Manuel Bernárdez (13 August 1867 – 1942) was a Galician-born

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 ...

an diplomat, poet, journalist, and editor.

Life and Family

Bernárdez was the son of Juan Ramón Bernardez and Dolores Filgueira. When he was six, they left

Vilagarcía de Arousa Vilagarcía de Arousa is a Municipalities of Spain, Spanish municipality in the Province of Pontevedra, Galicia (Spain), Galicia. As of 2014 it has a population of 37,712, being ninth largest town in Galicia. History The present site of Vilaga ...

, Galicia, to settle in

Arapey Termas del Arapey (which means Hot Springs of Arapey) is a resort village in the Salto Department of northwestern Uruguay. Location The resort is located on the Río Arapey Grande, a tributary of Río Uruguay, into a road that splits off Route 3 ...

; he became a naturalized Uruguayan when he reached the legal age. Bernárdez was completely

home-schooled Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...

by his father, having never attended

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

Writings

In his youth, he took to prose and especially poetry, publishing his first volume (''Confidencias, a una joven Amiga'') when he was eighteen. For the next thirty years, he would spend his professional life mainly in the staffs of various periodicals and newspapers at home and abroad; he would also marry Carmen Martínez-Thédy during this time (in 1894), with whom he would have four children. In 1898, he became an editor for ''El Diario'' in

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 ...

, living there for some time; later, he made a trip to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, writing a book about his journey (''De Buenos Aires al Iguazú''). In 1904 and 1905 respectively, he wrote two volumes on

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, in which he celebrated that nation's economic development: ''Viajes por la República Argentina, La nación en marcha'', ''Jornadas del progreso Argentino, Hacia las cumbres''.

Diplomatic career

In 1910, he would become the Uruguayan

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

to Brazil, and then Minister of Uruguay in 1916. He was also the Uruguayan Ambassador to Belgium and the Netherlands during 1926. Bernárdez died in 1942.

List of works

''(Aside from those mentioned before)'' *''Claros de luna'' (1886) *''Memorias de campo'' (1887) *''Ave, Maria!'' *''La muerte de Artigas'' (1891) *''El Tratado de la Asunción'' (1894) *''De Buenos Aires al Iguazú'' (1901) *''El Brasil, su vida su trabajo, su futuro: itinerario periodístico'' (1908) *''Aspectos ejemplares de la nueva Bélgica : las grandes patrias chicas : páginas de una memoria'' (1928) *''Política y Moneda'' (1931) *''Tambos y Rodeos'' 1868 births 1942 deaths People from Vilagarcía de Arousa Spanish emigrants to Uruguay Uruguayan journalists 19th-century Uruguayan poets Uruguayan male poets Uruguayan people of Galician descent Ambassadors of Uruguay to the Netherlands Ambassadors of Uruguay to Belgium 19th-century male writers {{Uruguay-writer-stub