Serafín Baroja (22 September 1840 – 16 July 1912) was a Spanish writer and mining engineer who wrote popular
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
poetry and lyrics. He was the father of a trio of illustrious children who left a deep mark on the art and literature of 20th-century Spain:
Ricardo Baroja
Ricardo Baroja y Nessi (12 January 1871 – 19 December 1953) was a Spanish painter, writer and engraver. As an engraver, he is considered the successor of Francisco Goya. He was the brother of the novelist Pío Baroja and writer/ethnologist C ...
, painter, engraver and writer;
Pío Baroja
Pío Baroja y Nessi (28 December 1872 – 30 October 1956) was a Spanish writer, one of the key novelists of the Generation of '98. He was a member of an illustrious family. His brother Ricardo was a painter, writer and engraver, and his nephew ...
, novelist and essayist who ranks as one of the major writers of Spain's
Generation of 98 The Generation of '98 ( es, Generación del 98), also called Generation of 1898 ( es, Generación de 1898, links=no), was a group of novelists, poets, essayists, and philosophers active in Spain at the time of the Spanish–American War (1898), com ...
; and
Carmen Baroja, writer, ethnologist and co-founder of the Lyceum Women's Club in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
.
Life
Serafín was born in
San Sebastián, the son of Pío Baroja Zornotza, publisher of the newspaper ''El Liberal Guipuzcoano'' ("The
Guipuscoan Liberal") during the
Trienio Liberal. Serafín's grandfather, Rafael Martinez Baroja (b. 1770), had been the printer of the newspaper ''La Papeleta de Oyarzun'' ("The Ballot of
Oiartzun") during the
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...
against
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
. Serafín studied mine engineering at the
Polytechnic School of Engineering in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
, where he befriended the politician
Pascual Madoz
Pascual Madoz Ibáñez (May 17, 1806 – December 13, 1870), Spanish politician, statistician, was born at Pamplona.
Biography
In early life Madoz was settled in Barcelona, as a writer and journalist. He envisioned the construction of the ...
. In 1866, he married Carmen Nessi y Goñi (1849–1935), who was of Italian and
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
descent. After completing his studies he went down to the ancient copper mines of Minas de
Río Tinto in
Huelva
Huelva (, ) is a city in southwestern Spain, the capital of the province of Huelva in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is between two short rias though has an outlying spur including nature reserve on the Gulf of Cádiz coast. The ria ...
as chief engineer in 1868.
Dario, his first son, was born in 1869, followed by
Ricardo
Ricardo is the Spanish and Portuguese cognate of the name Richard. It derived from Proto-Germanic ''*rīks'' 'king, ruler' + ''*harduz'' 'hard, brave'. It may be a given name, or a surname.
People Given name
*Ricardo de Araújo Pereira, Portugu ...
on 12 January 1870. Disillusioned when he saw that the mines were going to be sold to a group of English investors (later becoming the British-Australian consortium the
Rio Tinto Group), he moved his family to
San Sebastián and devoted himself to writing novels, operas and operettas. Their third son,
Pío, was born on 28 December 1872.
From January to February 1876, he was a correspondent on the front of the
Third Carlist War
The Third Carlist War ( es, Tercera Guerra Carlista) (1872–1876) was the last Carlist War in Spain. It is sometimes referred to as the "Second Carlist War", as the earlier "Second" War (1847–1849) was smaller in scale and relatively trivial ...
for the newspaper ''El Tiempo'' ("The Time"). Three years after the war ended, Serafín created the newspaper ''El Urumea'' ("The
Urumea
The Urumea ( or , stemming from Basque "ur" 'water' + "me(he)a" 'thin') is a river in the Basque Country at the north of the Iberian Peninsula. It's one of a series of Basque rivers flowing into the Bay of Biscay (Atlantic basin) and is best kno ...
", 1879–1895), devoted to "news, not politics". Run by his brother Ricardo, the first issue came out on 1 May 1879. That year, his mining expertise took the family to
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
. where he was assigned to lecture at the ''Instituto Geográfico y Estadístico'' (Institute of Geography and Statistics). Two years later. he was the chief mining engineer in
Pamplona
Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region.
Lying at near above ...
, where, in 1883, his daughter
Carmen was born.
In
Pamplona
Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region.
Lying at near above ...
