Juan María Montalvo Fiallos (13 April 1832 - 17 January 1889) was an Ecuadorian essayist and novelist. His writing was strongly marked by

anti-clericalism Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...

and opposition to presidents Gabriel García Moreno and

Ignacio de Veintemilla Mario Ignacio Francisco Tomás Antonio de Veintemilla y Villacís (31 July 1828 – 19 July 1908) was President of Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es ...

. He was the publisher of the magazine El Cosmopolita. One of his best-known books is Las Catilinarias, published in 1880. His essays include Siete tratados (1882) and Geometría Moral (posthumous, 1902). He also wrote a sequel to Don Quixote de la Mancha, called Capítulos que se le olvidaron a Cervantes. He was admired by writers, essayists, intellectuals such as Jorge Luis Borges and Miguel de Unamuno. He died in Paris in 1889. His body was embalmed and is exhibited in a mausoleum in his hometown of Ambato.

Biography

His grandfather, José Santos Montalvo, born in Andalucía, migrated to América and after some years working as a cinchona bark gatherer across Panamá, Venezuela and Colombia, he arrived at Ecuador where he worked as a seller of fabrics. In Guano, Ecuador, he meets Jacinta Oviedo, whom he married and had many children, one of them was Marcos, father of Juan Montalvo, who worked also as a traveller fabrics seller. In one of Marcos' business trips, he arrives at Quinchicoto, a small town near Ambato, where he meets María José Fiallos and with whom he marries in the church "La Matriz" in Ambato, January 1, 1811. Born in Ambato to José Marcos Montalvo and Josefa Fiallos, he studied philosophy and law in

Quito Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley o ...

before returning to his hometown in 1854. He held diplomatic posts in Italy and France from 1857 to 1859. A political liberal, Montalvo's beliefs were marked by

and a keen hatred for the two caudillos that ruled Ecuador during his life: Gabriel García Moreno and

. After an issue of '' El Cosmopolita'' viciously attacked Moreno, Montalvo was exiled to

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

for seven years. Moreno's assassination was attributed to Montalvo's writings. He was a dedicated champion of democracy and an enemy of the writer

Juan León Mera Juan León Mera Martínez (28 June 1832 – 13 December 1894) was an Ecuadorian essayist, novelist, politician and painter. His best-known works are the Ecuadorian National Hymn and the novel ''Cumandá'' (1879). Additionally, in his politica ...

. In the late seventies Juan Montalvo was twice exiled to France, remaining there from 1879, as punishment for ''Las catilinarias'' (1880), the work that made him famous throughout intellectual circles in the United States, Europe and the rest of Latin America. Alongside full-length books, Montalvo was an accomplished essayist, and his ''Siete Tratados'' (1882) and ''Geometría Moral'' (published in 1902, after his death) were popular in Ecuador and were banned by Veintemilla. He also wrote a sequel to Miguel de Cervantes's '' Don Quixote'', called ''Capítulos que se le Olvidaron a Cervantes'' ("Chapters Cervantes Forgot"), published posthumously in 1895. He died of tuberculosis in Paris. His mummified body now rests in a

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

in his birthplace of Ambato.

Family

Juan Montalvo's father was Marco Montalvo Oviedo of

Guano Guano (Spanish from qu, wanu) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. As a manure, guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. G ...

, and his mother was María Josefa Fiallos y Villacreces of Ambato. Montalvo was the youngest of 7 siblings: Francisco, Francisco Javier, Mariano, Alegría, Rosa, Juana and Isabel. Montalvo married María Guzmán Suárez in Ambato on 17 October 1868 and had two children with her. In 1882 he met Augustine Contoux with whom he had one child.

Legacy

Montalvo's likeness appears on the Ecuadorian five-centavo coin.

Works

* ''Las catilinarias'' (1880) * ''Capítulos que se le olvidaron a Cervantes'' (1868) - Montalvo's only novel * ''Libro de las pasiones'' (published posthumously in 1935) contains the dramas ''La Leprosa'', ''Jara'', ''Granja'', ''El Descomulgado'' and ''El Dictador'' * ''Siete Tratados'' (1882) * ''Geometría Moral'' (published posthumously in 1902) * ''Judas'' (1872)

Literary and political magazines founded by Montalvo

* ''La Razón'' (1848) * ''El Veterano'' (1849) * ''La Moral evangélica'' (1854) * ''El Espectador'' (1855) * ''El Cosmopolita'' (1865) * ''El Regenerador'' (1872)

References

* Pareja Diezcanseco, Alfredo (1989), Entry: "Juan Montalvo (1832-1889)"; In: Solé, Carlos A. (editor in chief) and María Isabel Abreu (associate editor), ''Latin American Writers - Volume 1'';

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

: Charles Scribner's Sons, 3 volumes.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Montalvo, Juan 1832 births 1889 deaths Ecuadorian diplomats People from Ambato, Ecuador Tuberculosis deaths in France 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Ecuadorian male novelists 19th-century male writers