Alfonso Cortés (9 December 1893 – 3 February 1969) was a
Nicaraguan
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
. He is often referred to as the second-most-important Nicaraguan poet, with
Rubén Darío
Félix Rubén García Sarmiento (January 18, 1867 – February 6, 1916), known as Rubén Darío ( , ), was a Nicaraguan poet who initiated the Spanish-language literary movement known as ''modernismo'' (modernism) that flourished at the end of ...
, who initiated the Spanish-American literary movement known as
modernismo
''Modernismo'' is a literary movement that took place primarily during the end of the nineteenth and early twentieth-century in the Spanish-speaking world, best exemplified by Rubén Darío who is also known as the father of ''Modernismo''. The ter ...
(modernism), being the first.
Before his death, he often said he was "less important than Darío, but more profound".
Early life
Cortés was born in the colonial city of
León,
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...
. At the age of 34, he moved into the house in which the famous and most celebrated Nicaraguan poet,
Rubén Darío
Félix Rubén García Sarmiento (January 18, 1867 – February 6, 1916), known as Rubén Darío ( , ), was a Nicaraguan poet who initiated the Spanish-language literary movement known as ''modernismo'' (modernism) that flourished at the end of ...
, spent his childhood. Cortés lost his mind, (due to a lack of clinical studies this is how he is being diagnosed) on midnight of 18 February 1927 at the age of 34.
As a result of his delirium, Cortés spent much of that year chained to the iron grillwork of his bedroom because of fear he could possibly hurt himself. A few years of Cortés life were spent in a
mental hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociati ...
in
Managua
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. As time passed Cortés was transferred to his sisters' (Margarita, Maria Luisa and Maria Elsa) house in León where he eventually spent his last days and died in 1969 at the age of 75.
Cortés did not have any children of his own, however his youngest sister, Maria Elsa Cortés, married a well respected lawyer Alvaro Emilio Borge and together they have 4 children; Alvaro Emilio, Leon Alfonso, Livia and Ivette Maria. They in turn had several children, all whom still remember the stories of their great uncle, for whom they have great admiration and respect.
Cortés had his moments of lucidity during which his family would unchain him and he would use that time to play guitar. The guitar is now owned by a great nephew and is treasured and preserved. Cortés would write his poetry, often written in the margins of newspapers, in a script so microscopic that they are hard to read without a magnifying glass. ''Song of Space'' was the first poem Cortés wrote after he went mad and it remains one of his most popular.
After his death he was buried with honors in the Cathedral of León next to the tomb of Rubén Darío.
Literary works
Poems
*La odisea del Istmo (1922)
*Poesías (1931)
*Tardes de oro (1934)
*Poemas eleusinos (1935)
*Las siete antorchas del sol (1952)
*30 poemas de Alfonso (1952)
*Las rimas universales (1964)
*Las coplas del pueblo (1965)
*Las pumas del pasatiempo (1967)
*El poema cotidiano (1967)
*Treinta poemas (1968)
*Poemas (1971)
*Antología (1980)
*30 poemas de Alfonso (1981)
*El tiempo es hambre y el espacio es frío (1981).
References
External links
Alfonso Cortés at nicaragua.com''(in English)''
''(in Spanish)''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cortes, Alfonso
1893 births
1969 deaths
20th-century Nicaraguan poets
Nicaraguan male poets
20th-century male writers