Andrés Henestrosa Morales (November 25, 1906 – January 10, 2008) was a Mexican writer and politician. In addition to his prose and poetry, Henestrosa was elected to the federal legislature, serving three terms in the Chamber of Deputies, and as a senator for the state of

Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...

from 1982 to 1988. He was born in Ixhuatán, Oaxaca.

Youth and studies

Andrés Henestrosa started studying at Juchitán, Oaxaca. Until he was 15 he only could speak his native language, Zapotec. After finishing his basic education, Henestrosa moved to

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

and started studying at the National Teacher's School, where he learned Spanish excellently. Then, he studied at the National High School and after, at the Jurisprudence National School, where he started law studies but he did not graduate. At the same time, he studied at the Philosophy and

Literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

Faculty at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Around that time (1927) one of his teachers,

Alfonso Caso Alfonso Caso y Andrade (February 1, 1896 in Mexico City – November 30, 1970 in Mexico City) was an archaeologist who made important contributions to pre-Columbian studies in his native Mexico. Caso believed that the systematic study of ancient M ...

, encouraged what would be the start of his career: he suggested Henestrosa write down Zapotec myths, legends and fables, which formed the basis of his first book, '' The Men Scattered by Dance'', published in 1929. Henestrosa contributed in many ways to Zapotec culture, keeping a line of investigation and exaltation of it; he also was one of the Mexican exponents of the literary movement called Indianismo, since his first book. He also wrote essays and political documents during his long career. In 1936, the Guggenheim Foundation gave him a scholarship to investigate about Zapotec culture and visited

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

at the linguistic, resulting in Zapotec language phonetization, the adaptation of the

Latin alphabet The Latin alphabet or Roman alphabet is the collection of letters originally used by the ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered with the exception of extensions (such as diacritics), it used to write English and th ...

and a Zapotec–Spanish dictionary. During this trip, while in New Orleáns in 1937, he wrote one of his most famous books: '' My Mother’s Portrait'' ("El retrato de mi madre"). He was a member of the Mexican Language Academy from October 23, 1964, to his death, as numerary member with chair 23. He was the

treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury ...

of the Academy from 1965 to 2000. Andrés Henestrosa was one of the most prominent members of the Mexican intelligentsia.

September 26, 1949

Henestrosa was supposed to be on a DC-3 that crashed on September 26, 1949, killing all 23 onboard. He had a premonition and instead boarded a train from Tapachula, the city he was traveling from, to Mexico City.

Political career

In 1929, he supported (as did many UNAM students) the presidential campaign of

José Vasconcelos José Vasconcelos Calderón (28 February 1882 – 30 June 1959), called the "cultural " of the Mexican Revolution, was an important Mexican writer, philosopher, and politician. He is one of the most influential and controversial personalities ...

, being an active part of the campaign acts and writing many essays and chronicles. But almost all of the original hand-wrote transcriptions were lost, being published in many magazines and newspapers. In 1982 he was elected senator for his home state, Oaxaca, as a member of the

Institutional Revolutionary Party The Institutional Revolutionary Party ( es, Partido Revolucionario Institucional, ; abbr. PRI) is a political party in Mexico that was founded in 1929 and held uninterrupted power in the country for 71 years, from 1929 to 2000, first as the Nati ...

Awards

Belisario Domínguez Medal of Honor The Belisario Domínguez Medal of Honor (Spanish: ''Medalla de Honor "Belisario Domínguez" del Senado de la República'') is the highest award bestowed by the Mexican Senate. It forms part of the Mexican Honors System and is currently Mexico's ...

, 1993.

References

External links

Brief bio for Andrés Henestrosa''
* ttps://www.loc.gov/item/93842842 Andrés Henestrosa recorded at the Library of Congress for the Hispanic Division’s audio literary archive on Oct. 28, 1960 {{DEFAULTSORT:Henestrosa, Andres 1906 births 2008 deaths Mexican educators Linguists from Mexico Members of the Senate of the Republic (Mexico) Members of the Mexican Academy of Language Men centenarians Mexican centenarians National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni Recipients of the Belisario Domínguez Medal of Honor Zapotec people Writers from Oaxaca 20th-century linguists 20th-century Native Americans 21st-century Native Americans