, with many funny parts that highlight Mexican humor and cleverness.
His most famous work is Los bandidos de Río Frio (The Bandits of Río Frío) (1889–1891). He wrote this book under the pen name "A Mexican creator" while he was in Europe. Los bandidos de Río Frío brings Mexico from the first half of the 19th century back to life. The story is full of events that were inspired by real life. Payno described his work as a "naturalistic novel, humorous, about customs, crimes, and horrors."
He gave long descriptions of the places and characters. The events in the book involve people from all parts of society at that time. This allowed him to show powerful people, professionals, soldiers, craftspeople, merchants, Indigenous people, religious figures, and even thieves. The novel also shows Mexico's many cultures and ethnic groups, as well as the differences in lifestyles between social classes and between city and country life.
Some of his other works include Compendio de historia de México (Compendium of the History of Mexico), Novelas cortas (Short Novels), La España y la Francia (Spain and France), El libro rojo (The Red Book) (which he wrote with Vicente Riva Palacio, Juan A. Mateos, and Rafael Martínez de la Torre), and La convención española (The Spanish Convention).
See also
In Spanish: Manuel Payno para niños
- The Bandits of Cold River
