José Joaquín Pérez (poet)
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José Joaquín Pérez Matos (April 27, 1845 – April 6, 1900) was a Dominican poet, journalist, lawyer and politician. As a writer, he was the first and main cultivators of indigenism in Latin America and one of the greatest representatives of Dominican romanticism.


Biography

He was born on April 27, 1845 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He studied at the Seminary of Santo Domingo under the direction of the priest
Fernando Arturo de Meriño ''Father'' Fernando Arturo de Meriño y Ramírez (January 9, 1833 – August 20, 1906) was a Dominican priest and politician. He served as President of the Dominican Republic from September 1, 1880, until September 1, 1882. He served as the Pr ...
. At the age of sixteen, in 1861, he published a political sonnet in which he rejected the annexation of the Dominican Republic by Spain. Due to his opposition to the Six-Year Government of
Buenaventura Báez Ramón Buenaventura Báez Méndez (July 14, 1812March 14, 1884), was a Dominican conservative politician and military figure. He was president of the Dominican Republic for five nonconsecutive terms. His rule was characterized by corruption and ...
, Pérez lived in exile in
Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
from 1868 to 1874. Upon his return, he held important public and political positions. He was a senior official in the Ministry of the Interior, Minister of Foreign Affairs, deputy of the Sovereign National Congress, member of the Constituent Assembly, Minister of Justice, Development and Public Instruction and magistrate of the Supreme Court of Justice. He collaborated with El Nacional (organ of the La República society ), El hogar, La Revista Ilustrada , Letras y Ciencias and Lunes del Listín. He directed the newspapers ''La Gaceta Oficial, El Eco de la Opinión'' and ''El Porvenir''. He presided over the first exams held at the Normal School of Santo Domingo to test the educational system of
Eugenio María de Hostos Eugenio María de Hostos y de Bonilla (January 11, 1839 – August 11, 1903), known as ("The Great Citizen of the Americas"), was a Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican educator, philosopher, intellectual, lawyer, sociologist, novelist, and Puerto Rican ...
and presided over the investiture of the first normalistas in the country. In 1877, he published his work Fantasías indígenaes (Garcia Hermanos Printing House, Santo Domingo), with which he began to think about the history of the island by assuming the myths of the
Taíno The Taíno are the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, Indigenous peoples of the Greater Antilles and surrounding islands. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the principal inhabitants of most of what is now The ...
people. He was considered "the singer of the indigenous race." He is considered, along with
Manuel de Jesús Galván Manuel de Jesús Galván (13 January 1834 – 13 December 1910) was a Dominican Republic politician, diplomat, lawyer and academic who between the 1860s and the 1900s occupied many of the highest posts in his country's government and judicature, ...
and his novel ''Enriquillo'', one of the great indigenist authors of
Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
. In 1884, he served as Minister of Justice, Development, and Public Education. He attempted to establish educational projects in highly populated areas of the country, but due to the resignation of President Francisco Javier Billini, these plans never took shape. Pérez died on April 6, 1900 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He was 54 years old.


See also

*
Manuel de Jesús Galván Manuel de Jesús Galván (13 January 1834 – 13 December 1910) was a Dominican Republic politician, diplomat, lawyer and academic who between the 1860s and the 1900s occupied many of the highest posts in his country's government and judicature, ...
* Literature of the Dominican Republic *
Felix María del Monte Felix María del Monte (November 19, 1819 – April 23, 1899) was a Dominican poet, playwright, journalist, orator, politician and teacher. He participated in the independence struggles that culminated with the proclamation of the Dominican Republ ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pérez, José Joaquín 1845 births 1900 deaths People of the Dominican Restoration War People of the Six Years' War Interior ministers of the Dominican Republic Foreign ministers of the Dominican Republic Justice ministers of the Dominican Republic Economy ministers of the Dominican Republic Education ministers of the Dominican Republic Dominican Republic independence activists Dominican Republic expatriates in Puerto Rico 19th-century Dominican Republic poets 19th-century Dominican Republic politicians 19th-century Dominican Republic lawyers