Abel Alarcón de la Peña (10 October 1881 – 20 October 1954) was a Bolivian lawyer, poet, and writer. His works delved into a variety of genres, including historical works and translations, political essays, as well as poetry and fiction.

Early life

Abel Alarcón was born on 10 October 1881 in

La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...

to J. Benedicto Alarcón, dean of the Superior Court of Justice of La Paz, and Clementina de la Peña. He was educated at the La Paz Seminary before later attending the

Higher University of San Andrés Universidad Mayor de San Andrés or UMSA () is the leading public university in Bolivia, established since 1830 in the city of La Paz. UMSA is the second-oldest university in Bolivia, after the University of San Francisco Xavier de Chuquisaca ( ...

where he received a Bachelor of Arts in 1898 and Bachelor of Law and Political Science in 1900, later graduating with a

licenciate A licentiate (abbreviated Lic.) is an academic degree present in many countries, representing different educational levels. The Licentiate (Pontifical Degree) is a post graduate degree when issued by pontifical universities and other universitie ...

in Law and Political Science in 1902 and as a Doctor of Laws in 1903.

Career

Alarcón began his career in 1903 when he became an editor of the proceedings of the National Senate. A member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

, from 1904 he was the director of the Public Library of La Paz. During this time, in 1905, Alarcón became a member of the ''Palabras Libres'' literary cenacle which published a tri-weekly column in the morning newspaper ''El Diario''. He focused his publications on the study of the

Spanish language Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...

and on the territorial dispute between Bolivia and Paraguay over the Chaco Boreal. In addition, he joined with fellow Liberal writer

José Luis Tejada Sorzano José Luis Tejada Sorzano (12 January 1882 – 4 October 1938) was a Bolivian economist, lawyer, and politician who served as the 34th president of Bolivia from 1934 to 1936. A member of the Liberal Party, he served as the 23rd vice president ...

to cover new avant-garde literary and artistic works from abroad. In 1906, Alarcón was appointed director of Archives in the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

, spending two years in that position after which he was promoted as head of the Consular Section until 1913. From June 1916 to August 1917, he was the secretary general of the Higher University of San Andrés. He resigned in order become assistant secretary of Public Instruction under Minister of Instruction Claudio Sanjinés during the presidency of

José Gutiérrez Guerra José Manuel Gutiérrez Guerra, known as "the last Oligarch," (5 September 1869 in Sucre, Bolivia – 3 February 1929 in Antofagasta, Chile) was a Bolivian economist and statesman who served as the 28th president of Bolivia from 1917 to 1920. ...

. From the 1920s to the mid-1930s, Alarcón travelled abroad, working as a professor at the Universities in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

(1920–1922), the United States (1923–1925), and Austria (1932–1934). In 1935, he returned to Bolivia. He served as secretary of the Bolivian Academy of Language until his death in 1954.

Publications

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References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alarcón, Abel 1881 births 1954 deaths 20th-century Bolivian lawyers 20th-century Bolivian poets 20th-century Bolivian writers Bolivian essayists Bolivian male writers Bolivian novelists Bolivian translators Higher University of San Andrés alumni Lawyers from La Paz Writers from La Paz