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José Esteban Antonio Echeverría (2 September 1805 – 19 January 1851) was an Argentine poet, fiction writer, cultural promoter, and liberal activist who played a significant role in the development of
Argentine literature Argentine literature, i.e. the set of literary works produced by writers who originated from Argentina, is one of the most prolific, relevant and influential in the whole Spanish speaking world, with renowned writers such as Jorge Luis Borges, J ...
, not only through his own writings but also through his organizational efforts. He was one of Latin America's most important Romantic authors. Echeverría's romantic liberalism was influenced by both the democratic nationalism of
Giuseppe Mazzini Giuseppe Mazzini (, , ; 22 June 1805 – 10 March 1872) was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist for the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and spearhead of the Italian revolutionary movement. His efforts helped bring about the in ...
and the utopian socialist doctrines of
Henri de Saint-Simon Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon (17 October 1760 – 19 May 1825), often referred to as Henri de Saint-Simon (), was a French political, economic and socialist theorist and businessman whose thought had a substantial influence on p ...
.


Life

Echeverría spent five decisive years in Paris (1825 to 1830), where he absorbed the spirit of the Romantic Movement, then in its heyday in France. He became one of the movement's promoters once he returned to Argentina. Once he returned to
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, he wrote "Los Consuelos" in 1834 and "Las rimas" in 1837. He was a member of the group of young Argentine intellectuals who in 1840 organized the ''Asociación de Mayo'' ("May Association", after the
May Revolution The May Revolution ( es, Revolución de Mayo) was a week-long series of events that took place from May 18 to 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This Spanish colony included roughly the terri ...
that initiated Argentina's move towards
independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the stat ...
). This institution aspired to develop a national literature responsive to the country's social and physical reality. Echeverría also devoted himself to the overthrow of the ''
caudillo A ''caudillo'' ( , ; osp, cabdillo, from Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise definition of ''caudillo'', which is often used interchangeably with " ...
'' of
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
,
Juan Manuel de Rosas Juan Manuel José Domingo Ortiz de Rosas (30 March 1793 – 14 March 1877), nicknamed "Restorer of the Laws", was an Argentine politician and army officer who ruled Buenos Aires Province and briefly the Argentine Confederation. Although ...
. In 1840 he was forced to go into
exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...
in nearby
Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
, where he wrote ''La Insurrección del Sur'' and '' El Matadero''. He remained in Uruguay until his death in 1851. His remains are said to be buried at Buceo Cemetery.Radio Cultura
/ref>


Work

Echeverría's renown as a writer rests largely on his powerful short story ''El matadero'' ("The Slaughter Yard", often mistranslated as "The Slaughterhouse"), written in sometime during 1838-1840 but not published until 1871), a landmark in the history of Latin American literature. It is mostly significant because it displays the perceived clash between "civilization and barbarism", that is, between the European and the "primitive and violent" American ways.
Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (; born Domingo Faustino Fidel Valentín Sarmiento y Albarracín; 15 February 1811 – 11 September 1888) was an Argentine activist, intellectual, writer, statesman and the second President of Argentina. His writing s ...
, another great Argentine writer and thinker, saw this clash as the core of Latin American culture. Read in this light, "The Slaughter Yard" is a political allegory. Its more specific intention was to accuse Rosas of protecting the kind of thugs who murder the cultivated young protagonist at the Buenos Aires slaughterhouse. Rosas and his henchmen stand for barbarism, the slain young man for civilization. Echeverría's ''La cautiva'' ("The Captive"), a long narrative poem about a white woman abducted by
Mapuche The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who s ...
Indians, is also among the better-known works of 19th-century Latin American literature.


Esteban Echeverría Partido

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Esteban Echeverría Partido Esteban Echeverría Partido is a partido in the Gran Buenos Aires urban area, in Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. The provincial subdivision has a population of 300,959 inhabitants in an area of , and its capital city is Monte Grande, whic ...
is a district in
Gran Buenos Aires Greater Buenos Aires ( es, Gran Buenos Aires, GBA), also known as the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area ( es, Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires, AMBA), refers to the urban agglomeration comprising the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and the adjac ...
, Argentina. It was founded on April 9, 1913 and named in honor of Echeverría.


Works

* Elvira o la novia del Plata (1832) * Don Juan (1833) * Carlos * Mangora * La Pola o el amor y el patriotismo * Himno del dolor (1834) * Los consuelos (1834) * Al corazón (1835) * Rimas (1837, en GB) * La cautiva * El matadero (between 1838 y 1840) * Canciones * Peregrinaje de Gualpo * El Dogma Socialista * Cartas a un amigo * El ángel caído * Ilusiones * La guitarra * Avellaneda * Mefistófeles * Apología del matambre (1837) * La noche * La diamela


References

William H. Katra, The Argentine Generation of 1837: Echeverría, Alberdi, Sarmiento, Mitre (Madison, N.J.: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1996)


External links

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"El matadero"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Echeverria, Esteban 1805 births 1851 deaths People from Buenos Aires Argentine people of Basque descent Unitarianists (Argentina) 19th-century Argentine poets Argentine male poets Argentine exiles Esteban Echeverría Partido Burials at Cementerio del Buceo, Montevideo 19th-century male writers sr:Естебан Ечеверија