Ricardo Güiraldes Facts for Kids

Ricardo Güiraldes (around 1906)

Ricardo Güiraldes (born February 13, 1886 – died October 8, 1927) was an important Argentine writer. He wrote novels and poems. He is best known for his 1926 novel Don Segundo Sombra. This book tells a story about gauchos, who are skilled horsemen from the Argentine plains.

Ricardo Güiraldes's Early Life
- Growing Up and Education
- Travels and Becoming a Writer
Literary Career and Later Life
Works
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Ricardo Güiraldes's Early Life

Ricardo Güiraldes was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His family was wealthy and owned a lot of land. His mother, Dolores Goñi, came from a family that helped found the village of San Antonio de Areco in 1730. His father, Manuel Güiraldes, was a cultured man who loved art. Ricardo also loved art and enjoyed sketching and painting when he was young.

When Ricardo was just one year old, his family moved to Europe. They lived in Paris, France, for four years. By the time he was six, Ricardo could speak Spanish, French, and German. French was actually his first language. French books and culture greatly influenced his writing style later on.

Growing Up and Education

Ricardo spent his childhood and teenage years between his family's ranch, La Porteña, in San Antonio de Areco, and the city of Buenos Aires. At the ranch, he met gauchos and learned about their way of life. This experience was very important for his novels Raucho and Don Segundo Sombra. The main character in Don Segundo Sombra was even based on a real gaucho named Segundo Ramírez.

Ricardo loved country life. Even though he sometimes had asthma, he was generally strong and active. He had several teachers, including a Mexican engineer named Lorenzo Ceballos, who saw his talent for writing. Ricardo studied at different schools and finished high school at 16. He wasn't a top student. He studied architecture and law, but he never worked in either field. He also tried a few businesses, but they didn't work out.

Travels and Becoming a Writer

In 1910, Ricardo traveled to Europe with his friend Roberto Leviller. Later, he traveled with another friend, Adán Deihl. They visited many countries, including Italy, Greece, Constantinople, Egypt, Japan, China, Russia, India, and Germany.

He then settled in Paris. His father stopped paying for his travels, so Ricardo stayed with a sculptor named Alberto Lagos. It was in Paris that Ricardo decided he wanted to be a writer.

At first, he enjoyed the social life in Paris and didn't write much. But one day, he found some old stories he had written about rural Argentina. He started working on them again. These stories later became his book Cuentos de muerte y de sangre (which means "Stories of death and of blood"). He read them to his friends, who encouraged him to publish them. Even his early stories showed a unique writing style.

Literary Career and Later Life

In 1912, Ricardo returned to Buenos Aires. He became part of a group of writers and artists. On October 13, 1913, he married Adelina del Carril. She also came from a well-known family and encouraged his writing.

In 1913 and 1914, he published stories in a magazine called Caras y Caretas. In 1915, these stories and others were published as Cuentos de muerte y de sangre. Earlier that year, he also published a book of poems called El cencerro de cristal.

When his early books didn't become popular, Ricardo was disappointed. He even took the unsold copies and threw them into a well! Luckily, his wife managed to save some of them. These water-damaged copies are now very special to book collectors.

New Travels and Ideas

In late 1916, Ricardo and his wife traveled to the Pacific Ocean, Cuba, and Jamaica. His experiences during these trips inspired his 1923 novel Xaimaca.

In 1917, he published his first novel, Raucho. In 1918, he published a short novel called Un idilio de estación. This book was later revised and published as Rosaura in 1922.

In 1919, Ricardo and his wife traveled to Europe again. In Paris, he met many French writers and started writing Don Segundo Sombra. He returned to Argentina, then went back to Europe in 1922. He spent time in Paris and also in Puerto de Pollensa, Mallorca.

During this time, Ricardo became interested in new ideas. He explored theosophy and Eastern philosophy, looking for inner peace. These new spiritual interests are clearly seen in his later poems.

Supporting New Writers

Ricardo's writing became more popular in Buenos Aires. He became a supporter of new, modern writers. He was like an older friend and teacher to a group of writers called the Florida group.

In 1924, Ricardo, along with Jorge Luis Borges and others, started a magazine called Proa. It wasn't very successful in Buenos Aires, but it was liked in other parts of Latin America. Ricardo also helped start a group called Frente Ứnico, which was against using old-fashioned or overly formal language in writing. He also wrote for another magazine called Martín Fierro.

After closing Proa, Ricardo focused on finishing Don Segundo Sombra. He completed it in March 1926.

Final Years

In 1927, Ricardo planned to travel to India because he was very interested in Hinduism. He went to France first, but he became very ill with a type of cancer. He was taken to Paris, where his wife joined him. He died in the house of his friend, the painter Alfredo González Garaño.

Ricardo Güiraldes's body was brought back to Buenos Aires and buried in San Antonio de Areco.

Works

Here are some of Ricardo Güiraldes's most important works:

1915: El cencerro de cristal (a book of poems)
1915: Cuentos de muerte y sangre (a collection of short stories)
Aventuras grotescas (short stories)
Trilogía cristiana (short stories)
1917: Raucho (a novel)
1917: Un idilio de estación, later changed to Rosaura (1922) (a short novel)
1923: Xaimaca (a story based on his travels)
1926: Don Segundo Sombra (his most famous novel)
1928: Poemas místicos (poems published after he died)
1928: Poemas solitarios (poems published after he died)
1929: Seis relatos (short stories published after he died)
1932: El sendero (published after he died)
1936: El libro bravo (poems published after he died)
1954: Pampa (published after he died)
1952: El pájaro blanco (a poem)