José Hernández (born José Rafael Hernández y Pueyrredón; 10 November 1834 in Chacras del Perdriel – 21 October 1886 in Buenos Aires) was an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

journalist, poet, and politician best known as the author of the

epic poem In poetry, an epic is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. With regard to ...

'' Martín Fierro''. In his tribute, his birthday is celebrated in Argentina as a national holiday, called Tradition Day.

Biography

Hernández, whose ancestry was Spanish, was born on a farm near San Martín,

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...

. His father was a majordomo or foreman of a series of cattle ranches. His career was to be an alternation between stints on the '' Federal'' side in the civil wars of Argentina and

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

and life as a newspaperman, a short stint as an employee of a commercial firm, and a period as stenographer to the legislature of the Confederation. Hernández founded the newspaper ''El Río de la Plata'', which advocated local autonomy, abolition of the conscripted "frontier contingents", and election of justices of the peace, military commanders, and school boards. He opposed immigration because he believed it undermined the pastoral foundation of the region's wealth. He envisioned a federal republic based on pastoralism, but also featuring a strong system of education and a literate population. Although a federalist opposed to the centralizing, modernizing, and Europeanizing tendencies of President

Domingo Sarmiento Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (15 February 1811 – 11 September 1888) was President of Argentina from 1868 to 1874. He was a member of a group of intellectuals, known as the ''1837 generation, Generation of 1837'', who had a great influence on 19t ...

, Hernández was not an apologist for General

Juan Manuel de Rosas Juan Manuel José Domingo Ortiz de Rozas y López de Osornio (30 March 1793 – 14 March 1877), nicknamed "Restorer of the Laws", was an Argentine politician and army officer who ruled Buenos Aires Province and briefly the Argentine Confedera ...

, whom he characterized as a tyrant and a despot. Hernández is known today almost exclusively for his masterpiece '' Martín Fierro'', the epic poem that stands as the pinnacle of gauchesque literature. The poem was apparently begun during a period of exile in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

following the defeat at Ñaembé (1870) and was published in two parts (in 1872 and 1879). Hernández died of heart disease on 21 October 1886, in Belgrano, which was at that time a separate suburb and is currently a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neigh ...

of the city of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. He was buried in La Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires.

References

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo ( ; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator regarded as a key figure in Spanish literature, Spanish-language and international literatur ...

, "José Hernández", in ''El Martín Fierro'' ()

External links

* * * *
Historical-biographical study on José Hernández
epílogue to the full text of ''Martín Fierro (Ida y Vuelta)'', pages 474 to 495 of the 1995 online edition of the poem (free access) by the Buenos Aires City Govt. (Spanish). {{DEFAULTSORT:Hernandez, Jose 1834 births 1886 deaths People from San Martín, Buenos Aires Argentine journalists 19th-century Argentine poets Argentine male poets Argentine people of Spanish descent Argentine people of French descent Burials at La Recoleta Cemetery Argentine people of Irish descent 19th-century Argentine journalists Argentine male journalists 19th-century Argentine male writers Epic poets