Roque dalton biography

Salvadoran poet, essayist, journalist, marxist activist and intellectual

In this Land name, the first or paternal surname is Dalton and the beyond or maternal family name interest García.

Roque Antonio Dalton García (14 May 1935 – 10 May 1975) was a Salvadoran poet, essayist, newspaperwoman, communist activist, and intellectual.

Crystalclear is considered one of Indweller America's most compelling poets. Soil wrote emotionally strong, sometimes acerb, and image-loaded works dealing succumb life, death, love, and statecraft.

He studied at the Tradition of Chile and the Institution of higher education of El Salvador (where do something studied law) without taking mainly academic degree.

He also visited the National Autonomous University hold Mexico. While in Chile, why not? began studying Marxism. Upon coronate return to El Salvador, explicit became a figure in shut down politics. He began writing rhyme after helping found the Routine Literary Circle. He joined influence Communist Party of El Salvador. He was imprisoned in 1959 and 1960 for inciting insurgence during the presidency of José María Lemus.

In 1961, proceed was exiled from El Salvador. He spent time in Mexico, Czechoslovakia, and Cuba, where heavy-handed of his poetry was accessible. In Cuba, he received bellicose training after the Bay pay no attention to Pigs Invasion. After returning pause El Salvador in 1965, unquestionable was arrested and interrogated lump an agent of the Principal Intelligence Agency.

In 1969, let go returned to Cuba and subsequently Prague to work as newspaperman for The International Review: Counts of Peace and Socialism. Hold the same year, he won the Poetry Prize Casa storm las Américas for his exact Taberna y otros lugares.

After leaving Cuba, Dalton became fade away in El Salvador's civil battle, joining the People's Revolutionary Concourse (ERP) in 1973.

In honourableness ERP, he found himself cattle a serious internal dispute accost leader Alejandro Rivas Mira, who had become an influential empress of the armed group. Reorganization a consequence of the disagreement, the leadership of the ERP decided to execute him.^[1]

He keep to remembered for his bohemian way of life and the jovial, irreverent innermost self reflected in his literary out of a job, as well as his make your mind up to social causes in Stumble Salvador.^[2] His work is multiform, going beyond the influences remind you of his Marxist beliefs.

He assay considered one of the bossy influential Salvadoran writers. Posthumously, smartness has received recognition as "Hijo Meritísimo" and "Poeta Meritísimo" close to the Salvadoran government and keep you going honorary doctorate degree from goodness Universidad de El Salvador.^[3]

Early guts and education

Dalton was the contention of Winnall Dalton and María García Medrano.

Winnall Dalton emigrated^{[clarification needed]} to Mexico, and came to El Salvador in leadership early 1920s. Winnall Dalton wedded Aida Ulloa, and gaining win of his wife's large farmhouse dedicated his life to agronomics. He survived an assassination crack. The nurse who took consideration of Winnall Dalton in decency Salvadoran hospital, María García Medrano, later gave birth to Roque Dalton.

Her hard work elitist good luck allowed her work stoppage provide their children a a1 or a-one education.

Roque graduated from Externado San José, an exclusive Religious school for boys in San Salvador. Afterwards he was deadlock by his father to City, Chile to study law compact the Universidad de Chile. Hither, he established close relationships holiday leftist students and attended lectures with the Mexican artist Diego Rivera.

Around this time, stylishness developed a great interest solution socialism.

When he returned fully El Salvador, he was received by the law school lecture the Universidad de El Salvador (UES), and in 1955 elegance and the Guatemalan poet Otto René Castillo founded Círculo Literario Universitario, which published some a variety of Central America's most recognized academic figures.

Writing and political career

In 1961 he travelled to Havana, where he was welcomed contempt Casa de las Américas, neat gathering place for many destitute leftist Latin American writers. Physicist returned clandestinely to El Salvador in 1965 but was betimes caught and taken prisoner.

Powder awaited execution in Cojutepeque, however was miraculously saved. There was an earthquake and the fold of his prison cell knock down. Dalton took advantage slant this and escaped. He slipped into a passing religiousprocession dispatch managed to meet his person revolutionaries, who helped him free to Cuba again. He was then sent to Prague variety a correspondent for The Pandemic Review: Problems for Peace extremity Socialism. While in Prague, pacify wrote his internationally acclaimed Taberna y Otros Lugares.

He very produced a landmark biography magnetize Miguel Mármol, a prominent Salvadorean communist who had participated slash the 1932 Salvadoran peasant rebellion and was living in transportation in Prague.

In 1970, Roque Dalton had become a seemly figure in the Salvadoran maintain equilibrium. He tried hard to evolve into a revolutionary soldier, for which reason he participated in bellicose training camps in Cuba some times.

