Gilberto Owen Estrada (May 13, 1904 – March 9, 1952) was a Mexican poet and diplomat.

Biography

Officially registered as Gilberto Estrada, son of Margarita Estrada from Michoacán, Gilberto Owen was born in Rosario, Sinaloa (May 13, 1904). He spent some of his early years (1919–1923) in

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. With a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census, Toluca is the fifth most populous city in Mexico. The city f ...

, where he studied at the ''Instituto Científico y Literario''. In 1923, he left Toluca and went 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 ...

, after he got contact to General

Álvaro Obregón Álvaro Obregón Salido (; 17 February 1880 – 17 July 1928) better known as Álvaro Obregón was a Sonoran-born general in the Mexican Revolution. A pragmatic centrist, natural soldier, and able politician, he became the 46th President of Me ...

, who engaged him in the Secretaría de la Presidencia, where he served from August 1923 to June 1928. He matriculated in the Escuela Nacional Preparatoria. At this time he met the actress Clementina Otero,''Gilberto Owen''
(Spanish) at ''sinaloa.gob.mex''. and people like

Bernardo Ortiz de Montellano Bernardo Ortiz de Montellano (Mexico City, January 3, 1899 – Mexico City, April 13, 1949)''Bernardo Ortiz de Montellano'' in Octavio Paz''Poesía en movimiento: México 1915-1966''(Spanish), 2006, p. 385 was a modern Mexican poet, literary crit ...

, Salvador Novo,

Xavier Villaurrutia Xavier Villaurrutia y González (27 March 1903 – 25 December 1950) was a Mexican poet, playwright and literary critic whose most famous works are the short theatrical dramas called ''Autos profanos'', compiled in the work ''Poesía y teatro c ...

Jorge Cuesta Jorge Mateo Cuesta Porte-Petit (b. Córdoba, Veracruz, September 23, 1903 – d. Tlalpan, August 13, 1942) was a Mexican chemist, writer and editor. Biography Cuesta attended school in his hometown, before he did his studies at the Faculty o ...

, Carlos Pellicer,

Jaime Torres Bodet Jaime Mario Torres Bodet (17 April 1902 – 13 May 1974) was a prominent Mexican politician and writer who served in the executive cabinet of three Presidents of Mexico. Life Torres Bodet was born in Mexico City. His mother was Emilia Bodet ...

, José Gorostiza, Enrique González Rojo and others, when he joined the group

Los Contemporáneos ''Los Contemporáneos'' (which means "The Contemporaries" in English) can refer to a Mexican modernist group, active in the late 1920s and early 1930s, as well as to the literary magazine which served as the group's mouthpiece and artistic vehi ...

, where he also wrote for the magazine "Ulises" in 1926.''Gilberto Owen un poeta de breve y gran significación''
(Spanish), March 9, 2009. He is presumed to be the romantic one and the least civilized of the group.Luis Mario Schneider
''Gilberto Owen- El infierno perdido''
(Spanish), ''Material de Lectura'' 36,

UNAM The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigge ...

. He spent some years in Bogota where he worked as a journalist and newspaper translator. It has been published recently a compilation of his work in Bogota, Colombia. Editors Celene García Ávila and Antonio Cajero rescued from ''El Tiempo'' (1933–1935) articles and chronicles which display a variety of styles and deal with topics such as politics, extraordinary facts and lifestyle in Latin America. This book was published by Miguel Angel Porrua and Autonomous University of the State of Mexico (UAEM) in 2009. In July 1928 he became diplomat of the

Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores The Mexican Secretariat of Foreign Affairs ( es, Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores, ''SRE'', lit: Secretariat of External Relations) is the government department responsible for Mexico's foreign affairs. Mexico currently has 80 embassies, 3 ...

, and so he lived and wrote the longest time of his life abroad, first in the United States, later in Peru, Ecuador,''Gilberto Owen''
(Spanish), MSN Encarta

2009-10-31. and at the end of 1932 in Colombia, where he married Cecilia Salazar Roldán on December 2, 1935, daughter of the Colombian General and governor of Panama Víctor Manuel Salazar. In Bogotá he published sporadically in the newspaper "El Tiempo". After his marriage failed, he returned to Mexico in 1942, where he wrote for the magazine "El hijo pródigo". In the end of the 1940s he had serious health problems, when he was transferred to the Consulate of Mexico in Philadelphia, where he finally served as vice-consul. Owen died in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

of cirrhosis, and is buried in the Holy Cross Cemetery,

Yeadon, Pennsylvania Yeadon is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It borders the city of Philadelphia. The population was 11,443 at the 2010 census. Geography Yeadon is located in eastern Delaware County at (39.932862, -75.251540). It is bordered on the sou ...

. A literature prize is awarded in his name.

Works

* ''La llama fría'' (short-novel), 1925 * ''Desvelo'', 1925 * ''Novela como nube'' (prose), 1928 * ''Línea'', 1930 * ''Libro de Ruth'', 1944 * ''Perseo vencido'', 1948 * ''Simbad el varado'', 1948 * ''Poesía y prosa'', 1953 * ''Primeros versos'', 1957 * ''El infierno perdido'', 1978 * ''Obras'', 1979

References

External links

* (Spanish), Miguel Ángel Porrúa /Universidad autónoma del Estado de México, México. . Print. * * * , http://www.redalyc.org/pdf/104/10414216.pdf {{DEFAULTSORT:Owen, Gilberto Mexican male writers Mexican diplomats Writers from Sinaloa 1904 births 1952 deaths Mexican people of Irish descent Mexican expatriates in Colombia Mexican expatriates in Ecuador Mexican expatriates in the United States

Biography

Works

Further reading

References

External links