Rafael Maluenda facts for kids

Rafael Maluenda Labarca (born March 18, 1885 – died September 4, 1963) was a famous Chilean journalist and writer. He was known for his stories, plays, and for working with important newspapers like El Mercurio. He also helped create some of Chile's first movies!

Early Life and School Days

Rafael Maluenda was born on March 18, 1885, in Santiago, Chile. He was the oldest of three children. His father, Aarón Maluenda Araos, was a soldier who fought in the War of the Pacific. This was a big war in South America between 1879 and 1884.

Rafael went to primary school at a public school. Later, he studied at the Instituto Nacional. In 1904, he finished his studies there. While at school, he started, edited, and drew pictures for the school's own magazine called El Deber. He even received a scholarship to help him with his studies.

Starting His Career

When Rafael was 19, in 1904, he began working as a reporter for a newspaper called La Ley. He worked there for five years. This is where he published his very first article where he shared his thoughts on books and writing. In September of that year, he also published his first short story, "Rebelión," in a magazine called Chile Ilustrado.

In 1905, he started studying architecture at the University of Chile. He was classmates with another famous Chilean writer, Pedro Prado. But the next year, his mother passed away. After that, he decided to stop his architecture studies and focus completely on journalism and writing.

Becoming a Writer and Journalist

From 1906 to 1909, Rafael worked at the University of Chile. In 1906, he also began writing short stories and plays for a magazine called Zig-Zag [es].

In 1909, Rafael published his first book, Escenas de la vida campesina. This book was a collection of short stories about life in the countryside. One of his stories, "El gañan," won first place in a writing contest!

In 1911, he became an editor for Zig-Zag and another newspaper, El Diario Ilustrado [es]. He got the job at El Diario Ilustrado after he looked into the university's money and found out that some people in charge were taking money that wasn't theirs. Also in 1911, one of his short stories won a national contest that celebrated 100 years of Chile's independence.

Rafael also translated books and plays from French into Spanish. In 1912, he translated a novel called The Dangerous Age and a play called The Claw. In 1913, he wrote his own plays: La suerte, La esfinge, and Ibrahim Bey.

Life in Chillán and Return to Santiago

In 1914, Rafael married Teresa Merino Feliú, and they had three children. They moved to Chillán, a city in Chile. There, he started a newspaper called El Día. He also managed the local theater, helping to organize shows for traveling theater groups.

In 1915, he wrote La Pachacha, and in 1916, he published Venidos a menos. On December 25, 1916, he became the director of the newspaper La Discusión [es].

In 1918, he left Chillán and moved back to Santiago. He started writing for a magazine called Sucesos [es]. He wrote a series of short stories that were later put together into a book called Colmena urbana in 1937.

In 1919, a future president of Chile, Arturo Alessandri, asked Rafael to help with his election campaign. Rafael wrote a special page for Alessandri in the newspaper El Mercurio. The founder of El Mercurio, Agustín Edwards Mac-Clure, was so impressed that he hired Rafael permanently. Rafael wrote a section called "Day to Day," which included his thoughts on politics, essays, short stories, and book reviews.

Later Career and Achievements

Rafael Maluenda divided his time between working for El Mercurio and writing his own works, especially plays. In 1920, he published two more plays: Luz que no muere and La madeja del pecado.

Between 1922 and 1923, he helped create two movies: La copa del olvido [es] and La víbora de azabache. This made him one of the first people to work in Chilean cinema! Even with his movie work, he kept writing articles for newspapers and short stories. In 1942, he published a novel called Armiño negro.

In 1946, Rafael became the director of El Mercurio. He continued working there until he passed away in 1963. His last major book published before he died was Historias de bandidos (1961). He was working on a collection of short stories about animals called De pluma y pelo when he died. This book was published after his death in 1989.

Traveling and Important Meetings

Rafael Maluenda traveled to many countries for his work.

• In 1921, he went to Brazil for a journalism project.
• In 1922, he traveled to Asia as an inspector for the Chilean government.
• In 1928, he became an advisor for the new Chilean embassy in Peru. While there, he wrote articles for El Mercurio about the customs of people in Lima. He later used these notes when writing his novel Armiño negro.
• In 1933, he went to Montevideo, and in 1936, he went to Buenos Aires. He covered the Seventh and Eighth Pan-American Conferences for El Mercurio. These were big meetings where leaders from American countries discussed important issues. At the 1936 conference, he even met Franklin Roosevelt, who was the President of the United States at the time!
• In 1942, he attended a meeting in Rio de Janeiro where American countries decided to cut ties with the Axis powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan) during World War II.
• He also covered the 1945 San Francisco Conference, where the United Nations was created. The United Nations is an international organization that works for peace and cooperation around the world.

Awards and Recognition

In 1954, Rafael Maluenda won the National Prize for Journalism, which is a very important award in Chile. On April 6, 1955, he was chosen to be a member of the Chilean Academy of Language, a group that works to protect and promote the Spanish language. On April 23, 1962, the Society of Chilean Playwrights gave him a medal to honor his forty years of writing plays.

See also

In Spanish: Rafael Maluenda para niños