Abelardo Díaz Alfaro
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Abelardo Díaz Alfaro (July 24, 1916 – July 22, 1999) was a Puerto Rican author who achieved great fame throughout
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during the 1940s. His book ''Campo Alegre'' is a text that has been studied at schools in Austria, Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand as well as all over the Americas.Salon Hogar


Life and career

Díaz Alfaro was born in Caguas, Puerto Rico, but soon after his family moved to Ponce. He was the son of Abelardo Díaz Morales, a Baptist minister, and Asunción Alfaro Pratts (Doña Sunchita). His siblings were Abigail, Dalila, Miriam, Priscilla, Raquel, Lydia and Samuel. He returned to Caguas to attend University and married Gladys Meaux, with whom he had two daughters (Dalila and Nanette) and one son (Abelardo).New York Times
/ref> Díaz Alfaro obtained a bachelor's degree in arts at the ''Instituto Politécnico de San Germán'', which is now known as Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico. He also obtained a title as a social worker, and certificates in Spanish and
Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
. He obtained many honorary doctorates from different universities. Some of his short stories, like "Peyo Mercé enseña inglés" or "Santa Cló va a la Cuchilla" (in ''
Terrazo ''Terrazo'' is a book written in 1947 by Puerto Rican writer Abelardo Diaz Alfaro. The book won many awards, including that of the Sociedad de Periodistas Universitario y Instituto de Literatura Puertorriqueña, and made it to the national libra ...
'') create a
Manichaean Manichaeism (; in New Persian ; ) is a former major religionR. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 founded in the 3rd century AD by the Parthian Empire, Parthian ...
dichotomy between unlearned Puerto Rican peasants and American invaders (portrayed through the mandatory teaching of the English language in Puerto Rico). Thus, a praise of layman culture is expressed throughout his short stories. The metaphor of weak or feminine Americans versus uneducated but brave Puerto Ricans is taken later by other writers like
Ana Lydia Vega Ana Lydia Vega (born December 6, 1946, Santurce, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican writer. Biography Her parents were Virgilio Vega, an "oral poet" from Coamo, Puerto Rico, and Doña María Santana, a teacher from the town of Arroyo. She went to ...
. He presented at conferences in many parts of Latin America after reaching fame, including in Mexico (at the ''Ateneo Español''),
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and many other countries. His books have been translated into English, Polish, Russian, German, French, Italian and Czech, among other languages.


Works

Among the books he wrote are: * ''
Terrazo ''Terrazo'' is a book written in 1947 by Puerto Rican writer Abelardo Diaz Alfaro. The book won many awards, including that of the Sociedad de Periodistas Universitario y Instituto de Literatura Puertorriqueña, and made it to the national libra ...
'' (published in 1947) * '' Mi Isla Soñada'' * ''
Los Perros LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significanc ...
'' * '' The Eye of the Heart'' * '' United States in Literature'' * '' Classic Tales of Spanish America'' * '' Cuentos del Mundo Hispano'' (Spanish version of ''Classic Tales'') * '' Changes Antología Mundial'' * '' The Green Antilles'' * '' Contemporary Readers'' * '' National Catholic'' * '' The Princeton Tiger'' * '' Europe in France'' * '' Campo Alegre''. *'' Santa Clo va a la cuchilla (cuento)''


See also

* List of Puerto Rican writers * List of Puerto Ricans * Puerto Rican literature


References

1916 births 1999 deaths Burials at Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery Puerto Rican male short story writers Puerto Rican short story writers Puerto Rican male writers People from Caguas, Puerto Rico 20th-century American male writers {{PuertoRico-bio-stub