Ramón López Velarde facts for kids
Ramón López Velarde (born June 15, 1888 – died June 19, 1921) was a famous Mexican poet. His poetry was special because it was a reaction against a popular style called modernismo, which came from France. Instead, he wrote about Mexican life and feelings, making his work truly unique. He became very well-known in Mexico and is even considered Mexico's national poet.
Contents
A Poet's Life
Early Years
Ramón López Velarde was born in Jerez de García Salinas, Zacatecas. He was the first of nine children. His father, José Guadalupe López Velarde, was a lawyer who later started a Catholic school in Jerez.
In 1900, Ramón went to a special school called a seminary in Zacatecas for two years. Later, his family moved, and he went to another seminary in Aguascalientes. But in 1905, he decided to leave the seminary to study law instead.
During his school breaks, Ramón often visited Jerez. On one trip, he met Josefa de los Ríos, an older cousin who made a big impression on him. His first poem, "Fuensanta" (written in 1905), is thought to be inspired by her.
In 1906, he started writing for a magazine called Bohemio in Aguascalientes, using the pen name "Ricardo Wencer Olivares."
In January 1908, Ramón began studying law at the University of San Luis Potosí. Sadly, his father passed away soon after, leaving his family in a difficult financial situation. Thanks to his uncles, Ramón could continue his studies. He kept writing for different magazines in Aguascalientes and later in Guadalajara.
While in San Luis Potosí, Ramón read a lot of modernist poetry. This changed his ideas about poetry, and he became a strong supporter of modernism. In 1910, he started writing poems that would later become his first book, La sangre devota.
The Mexican Revolution and Beyond
During the Mexican Revolution, Ramón López Velarde supported the political changes led by Francisco Madero. He even met Madero in 1910. In 1911, Ramón finished his law degree and became a judge in a small town called Venado. However, he left this job and moved to Mexico City, hoping Madero, who was now president, would offer him a position. Madero didn't, possibly because of Ramón's strong Catholic beliefs.
In 1912, he started writing for La Nación, a Catholic magazine in Mexico City. He wrote poems, reviews, and political comments. He even wrote about revolutionary leaders like Emiliano Zapata. He left the magazine after a political uprising in February 1913, which brought Victoriano Huerta to power. To avoid the political chaos, he went back to San Luis Potosí. There, he began trying to win the heart of María de Nevares, a pursuit he continued for the rest of his life without success.
In early 1914, he moved back to Mexico City for good. By mid-1915, things became calmer when Venustiano Carranza came to power. Ramón was interested in the work of the Argentine modernist poet Leopoldo Lugones, who greatly influenced his later poems.
Homesickness and New Poems
In 1915, López Velarde began writing more personal poems. These poems often showed his deep homesickness for his hometown of Jerez, which he never returned to. They also expressed his feelings for his first love, "Fuensanta."
In 1916, he published his first book, La sangre devota (which means The Pious Blood). He dedicated it to other Mexican poets. The book was well-liked by writers in Mexico. The poems in this book talked about Catholic traditions, which he linked to his happy childhood in Jerez. He saw this as a safe place away from his busy city life. One poem, "Viaje al terruño" (Journey to the Homeland), tries to bring back the feeling of childhood.
In 1917, Josefa de los Ríos, the inspiration for "Fuensanta," passed away. Velarde then started working on his next book, Zozobra (meaning Sinking), which would be published two years later. His reputation as a writer grew, even though some people criticized his Catholic themes and focus on provincial life.
Zozobra and National Recognition
In 1919, Velarde published Zozobra, which many critics consider his most important work. It used a lot of irony and combined ideas from his small-town upbringing with his experiences in the city. The book was influenced by Leopoldo Lugones, using unusual words, unexpected metaphors, and word games. Zozobra has forty poems that are arranged in a cycle, starting with "Hoy como nunca" (Today as never), saying goodbye to Fuensanta and Jerez, and ending with "Humildemente" (Humbly), which symbolizes a return to his roots.
In 1920, a new government came to power under Alvaro Obregón. After a short period of change, José Vasconcelos became the minister of education and planned to improve the country's culture. Velarde wrote for two magazines promoted by Vasconcelos. In one of them, El Maestro, he published "Novedad de la Patria" (Novelty of the Homeland), where he shared ideas from his earlier poems. Also in El Maestro was "La suave patria" (The Gentle Homeland), a poem that made Velarde famous as Mexico's national poet.
Ramón López Velarde died on June 19, 1921, just after his thirty-third birthday. He left behind an unfinished book, El son del corazón (The Sound of the Heart), which was published later in 1932.
His Impact
After Ramón López Velarde's death, he was greatly honored and seen as the national poet. His work, especially "La suave patria," was presented as a perfect example of Mexican culture after the revolution. Other poets, known as the Contemporáneos, also saw Velarde as a key figure in modern Mexican poetry.
The first full study of Velarde's work was done by American author Allen W. Phillips in 1961. Later, the famous Mexican writer Octavio Paz also wrote about Velarde, saying his work was very modern.
Velarde's poetry marked a special time, bridging older styles with newer, more experimental ones. His work used new ways of writing poetry. It also explored the idea of two opposing things, like the difference between Mexico's rural traditions and its new city culture, or his own struggle between strictness and natural feelings.
Even though he is very important in Mexico, he is not widely known outside his home country.
Works of Ramón López Velarde
Poetry
- 1916 – La sangre devota
- 1919 – Zozobra
- 1932 – El son del corazón
Prose
- 1923 – El minutero
- 1952 – El don de febrero y otras prosas
- 1991 – Correspondencia con Eduardo J. Correa y otros escritos juveniles
Memorials
- Jardín Ramón López Velarde in Colonia Roma, Mexico City
See also
In Spanish: Ramón López Velarde para niños
- Mexican literature
- López Velarde's poem Suave patria on the Spanish Wikisource
- Ramón López Velarde 1888–1921 Published in Encyclopedia of Latin American Literature (1997)
- Photography of La Suave Patria, video of the famous poem of Ramón López Velarde 1888–1921 Published by La Guirnalda Polar, LGPublishing Society, Spanish (2020)
