Nellie Campobello facts for kids

Nellie Francisca Ernestina Campobello Luna (born November 7, 1900 – died July 9, 1986) was a famous Mexican writer and dancer. She is well-known for writing one of the only stories about the Mexican Revolution from a girl's point of view. This book, called Cartucho, shares her experiences growing up in Northern Mexico during the fight between forces loyal to Pancho Villa and those who followed Venustiano Carranza.

Nellie moved to Mexico City in 1923. She spent the rest of her life there and became friends with many important Mexican thinkers and artists. Like her half-sister Gloria, who was a famous ballet dancer, Nellie was also a talented dancer and choreographer. She even became the director of the Mexican National School of Dance.

Nellie Campobello's Life Story

Nellie Campobello was born María Francisca Moya Luna in Villa Ocampo, Durango. Her parents were Jesús Felipe Moya Luna and Rafaela Luna. She was born in 1900, though she sometimes said she was born a few years later.

She spent her early years in Parral, Chihuahua, and her teenage years in the city of Chihuahua. In 1914, her father died in a battle. Her mother then married Stephen Campbell, a doctor from Boston. Nellie and her siblings took his last name, which Nellie later changed slightly to Campobello. Her mother passed away in 1921.

Moving to Mexico City

After the Mexican Revolution ended, Nellie moved to Mexico City in 1923. There, she and her younger sister Gloria began studying dance. Nellie became Gloria's teacher, and Gloria was seen as Mexico's top ballerina.

From 1937, Nellie directed the national school of dance at the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes. In 1942, she helped start the Mexico City Ballet. She did this with Gloria, the writer Martín Luis Guzmán, and the painter José Clemente Orozco.

Her Work in Dance

Nellie Campobello began her career as a ballerina in Mexico City in 1923, dancing with her sister Gloria.

Ballet of the Masses

In November 1931, the Mexican government asked Nellie to create a dance. This dance would celebrate the start of the Mexican Revolution and its successes, like public education. Nellie presented the Ballet de masas 30-30 (Ballet of the Masses 30-30) at the National Stadium of Mexico.

This ballet included students from the dance school she directed and even elementary school children. Nellie herself danced in red, representing the Revolution. The Ballet de masas 30-30 later traveled around the country. It was also performed again for President Lázaro Cárdenas in 1935 to celebrate Veterans' Day.

Leading the National School of Dance

In 1937, Campobello became the director of the Escuela Nacional de Danza (National School of Dance). She held this important role until 1984. Many famous Mexican dancers and choreographers, like Amalia Hernández, learned their skills at this school.

Nellie also helped create the Mexico City Ballet. She presented its shows at the Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts). She worked with other great artists like Carlos Chávez and Julio Castellanos.

Her dance works included La virgen de las fieras and Barricada. She also created folk dances like Danza de los malinches. With the Mexico City Ballet, she choreographed many pieces, such as Fuensanta and El sombrero de tres picos.

Her Books and Poems

Yo, Poems

In 1928, Nellie published her first book of poems, called Yo. She used her birth name, Francisca, for this book. The book had five poems that critics said were important for showing social issues. Some of these poems were also published in a Cuban magazine. The famous American writer Langston Hughes even translated some of her poems into English.

Cartucho, Her Most Famous Book

In 1931, she published her most famous book, Cartucho, relatos de la lucha en el norte de México. Nellie said she wrote Cartucho to "right a wrong." After the Mexican Revolution, some leaders tried to speak badly about Francisco Villa, who was a hero to Nellie when she was a child. She wanted to tell his story differently.

Cartucho is told in three parts: “Men of the North,” “The Executed,” and “Under Fire.” Each part has short stories or moments about people from Parral and Villa Ocampo. These stories are told from Nellie's point of view as a young girl. This way of telling the story is rare for books about the Mexican Revolution.

The book shares many details about daily life during the Revolution. It shows women as strong and practical, not just emotional. It also shows men in a different way. For example, it shows Villa crying, and soldiers playing with children or singing them to sleep.

Other Books

• Las manos de mamá, a novel, 1937
• Apuntes sobre la vida militar de Francisco Villa, 1940 (Notes on the Military Life of Francisco Villa)
• Ritmos indígenas de México, 1940 (Indigenous Rhythms of Mexico)
• Mis libros, 1960 (My Books, with drawings by José Clemente Orozco)

Nellie's Personal Life

Nellie Campobello never married. She had a son, José Raúl Moya, who was born in 1919 but sadly died two years later.

She was one of the few women who was part of Mexico's main groups of thinkers and artists. She was also good friends with the Spanish writer Federico García Lorca and the American writer Langston Hughes.

Today, Nellie Campobello is seen as the only Mexican woman writer to share her own stories about the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920). Because of this, she is often called "La centaura del norte," which means the "Centaur of the North." Her book Cartucho is a classic book about the Mexican Revolution. It shows the followers of Pancho Villa in a good light, at a time when many other books were criticizing them. She is considered one of the first modern storytellers in 20th-century Mexico.

Her Disappearance and Death

In 1985, Nellie Campobello suddenly disappeared. Her belongings, including valuable paintings, also went missing. It was later discovered that she had been living with a couple who were supposed to be helping her.

In 1998, the Human Rights Commission of Mexico City announced that Nellie had died on July 9, 1986. She was buried in an unmarked grave in a cemetery in Progreso de Obregón, Hidalgo. A gravestone with her initials was found in 1998. A death certificate was also found, stating she died of heart failure.

In 1999, her body was moved to her hometown, Villa Ocampo, where she was honored with a monument. On November 7, 2017, Google celebrated her life with a special drawing on their homepage for her 117th birthday.

See also

In Spanish: Nellie Campobello para niños