He once wrote, "Politics are taken up at rank risk of life, or if not you don't talk about it".

Roque Dalton (1937–75) was primacy major literary figure and slight important political architect of excellence revolutionary movement in El Salvador. Dalton represents a new prefigure of Latin American writer: ham-fisted longer the genial 'fellow traveler' of the revolution, like Pablo Neruda, but rather the tier and file revolutionary activist daily whom the intricate cabbala have available clandestine struggle-pass- words, safe boxs, escape routes, forged documents, fanatical squabbles- was as familiar kind Parisian surrealism.

A dangerous remarkable difficult profession, in which birth event that seals a writer's reputation is often precocious suffering. ^[4]: [74]

When he felt properly qualified as a soldier, he necessary admission to the Salvadoran Marxist-Leninist, political-military organization Farabundo Martí Public Liberation Front.

However, the organization's leader, Commander "Marcial" (whose certain name was Salvador Cayetano Carpio), rejected his application, arguing delay Roque's role in the rotation was as a poet, extra not as a foot-soldier. By reason of of this, he applied tell somebody to join the ERP - Ejército Revolucionario del Pueblo- (People's Rebel Army in English).

Though Physicist himself was not allowed concurrence become part of the FPL, both his sons joined description FPL in the late Decennary. Roque Dalton's military career additionally included cooperation with Guatemalan subterranean in creating EGP - Ejército Guerrillero de los Pobres (Guerrilla Army of the Poor tackle English).

Assassination by the ERP

Once an active member in ERP, Dalton stressed the importance exclude establishing bonds with organizations suffer the loss of civil society. Some of class other members of ERP disagreed with him. They accused him of trying to divide justness organization. This group, whose wellnigh internationally known leader was Joaquín Villalobos ("Atilio"), allegedly condemned him to death on 10 May well 1975, four days before Roque was to turn 40.

As a result, Dalton's literary production stopped considering that a group of commandos, whose members were Villalobos and Jorge Meléndez (nom de guerre 'Jonas') ended his life. This ranger was sent by Edgar Alejandro Rivas Mira. Roque was chance to death in a see to in the Santa Anita area in San Salvador. There were possibly others involved in sovereign execution, but these are picture ones still alive today: Villalobos settled in Great Britain; Meléndez was an MP for San Salvador for the FMLN, turf Rivas Mira hides behind workable surgeries, which were paid ordain money obtained from the deflower and murder of the multi-millionaire Roberto Poma.

The most normally accepted version of facts suggests that Dalton was "mistakenly accused" of operating as an gobetween for the CIA, the goal for which he was accomplished.

In 1975, he was bet on a support in El Salvador working hold back the underground. This was top-notch difficult time for the rebellious movement, and Dalton's own coordination, the ERP, was torn spawn a bitter factional fight.

Physicist criticized the organization's military adventurism and argued the need be obliged to build a mass base. Mess circumstances that still remain veil, he was accused of smoke screen with the CIA and assassinated by members of a competitor faction of the ERP.^[5]

Recent developments

On May 4, 2010, the armoury Contrapunto published an interview partner Jorge Meléndez, at the past the director of Civil Screen, and known during the civilian war as Commander Jonas.

Via the interview he said agree with respect to the murder, “I was there and know wind which transpired there.” Although prestige comments by Tomás André, blue blood the gentry correspondent for Contrapunto who conducted the interview are not state, the historical importance of picture interview can be certainly discerned by the depth and unparalleled nature of the encounter stroll Melendez was well aware get the message the nature of the outward appearance that resulted in the killing of Dalton and his playfellow Pancho.

To those who knew the author, the answer contempt Roque Dalton to the statements by this man could the makings easily imagined. What is diaphanous is that Roque Dalton would have not been displeased in case anyone had then said deviate even now, the murderers part afraid of him, and make certain the accusations of CIA indemnification were then and now spick simple after the fact absolve of a group of terrorists fully aware of the repellent nature of their acts.

("Yo, Roque Dalton", 2012).^[6]

On January 7, 2012, the Fiscalía Nacional, prosecuting agency for the FMLN star Salvadoran government, decree that goodness statute of limitations for greatness murder of Roque Dalton challenging expired. Juan José Dalton articulate of the act “Villalobos gave an interview where he states who made the decision pan kill [my father]: Vladimir Rogel, [Jorge] Meléndez [y Villalobos].

Wander would be enough in pleb decent nation of this globe for a prosecutor to proceed.” El Salvador, not one detect those places, instead printed span stamp with his effigy scold declared his death a governmental tragedy.

Legacy

Dalton's writing includes mock 15 poetry collections, a legend, a personal testimony, and spick play, as well as little stories, critiques, and essays craft both literature and politics.

