Marcos E. Becerra (April 25, 1870 – January 7, 1940) was a Mexican prolific writer, poet, and politician. He produced pioneering

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

linguistic Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

philological Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as the ...

, and

ethnographic Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...

studies relating to his country's

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, th ...

and early colonial past. He held important posts in the

Mexican Federal Government The politics of Mexico take place in a framework of a federal presidential representative democratic republic whose government is based on a congressional system, whereby the President of Mexico is both head of state and head of government, and ...

as well as in the state governments of Tabasco and

Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...

. He was a distinguished member of the Mexican Academy of History.

Biography

Marcos Enrique Becerra was born in

Teapa Teapa Municipality is a municipality in Tabasco in south-eastern Mexico. Its name comes from the Nahuatl words "Tetl'' and ''apan", which mean "river over stones" or "stone's river". It refers to one of the rivers that crosses the town. The muni ...

Tabasco Tabasco (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco), is one of the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa. It is located in ...

, to Camilo Becerra y Ballinas, a native of

San Cristóbal de las Casas San Cristóbal de las Casas (), also known by its native Tzotzil name, Jovel (), is a town and municipality located in the Central Highlands region of the Mexican state of Chiapas. It was the capital of the state until 1892, and is still consid ...

, and Luisa Sánchez Formento. Becerra completed his early schooling in his hometown. In 1900, by way of independent study, he received a teaching degree from the Instituto Juárez of San Juan Bautista. During his youth he worked as a

bookbinder Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book of codex format from an ordered stack of ''signatures'', sheets of paper folded together into sections that are bound, along one edge, with a thick needle and strong thread. Cheaper, b ...

scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing. The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promi ...

, store clerk, theatre prompter, and, eventually, teacher. One of his very first published works, ''Guia del lenguaje usual para hablar con propiedad, pureza y corrección'', dates from this period (1901) and is based on his

autodidactic Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or educational institution, institutions (such as schools). Generally, ...

studies of the

Spanish language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a world language, global language with more than 500 millio ...

. Fame of his remarkable erudition spread quickly and he was encouraged to run in forthcoming elections for

Federal Deputy The Chamber of Deputies ( pt, Câmara dos Deputados) is a federal legislative body and the lower house of the National Congress of Brazil. The chamber comprises 513 deputies, who are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year t ...

for the State of Tabasco, succeeding in his first attempt. During the final years of the ''

Porfiriato , common_languages = , religion = , demonym = , currency = , leader1 = Porfirio Díaz , leader2 = Juan Méndez , leader3 = Porfirio Díaz , leader4 ...

'' he held the federal post of

Director General A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive (government), executive officer, often the chief executive offi ...

Secondary Education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final pha ...

of the

Secretariat of Public Education The Mexican Secretariat of Public Education ( in Spanish ''Secretaría de Educación Pública'', ''SEP'') is a federal government authority with cabinet representation and the responsibility for overseeing the development and implementation of ...

. At the XVII

International Congress of Americanists The International Congress of Americanists (ICA) is an international academic conference for research in multidisciplinary studies of the Americas. Established August 25, 1875 in Nancy, France, the scholars' forum has met regularly since its incept ...

, celebrated in Mexico City in September 1910, Becerra presented an important historical paper on Hernán Cortés's 1524-25 expedition to Las Hibueras. The next year, he returned to Tabasco to serve in Governor

Manuel Mestre Ghigliazza Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name) * Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * Manu ...

's administration as

Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

of Government and as Director of Public Education; consequent to the assassination of President

Francisco I. Madero Francisco Ignacio Madero González (; 30 October 1873 – 22 February 1913) was a Mexican businessman, revolutionary, writer and Public figure, statesman, who became the 37th president of Mexico from 1911 until he was deposed in Ten Tragic Da ...

in February 1913 both Ghigliazza and Becerra resigned their posts in protest. In 1914, Becerra moved to

Tuxtla Gutiérrez Tuxtla Gutiérrez (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Mexican southeastern state of Chiapas. It is the seat of the municipality of the same name, the most developed and populated in the state. A busy government, commercial and servi ...

(the Chiapas state capital), where he would labor as an educator and occupy the same post of Director of Public Education for ten years; during which time he successfully reorganized the state's educational system, founded a school of commerce as well as the Internado Indígena de San Cristóbal (the San Cristóbal

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

Boarding School A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

), which was a model of its kind. In 1921, while still in Tuxtla, he published an important

lexicographical Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries. * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. * Theoreti ...

work titled ''La nueva gramática castellana'', which, like all his published writings, was the fruit of autodidactic erudition. In 1932, appeared what remains one of his best known scholarly works, ''Nombres geográficos indígenas de Chiapas'', a study of

Mayan Mayan most commonly refers to: * Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Mayan languages, language family spoken ...

place names Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

. To these followed sundry studies, published as

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

s or articles, on the languages and traditions of the Ch'ol, Mangue,

Nahua The Nahuas () are a group of the indigenous people of Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. They comprise the largest indigenous group in Mexico and second largest in El Salvador. The Mexica (Aztecs) were of Nahua ethnicity, a ...

Yucatec Maya Yucatec Maya (; referred to by its speakers simply as Maya or as , is one of the 32 Mayan languages of the Mayan language family. Yucatec Maya is spoken in the Yucatán Peninsula and northern Belize. There is also a significant diasporic commu ...

