Francisco Javier Santamaría (September 10, 1886 in Cacaos in

Jalapa Municipality Jalapa Municipality is a municipality in Tabasco in south-eastern Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United State ...

, Tabasco – March 1, 1963 in

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

) was an influential

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

writer and politician who is best remembered for his contributions to the study of

Mexican literature Mexican literature is one of the most prolific and influential of Spanish-language literatures along with those of Spain and Argentina. Found among the names of its most important and internationally recognized literary figures are authors Oc ...

and

lexicography Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries. * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. * Theoretica ...

; he variously worked or published as a

bibliographer Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliography ...

, essayist, geographer, journalist, judge, lawyer, lexicographer,

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

, naturalist,

pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

, and poet. He also served as a

Senator of the Republic A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

and as Governor of the State of Tabasco.

Life and work

Francisco Javier Santamaría was born in 1886 in the ''

ranchería The Spanish word ranchería, or rancherío, refers to a small, rural settlement. In the Americas the term was applied to native villages or bunkhouses. Anglo-Americans adopted the term with both these meanings, usually to designate the resident ...

'' of Cacaos, to a '' criollo'' family of modest means. He began his schooling in Macuspana and completed his studies in

Villahermosa Villahermosa ( , ; "Beautiful Village") is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Tabasco, and serves as the Municipalities of Mexico, municipal seat (governing county) of the state. Located in Southeast Mexico, Villahermosa is an ...

(then called San Juan Bautista) at the Instituto Juárez, where he graduated with a teaching degree. He subsequently moved to

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

to study law, obtaining his license in 1912. Beginning at a young age Santamaría demonstrated a talent for composition and an appreciation for the

belles-lettres is a category of writing, originally meaning beautiful or fine writing. In the modern narrow sense, it is a label for literary works that do not fall into the major categories such as fiction, poetry, or drama. The phrase is sometimes used pejora ...

which would eventually evolve into a prolific career as a writer, lexicographer and linguist; his two most often cited works are the ''Diccionario General de Americanismos'' and the ''Diccionario de Mejicanismos'', the second of which is a continuation and completion of Joaquín García Icazbalceta's original project. At the start of his political career Santamaría was an outspoken critic of Plutarco Elías Calles and the Partido Labortista over which he presided. He was also a close friend and political associate of General Francisco R. Serrano (an inveterate enemy of Calles's), and supported the latter's presidential campaign for the 1925-1928 term, an enterprise which would ultimately end in the murderous defeat of Serrano and his closest associates. Santamaría would be the only one on Elías Calles's hit list to not fall the night of October 2, 1927, an event known as the "

Huitzilac Huitzilac is a city in the Mexican state of Morelos. It stands at and at an altitude of 2,561 m (8,402 ft) above sea level. The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. With a 2010 census pop ...

Massacre," which resulted in the

summary execution A summary execution is an execution in which a person is accused of a crime and immediately killed without the benefit of a full and fair trial. Executions as the result of summary justice (such as a drumhead court-martial) are sometimes include ...

s of Serrano and twenty six other generals, and which President Álvaro Obregón ordered out of fear of military rebellion. His escape and survival would, however, result in years of exile and poverty in the U.S., an account of which he gives in ''Crónicas del destierro: Desde la ciudad de hierro'' (Chronicles of Exile: From the Iron City). After returning to Mexico Santamaría re-entered politics by joining the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI); eventually going on to serve as a Senator of the Republic for Tabasco from 1940 to 1946. Immediately after the conclusion of his term he was selected by the party as its candidate for the governorship of Tabasco, competed against three opponents and won handily, reportedly receiving 95% of the votes. As governor he worked to improve his state's educational system and general level of cultural and technological development, while continuing to write books and essays on a variety of subjects. Francisco Javier Santamaría was a numerary member of the

Academia Mexicana de la Lengua The Academia Mexicana de la Lengua (variously translated as the Mexican Academy of Language, the Mexican Academy of the Language, the Mexican Academy of Letters, or glossed as the Mexican Academy of the Spanish Language; acronym AML) is the corr ...

and held

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair (furniture), ...

23.

Published works

(list not comprehensive) *''El artículo 91''. 1912 *''El periodismo tabasqueño''. 1920 *''Americanismos y barbarismos''. 1921 *''Ley orgánica de los tribunales del fuero común en el Distrito y territorios federales, con un apéndice que contiene la Ley de jurados, la Ley de licencias a funcionarios públicos y otras disposiciones''. 1923 *''Un valioso hallazgo bibliográfico cervantino: la segunda parte de la edición más discutible de " El quijote". 1926 *''Glosa lexicográfica''. 1926 *''Bibliografia general de Tabasco: Tomo I''. 1930 *''Crónicas del destierro: Desde la ciudad de hierro. Diario de un desterrado mejicano en Nueva York. Recordaciones del destierro''. 1933 *''Nuevo codigo civil para el distrito y territorios federales''. 1933 *''Las ruinas occidentales del viejo imperio Maya: en la Sierra del Tortuguero en Macuspana, Tabasco: notas de una excursión''. 1933 *''Código de procedimientos civiles para el Distrito Federal y territorios: expedido el 30 de agosto de 1932''. 1934 *''Código civil para el Distrito y territorios federales (vigente desde el 1. de octubre de 1932)''. 1935 *''Diccionario del Código civil para el Distrito y territorios federales''. 1935 *''Código civil para el Distrito y territorios federales: expedido en 30 de agosto de 1928; exposición de motivos, de la Comisión autora del Proyecto''. 1935 *''Ley orgánica del poder judicial de la federación''. 1936 *''Datos, materiales i apuntes para la historia del periodismo en Tabasco (1825–1935)''. 1936 *''Ensayo de crítica del lenguaje''. 1941 *''Diccionario General de Americanismos''1942 *''El movimiento cultural en Tabasco''. 1946 *''El verdadero Grijalva : identificación i rectificación históricas-jeográficas, Centla, Potonchán, Santa María de la Victoria'' 1949 *''La poesía tabasqueña : antología, semblanzas literarias'' 1950 *''Documentos históricos de Tabasco''. 1950-1951 *''Antología folklórica y musical de Tabasco'' 1952 *''Diccionario de mejicanismos: razonado; comprobado con citas de autoridades; comparado con el de americanismos y con los vocabularios provinciales de los más distinguidos diccionaristas hispanamericanos''. 1959 *''Domingos académicos''. 1959

Notes

Bibliography

*(English) Camp, Roderic Ai, ''Mexican political biographies, 1935-1993''. The Hague: Mouton, 1993. *(English) Malkiel, Yakov, ''Linguistics and philology in Spanish America. A survey (1925-1970)''. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1995,

External links

Santamaría in the Tartlton Law Library

''Congreso de Tabasco'' honors Santamaría

Portraits of former governors of Tabasco

Anniversary ''Diario de la tarde'' article on Santamaría
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santamaria, Francisco J. Mexican ethnographers Historians of Mexico Governors of Tabasco Writers from Tabasco Institutional Revolutionary Party politicians 20th-century Mexican historians 20th-century Mexican journalists Mexican male journalists Mexican judges 20th-century Mexican lawyers Mexican legal writers Linguists from Mexico Members of the Senate of the Republic (Mexico) Members of the Mexican Academy of Language Mexican lexicographers Philologists 1886 births 1963 deaths Laborist Party (Mexico) politicians 20th-century male writers 20th-century linguists 20th-century lexicographers 20th-century Mexican politicians Politicians from Tabasco

Life and work

Published works

See also

Notes

Bibliography

External links