Alfredo Gangotena Fernandez Salvador (April 19, 1904 – December 23, 1944) was an Ecuadorian poet who wrote in French and Spanish.

Biography

Alfredo Gangotena was born in Quito on April 19, 1904. He was the son of Carlos Gangotena Alvarez and Hortensia Fernández-Salvador Chiriboga, wealthy landowners in the Pichincha Province. His father died circa 1920. Gangotena moved to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

at the age of 16 to complete his education, eventually earning a

mining engineering Mining in the engineering discipline is the extraction of minerals from underneath, open pit, above or on the ground. Mining engineering is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, and ...

degree to fulfill his father's last wishes. In Paris,

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Max Jacob Max Jacob (; 12 July 1876 – 5 March 1944) was a French poet, painter, writer, and critic. Life and career After spending his childhood in Quimper, Brittany, he enrolled in the Paris Colonial School, which he left in 1897 for an artistic ca ...

and

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, with whom he had strong ties of friendship, encouraged him to publish his poetry. Gangotena was part of a group of Latin American writers living in Paris and writing in French during first part of the 20th century. The group included the Chilean Vicente Huidobro, the Peruvian César Vallejo, and his fellow Ecuadorian

Jorge Carrera Andrade Jorge Carrera Andrade was an Ecuadorian poet, historian, author, and diplomat during the 20th century. He was born in Quito, Ecuador in 1902. He died in 1978. During his life and after his death he has been recognized with Jorge Luis Borges, Vice ...

. Although a native Spanish speaker, Gangotena managed to dominate the French language so well, that in 1922 the painter Max Jacob sent him a letter after reading one of his poems in a literary magazine, in which he wrote: "The Holy Spirit has blessed you. Only a short while ago you knew nothing of the French language and now many famous writers covet your marvelous use of it." His first poetry book ''Origénie'' was published in 1928. He then accompanied

Henri Michaux Henri Michaux (; 24 May 1899 – 19 October 1984) was a Belgian-born French poet, writer and painter. Michaux is renowned for his strange, highly original poetry and prose, and also for his art: the Paris Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim ...

on a trip to Ecuador's Andes and Amazon, which lead to Michaux's book ''Ecuador'' (1929). In 1932 Gangotena returned to Quito to oversee and administer his family's business as they had money problems due to the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. In 1936 he returned to France as the Secretary of the Ecuadorian Embassy, but he returned to Quito a year later to teach Mathematics at the

Central University of Ecuador , image = Escudo de la Universidad Central del Ecuador.png , caption = , alt = , motto = ''Omnium Potentior est Sapientia'' , established = , type = National university , president = , ...

. In 1940 he published his last book ''Tempestad Secreta'', which contains his own translation of some of his poems from French to Spanish, and includes some poems written in Spanish. He died in Quito on December 23, 1944, after undergoing an emergency

Appendectomy An appendectomy, also termed appendicectomy, is a Surgery, surgical operation in which the vermiform appendix (a portion of the intestine) is removed. Appendectomy is normally performed as an urgent or emergency procedure to treat complicated acu ...

, at the age of 40.

Personal life

In Ecuador he married Emma Guarderas y Gómez de La Torre, but their union did not last.

Works

Gangotena's poetry was first translated from French to Spanish by Georges Pillement in the 1920s, and Eduardo Riofrío in 1945. Some of his poetry was also translated into Spanish by

Gonzalo Escudero Gonzalo Escudero Moscoso (Quito, September 28, 1903 – Brussels, December 10, 1971) was an Ecuadorian poet and diplomat. He spent his high school years at the Instituto Nacional Mejía. Later, he attended the Central University of Ecuador , ...

and

Filoteo Samaniego Filoteo Samaniego Salazar (July 11, 1928 - February 21, 2013) was an Ecuadorian novelist, poet, historian, translator, and diplomat. He became a member of the Ecuadorian Academy of Language in 1984, and was its secretary from 1996–2006. He wa ...

for the book ''Poesía'' (1956; published by

Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana La Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana (''The House of Ecuadorian Culture'') is a cultural organization founded by Benjamín Carrión on August 9, 1944, during the presidency of Dr Jose Maria Velasco Ibarra. It was created to stimulate, to direct and ...

). Other translators include Margarita Guarderas de Jijón, and in the 1990s Verónica Mosquera and Cristina Burneo. Gangotena's poetry has not been translated into English. Poetry books * “L’Homme de Truxillo” * “Poiere D’Angoisse”(Pera de Angustia) * “Vaillée” * “B’Orage Secret” (La Tempestad Secreta) * “Ansense” * “Chistóforus” * “Nuit”

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gangotena, Alfredo 1904 births 1944 deaths Writers from Quito 20th-century Ecuadorian poets