Yolanda Oreamuno facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Yolanda Oreamuno Unger
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Sculpture of Yolanda Oreamuno, by Marisel Jiménez, in the garden of el Teatro Nacional
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| Born | 8 April 1916 |
| Died | 8 July 1956 |
| Nationality | Costa Rican |
Yolanda Oreamuno Unger (born April 8, 1916 – died July 8, 1956) was a famous writer from Costa Rica. She is best known for her novel La Ruta de su Evasión (which means The Route of Her Escape), published in 1948. Yolanda lived for 40 years, and her life had two very different parts. The first 20 years were full of youth, beauty, and happiness. But the years that followed were often sad, lonely, and filled with sickness.
Contents
Early Life and First Stories
Yolanda Oreamuno was the only child of Carlos Oreamuno Pacheco and Margarita Unger Salazar. Her father passed away before her first birthday. Because of this, her grandmother, Eudoxia Salazar Salazar, mostly raised her. Yolanda went to the Colegio Superior de Señoritas for her high school education. After that, she studied bookkeeping and worked at the main Post Office in Costa Rica.
When she was 20 years old, Yolanda published her very first two stories. These were called "La lagartija de la panza blanca" (The White-Bellied Lizard) and "Para Revenar, no para Max Jiménez" (For Revenar, Not for Max Jiménez).
Life, Marriage, and Travels
Yolanda worked at the Chilean embassy, which is like a country's office in another country. There, she met a diplomat named Jorge Molina Wood. They got married and moved to Chile. Yolanda wrote about her experiences in Chile in her stories La mareas vuelven de noche (The Tides Return at Night) and Don Junvencio. The second story was not published until 1971.
Her time in Chile was very productive. Many of her stories appeared in a magazine called Repertorio Americano. Some of these stories included 40º sobre cero (40 Degrees Above Zero), 18 de setiembre (September 18), Misa de ocho (Eight O'Clock Mass), and El espíritu de mi tierra (The Spirit of My Land). She returned to Costa Rica at the end of 1936.
In 1937, she married Óscar Barahona Streber, who was a lawyer. He was involved with a political group working for social change in Costa Rica. Yolanda and Óscar both took part in activities with this group. Their son, Sergio Barahona Oreamuno, was born on September 21, 1942. Their marriage did not last, and after they divorced, her ex-husband moved to Guatemala.
Yolanda wrote her first novel, Por tierra firme (By Firm Land), in 1938. In 1940, she entered it into a writing contest and won a shared first prize. However, she decided not to share the award and chose not to publish the book. Sadly, the original manuscript was lost.
Yolanda later moved to Mexico. Then, she decided to become a permanent citizen of Guatemala. But by 1949, she became very ill. She spent four months in a hospital in Washington D. C.. After leaving the hospital, she traveled to Mexico City. She stayed at the home of a Costa Rican poet named Eunice Odio. Yolanda passed away there in 1956. She was first buried in a special tomb in San Joaquín, Mexico City. In 1963, her remains were moved back to San José, Costa Rica. On July 8, 2011, which was 55 years after her death, a special plaque was placed on her tomb to remember her.
Her Literary Works
Yolanda Oreamuno was known for her unique writing style. She used storytelling methods that were not common among other Costa Rican writers of her time. It is thought that famous authors like Thomas Mann and Marcel Proust might have influenced her writing.
Novels
- Por tierra firme (By Firm Land) – The original text of this novel is now lost.
- La ruta de su evasión (The Route of Her Escape) – This novel won first place in a Central American Novel contest in 1948. It was organized by the Guatemalan Ministry of Public Education.
Other Writings
- A lo largo del corto camino (Along the Short Road) – This is a collection of her essays, criticisms, and stories. It also includes four chapters from her novel La ruta de su evasión. It was published in 1961.
Published Stories and Articles
Yolanda Oreamuno wrote many short stories and articles that were published in different magazines and newspapers:
- Vela urbana (Urban Vigil), published in Repertorio Americano, San José (March 1937)
- Misa de ocho (Eight O'Clock Mass), published in Repertorio Americano, San José (1937)
- 40º sobre cero (40 Degrees Above Zero), published in Repertorio Americano (1937)
- La lagartija de la panza blanca (Un cuento para hombres-niños de imaginación grande) (The White-Bellied Lizard (A Story for Man-Children with Big Imaginations)), dedicated to the painter Teodorico Quirós
- El espíritu de mi tierra (The Spirit of My Land), San José (August 1937)
- Apología del limón dulce y el paisaje (Apology of the Sweet Lemon and the Landscape), published in Repertorio Americano, Bogotá, Colombia (March 1944)
- México es mío (Mexico is Mine), published in Repertorio Americano, Mexico (December 1944)
- El negro, sentido de la alegría (The Black Man, Sense of Joy)
- Dos tormentas y una aurora (Two Storms and a Dawn) (1944)
- Casta sombría (Somber Caste) (1944)
- Pasajeros al norte (Passengers to the North), published in Repertorio Americano, Mexico (September 1944)
- José de la Cruz recoge su muerte (José de la Cruz Gathers His Death)
- Un regalo (A Gift), published in Repertorio Americano, Mexico (July 1948)
- Valle Alto (High Valley), published in Brecha (December 1958)
Images for kids
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Oreamuno's tomb. The epitaph reads "Tal vez solo a la muerte se llega demasiado temprano" (perhaps only in death was she too early)
See also
In Spanish: Yolanda Oreamuno para niños
