José Milla y Vidaurre (August 4, 1822 in

Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, ne ...

First Mexican Empire The Mexican Empire ( es, Imperio Mexicano, ) was a constitutional monarchy, the first independent government of Mexico and the only former colony of the Spanish Empire to establish a monarchy after independence. It is one of the few modern-era ...

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Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by Hon ...

September 30, 1882) was a notable Guatemalan writer of the 19th century. He was also known by the name Pepe Milla and the pseudonym Salomé Jil. Son of a governor of the state of Honduras in the Federal Republic of Central America, José Justo de la Milla y Pineda and Mrs. Mercedes Vidaurre Molina, the daughter of a wealthy Guatemalan family. He was married to his cousin, Mercedes Vidaurre and had 7 daughters and sons. Milla grew up in a time of great instability, where the struggles between liberals and

conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

were bringing chaos to Guatemala. He came from a well-to-do family and was not a politically relevant figure. However, it is known that he had conservative tendencies and came to public office under conservative governments. His works can be qualified under various

literary genre A literary genre is a category of literature. Genres may be determined by literary technique, tone, content, or length (especially for fiction). They generally move from more abstract, encompassing classes, which are then further sub-divided in ...

s, although they were mainly dedicated to story-telling,

novels A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

and more specifically historical novels. His main theme was life in the colonial Guatemala. His ''"novelas costumbristas"'' are about the customs of Guatemalan people during colonial times and during the first years after Guatemalan independence. In his works, he shows an ability for story-telling and imagination. For him, one of the main functions of literature was to entertain and his books are examples of such function. Jose Milla was well-educated, an expert of Guatemalan idiosyncrasies, its history and its customs.

Works

Image:Hijadeladelantado.jpg, ''La hija del Adelantado'' (1866) Image:Visitadormilla.jpg, ''El visitador'' (1868) Image:Viajeotromundo.JPG, '' Un viaje al otro mundo pasando por otras partes'' (1875) * ''Don Bonifacio'' (narrative poem) * ''La Hija del Adelantado'' (novel), 1866 * ''Los Nazarenos'' (novel) * ''El Visitador'' (novel) * ''Un viaje al otro mundo pasando por otras partes'' (Volumes 1 & 2) * ''Memorias de un abogado'' (novel) * ''El esclavo de don dinero'' (novel) * ''Historia de un Pepe'' (novel) * ''El canasto del sastre'' (cuadros de costumbres) * ''Libro sin nombre'' * ''Historia de la America Central'' (Volumes 1 & 2)

References

Bibliography

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Milla y Vidaurre works

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External links

Literature and art of Guatemala
(in Spanish) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Milla y Vidaurre, Jose 1822 births 1882 deaths People from Guatemala City Guatemalan novelists Guatemalan male writers Male novelists Historical novelists Guatemalan politicians Rafael Carrera 19th-century Guatemalan writers 19th-century novelists 19th-century male writers