, he founded ''Bay, jauna, bay'' (''Bai, jauna, bai'' in Standard Basque, "Yes, Sir, Yes"), a bilingual weekly periodical and the first in
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
/
Castilian, which lasted only six issues. The next year, he wrote the libretto for the first
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
opera, ''Pudente'', a story set in the mines of Rio Tinto at the time of
Trajan
Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...
. Composed by
José Antonio Santesteban, it premiered in
San Sebastián in 1884. He also wrote the lyrics for the ''
March of San Sebastián'' composed by
Raimundo Sarriegui which is performed in the
Tamborrada festival every 20 January, the Feast of
San Sebastián.
In 1886, when he went to the mines in
Biscay
Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao.
B ...
he sent his family to stay with his sister-in-law, Juana Nessi and her husband Matías Lacasa, who owned a
Viennese café
The Viennese coffee house (german: das Wiener Kaffeehaus, bar, as Weana Kafeehaus) is a typical institution of Vienna that played an important part in shaping Viennese culture.
Since October 2011 the "Viennese Coffee House Culture" is listed as ...
and bakery in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
named
Viena Capellanes, today a chain of popular cafés and catering servic
In 1893, he took his family with him to the mines at
Burjassot
Burjassot ( es, Burjasot) is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Horta Nord in the Valencian Community, Spain.
Museums
The Museum of Geology at the University of Valencia is located on calle Doctor Moliner. It has several collections of geolog ...
near
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
, returning the next year to
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
to help Juana Nessi, whose husband had just died. Serafín attempted to resurrect his
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
/
Castilian periodical, ''Bay, jauna, bai'', by selling copies at the bakery. He also collaborated on the magazine ''El Eco de San Sebastián'' ("The Echo of San Sebastián") and the republican newspaper ''La Voz de Guipúzcoa'' ("The Voice of Guipuscoa"), which, in 1895, published the serial ''De Chamberí a Madrid, 100 metros en 25 días'' ("From
Chamberí to Madrid, 100 Meters in 25 Days"). In 1986, his frontline reporting for ''El Tiempo'' was published as ''Crónica de la guerra Carlista. Enero y Febrero de 1876'' ("Chronicle of the Carlist War: January and February 1876") with a prologue by his grandson,
Julio Caro Baroja
Julio Caro Baroja (13 November 1914 – 18 August 1995) was a Spanish anthropologist, historian, linguist and essayist. He was known for his special interest in Basque culture, Basque history and Basque society. Of Basque ancestry, he was the ...
.
His wife, Carmen, always tried to build up a seriousness of purpose in her husband, but he was known as a great joker with an enthusiasm for people and life. His easygoing attitude and love for the arts and sciences had an influence on his children's careers;
Ricardo
Ricardo is the Spanish and Portuguese cognate of the name Richard. It derived from Proto-Germanic ''*rīks'' 'king, ruler' + ''*harduz'' 'hard, brave'. It may be a given name, or a surname.
People Given name
*Ricardo de Araújo Pereira, Portugu ...
left his career as an archivist for the
Bohemian
Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to:
*Anything of or relating to Bohemia
Beer
* National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst
* Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors
Culture and arts
* Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...
life of the artist; and
Pío the practice of medicine to become a novelist.
Carmen, as a woman, had to rebel against the traditions that defined her gender to become a writer, an ethnologist and a co-founder of the first feminist group in Spain.
In 1875, he had coined the term ''
jai alai
Jai alai (: ) is a sport involving bouncing a ball off a walled-in space by accelerating it to high speeds with a hand-held wicker ''cesta''. It is a variation of Basque pelota. The term ''jai alai'', coined by Serafin Baroja in 1875, is also of ...
'' (merry festival) for the game of
Basque pelota
Basque pelota ( Basque: '' pilota'', Spanish: '' pelota vasca'', French: '' pelote basque'') is the name for a variety of court sports played with a ball using one's hand, a racket, a wooden bat or a basket, against a wall (''frontis or fronto ...
. He died on 16 July 1912 in
Vera de Bidasoa and is buried with his wife Carmen.
The ''Parque Serafín Baroja'' in
San Sebastián is named after him.
Notes
External links
Zubitegia LiteraturarenAuñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia*
Viena Capellanes
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baroja, Serafin
1840 births
1912 deaths
Basque writers
Spanish journalists
Spanish engineers
Mining engineers
People from San Sebastián
Basque-language poets