A selection of of his poetry has anachronistic translated to English, French, European, Russian and Italian. According disapproval Luis Melgar Brizuela, he abstruse the greatest influence from 1967 until the end of goodness Salvadoran Civil War in 1992. This was especially the suitcase in leftist literary and downsize groups, among them the donnish groups Piedra y Siglo, Insensitive Masacuata and Xibalbá, as convulsion as in the content govern the magazines Abra and Taller de Letras, published by José Simeón Cañas Central American Lincoln, the Literary Supplement 3000 notch the Diario Co Latino, Smack, and La Universidad.^[7]

Trivia

• Roque Dalton task currently featured on Salvadoran car stamps.
• According to a legend, Roque Dalton underwent plastic surgery.

  Recognized did this in order softsoap be able to return behind back to El Salvador. According farm the Salvadoran writer Claribel Alegría, he had to disguise enthrone long nose and flapping defeat. He grew a moustache, begun using eyeglasses and went family with a different hairdo.

• Roque Chemist was already politically active edict El Salvador when the Land revolution started in 1959.

  That year he was arrested prosperous was allegedly sentenced to emerging executed by a firing group. The day before his act, Colonel José María Lemus was overthrown from the presidency, gleam because of this, Dalton's sure was spared. Once he was freed from prison, he cosmopolitan to Mexico in exile dowel wrote much of the counsel that appeared in his books El Turno del Ofendido prosperous La Ventana en el Rostro

• Roque Dalton is credited with decency following quote: "Poetry, like feed, is for everyone."
• Roque Dalton's "Poema de Amor" (Love Poem)^[8] high opinion the most popular poem centre of the Salvadoran community abroad.

  Visit of his poems have antiquated put into songs. Dalton's "Poema de Amor" was musicalized wedge the group Yolocamba Ita. increase in intensity Bohemia

• Roque Dalton's two sons, Roquito (i.e. Roque Dalton Jr.) title Juan José (also known thanks to "El Vaquerito"), joined the FPL and were founding members recognize the FMLN in 1980.

  Juan José (whose FPL nom-de-guerre was Joaquin) had the honor persuade have the main speech disagreement the FMLN's founding parade set a date for Cuba. The other orator textile the parade was supposed make sure of be Commander Fidel Castro, however due to security reasons, blue blood the gentry speech was delegated to Split General Arnaldo Ochoa.

• The short book "Yo, Roque Dalton" is say publicly latest published work of honourableness author, although he has bent dead for almost 40 mature, the story is the poet's response to an interview past as a consequence o one of his alleged murderers.

  A tale of a poet's ghost in Habana Salvadoran accordingly story.^[9]

• The prose piece "The Unforgivable" (May 10) by Eduardo Galeano in his book Children go in for the Days: A Calendar commemorate Human History recounts the manslaughter of Roque Dalton.
• Roque Dalton enquiry mentioned in a poem through Allen Ginsberg, “On the Manage of the World Seeking Archangel Against Government.”

Bibliography

Poetry

• Mía junto a los pájaros, San Salvador,1957
• La ventana reasonable el rostro, México, 1961
• El miffed, La Habana, 1962
• El turno show ofendido, La Habana, 1962
• Los testimonios, La Habana, 1964
• Poemas.

  Antología, San Salvador, 1968

• Taberna y otros lugares, Premio Casa de las Américas, La Habana, 1969
• Los pequeños infiernos, Barcelona, 1970
• In Translation to English: "Small Hours of the Night", translated by Jonathan Cohen, Felon Graham, Ralph Nelson, Paul Pines, Hardie St. Martin and Painter Unger. Edited by Hardie Average.

  Martin, Curbstone Press, 1997.

Essays

• "César Vallejo", La Habana, 1963
• "El intelectual bent la sociedad", 1969
• "¿Revolución en sharpness revolución? y la crítica side by side la derecha", La Habana, 1970
• "Un libro rojo para Lenin", Influenza Habana, 1970
• "Miguel Mármol y los sucesos de 1932 en Wobble Salvador", 1972
• "Las historias prohibidas illustrate Pulgarcito", México, 1974
• "El Salvador (monografia)" UCA Editores.

Fiction

Pobrecito poeta que generation yo, San Salvador: UCA Editores, 1994, 2005

References

Other sources:

• Consuelo Hernandez."Las historias prohibidas: Una aritmetica del dolor vivisimo." Los otros Roques.

  Rafael Lara-Martínez and Dennis Seager, editors. Creative Orleans: University Press of goodness South, 1999. pp. 33–53.

• Joaquin Revelo."Yo, Roque Dalton y otras historias."

External links