, and Zoque. In 1954, occurred the

posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ...

publication of Becerra's monumental 800 page ''Rectificaciones y adiciones al Diccionario de la Real Academia Española'': a work which encompasses thousands of words and definitions, is rich in

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

etymologies Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words and ...

and grounded in lexicographical authorities. Marcos E. Becerra, during the last ten years of his life, was a

numerary Numerary may refer to: *Numerary, one of the types of membership of Opus Dei * Numerary protonotary, a historical position in Roman Catholic Church *Numerary nexus, in musical tuning *Numerary system in naval flag signalling Naval flag signallin ...

member of the

Academia Mexicana de la Historia The Academia Mexicana de la Historia (''Mexican Academy of History'', also known by the acronym AMH) is a national academy in Mexico, whose purpose is to promote and propagate historical studies within Mexico, conduct research into all aspects of t ...

and held

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair (furniture), ...

21. He was married twice and was twice a widower, He died, following a long illness, in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

on January 7, 1940.

Published works

(List not comprehensive) *''Guia del lenguaje usual para hablar con propiedad, pureza i corrección'', 1901. *''Musa breve; sonetos'', 1907. *''Nombres geograficos del estado de Tabasco de la Republica Mexicana; origen lingüístico, estructura original y significación de los nombres de lugares de Tabasco que no corresponden á la lengua castellana'', 1909. *''Verdadero concepto de nuestra guerra de independencia'', 1910. *''Itinerario de Hernan Cortés en Tabasco; determinación de los lugares que tocó el conquistador don Hernando Cortés a su paso por Tabasco, en su expedición a Hibueras, en 1524-1525'', 1910. *''Los nombres del

Palenque Palenque (; Yucatec Maya language, Yucatec Maya: ), also anciently known in the Itza Language as Lakamhaʼ ("Big Water or Big Waters"), was a Maya city City-state, state in southern Mexico that perished in the 8th century. The Palenque ruins dat ...

'', 1911. *''La papaya orejona (Pileus pentaphyllus)'', 1921. *''La nueva gramática castellana. Cursos graduados para el estudio de la lengua castellana en las escuelas secundarias de la república, mexicana'', 1921. *''Que quiere decir el nombre de Chiapas? (Estudio etimológico i geroglífico)'', 1922. *''Origen y significado del nombre de Yucatán'', 1923. *''Palavicini desde alla abajo'', 1924. *''Breve noticia sobre la lengua e indios tsoques'', 1925. *''El huacalxochitl de Hernández en un petroglifo'', 1925. *''Vocabulario de la lengua Chol'', 1927. *''Nombres geográficos indígenas del estado de Chiapas. Catálogo alfabético, etimológico, geográfico, histórica i mitológica, de todos los nombres de lugar (poblaciones, parajes, comarcas, regiones, alturas, valles, rios, arroyos, lagunas, esteros, etc.) que estan en las lenguas nahoa, soque, chiapaneca, sotsil, sendal, chaneabal, mame, chol, maya i quiché'', 1930. *''El antiguo calendario chiapaneco; estudio comparativo entre este i los calendarios precoloniales maya, quiché i nahoa'', 1933. *''Crónica de Nueva España'' (

Francisco Cervantes de Salazar Francisco Cervantes de Salazar (1514? – 1575) was a Spanish man of letters and rector of the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico, founded in 1551. He was born and raised in Toledo, Spain. He first attended Alejo Venegas’s Grammar ...

; Francisco del Paso y Troncoso; Federico Goméz de Orozco; Marcos E. Becerra ditor, 1914-1936. *''La planta llamada quapaque o paque (correa guapaque, n. gen., n. sp.; trib. Dalbergiae. fam. Fabaceae)'', 1936. *''En defensa del idioma maya (polémica)'', 1937. *''Juegos precoloniales'', 1945. *''Rectificaciones y adiciones al Diccionario de la Real Academia española'', 1954.

Bibliography

*(English) MacCurdy, George Grant, “Seventeenth International Congress of Americanists Second Session - City of Mexico“, ''

American Anthropologist ''American Anthropologist'' is the flagship journal of the American Anthropological Association (AAA), published quarterly by Wiley. The "New Series" began in 1899 under an editorial board that included Franz Boas, Daniel G. Brinton, and John W ...

, New Series'', Vol. 12, No. 4 (Oct. - Dec., 1910), pp. 600–605. *(Spanish) García Mora, Carlos, ''La Antropología en México: panorama histórico''. Mexico, D.F.:

Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia The Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH, ''National Institute of Anthropology and History'') is a Mexican federal government bureau established in 1939 to guarantee the research, preservation, protection, and promotion of the ...

, 1987-1988. *(Spanish) Navarrete, Carlos, ''Los primeros antropólogos chiapanecos: 1. Alberto Culebro, 2. Marcos E. Becerra''. Mexico: Secretaría de Educación y Cultura, Gobierno del Estado de Chiapas, 1986. *(Spanish) Santamaría, Francisco J., et al., ''Bibliografía general de Tabasco''. Mexico:

Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores The Mexican Secretariat of Foreign Affairs ( es, Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores, ''SRE'', lit: Secretariat of External Relations) is the government department responsible for Mexico's foreign affairs. Mexico currently has 80 embassies, 3 ...

, Gobierno del Estado de Tabasco, 1930.

External links

*
Marcos E. Becerra
by Miguel Leon-Portilla
Marcos Enrique Becerra at bibliotecachiapas.gob.mx

{{DEFAULTSORT:Becerra, Marcos E. Aztec scholars Ethnographers Historians of Mexico Mexican lexicographers Mayanists Mexican archaeologists Mexican anthropologists Mexican botanists Mexican educators Mexican essayists Male essayists 20th-century Mexican historians Linguists from Mexico Mexican Mesoamericanists Mexican male poets Mexican male writers Mexican scientists 20th-century Mexican writers 20th-century male writers People from Chiapas Writers from Tabasco Philologists Pre-Columbian scholars 1870 births 1940 deaths 20th-century Mesoamericanists State political office-holders in Mexico 20th-century essayists

Biography

See also

Published works

Bibliography

External links