José Batres Montúfar (1809–1844) was a Guatemalan poet, politician, engineer and military figure.

Monument

In 1852, Juan Matheu and

Manuel Francisco Pavón Aycinena Manuel Francisco Pavón Aycinena (30 January 1798 – 19 April 1855) was a conservative Guatemalan politician during the regime of General Rafael Carrera. He was influential in the founding of the government's executive branch and held several ...

presented

Rafael Carrera José Rafael Carrera y Turcios (24 October 1814 – 14 April 1865) was the president of Guatemala from 1844 to 1848 and from 1851 until his death in 1865, after being appointed President for life in 1854. During his military career and preside ...

with a plan to build a majestic National Theater, that would be called Carrera Theater in his honor. Once approved, Carrera commissioned Matheu himself and Miguel Ruiz de Santisteban to build the theater. Initially it was in charge of engineer Miguel Rivera Maestre, but he quit after a few months and was replaced by German expert José Beckers, who built the Greek façades and added a lobby. This was the first monumental building ever built in the Republican era of Guatemala, given that in the 1850s the country finally was enjoying some peace and prosperity. Appleton's Guide to México and Guatemala of 1884 describes the theater as follows: «In the middle of the square is the Theater, similar in size and elegance to any of the rest of Spanish America. Lines of orange trees and other nice trees of brilliant flowers and delicious fragrances surround the building while the statues and fountains placed at certain intervals enhance even more the beauty of the place. After the Liberal reform from 1871, the theater was called National Theater. In 1892, it was refurbished, removing the conservative Coat of Arms from its façade and substituting it with a sculpture and inscriptions. The orange trees, fountains and sculptures were removed, and in their place modern gardens were planted and a bust of Batres Montúfar was erected. During the government of general Manuel Lisandro Barillas Bercián, the theater was remodeled to celebrate the Discovery of America fourth centennial anniversary; the Italian community in Guatemala donated a statue of

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

-Cristóbal Colón, in Spanish- which was placed next to the theater. Since then, the place was called «Colón Theater».

Literary works

Rubén Darío Félix Rubén García Sarmiento (January 18, 1867 – February 6, 1916), known as Rubén Darío ( , ), was a Nicaraguan poet who initiated the Spanish-language literary movement known as '' modernismo'' (modernism) that flourished at the end of ...

considers two of Batres' poems, ''Reloj'', and ''Falsas apariencias'', "little gems" of American literature.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Batres-Montufar, Jose 1809 births 1844 deaths Guatemalan politicians 19th-century Guatemalan people 19th-century Guatemalan poets Guatemalan male poets Rafael Carrera 19th-century male writers