José María Peralta Lagos (25 July 1873 – 22 July 1944), was a

Salvadoran Salvadorans (), also known as Salvadorians, are citizens of El Salvador, a country in Central America. Most Salvadorans live in El Salvador, although there is also a significant Salvadoran diaspora, particularly in the United States, with smalle ...

writer, military engineer, and politician. He wrote under the pseudonym T.P. Mechín.

Biography

Peralta Lagos was born on 25 July 1873 in

Santa Tecla, El Salvador Santa Tecla () is a city and a municipality in the La Libertad Department (El Salvador), La Libertad department of El Salvador. It is the capital of the department of La Libertad. The city was named after Thecla, Saint Thecla who was a saint of ...

. He studied at the '' Academia de Ingenieros de Guadalajara'', a military academy, in

Guadalajara, Spain Guadalajara ( , ) is a city and municipality in Spain, located in the autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha. It is the capital of the Province of Guadalajara. Guadalajara lies on the central part of the Iberian Peninsula at roughly me ...

. He spearheaded the construction of the ''

Teatro Nacional de El Salvador Teatro Nacional de El Salvador, or National Theatre of El Salvador began construction on November 3, 1911, by the France, French architect Daniel Beylard; and inaugurated March 1, 1917. It is of French Renaissance style with modern touches. It was ...

'' in the early 20th century, along with the engineer José Emilio Alcaine. He was a diplomatic representative of El Salvador in Spain and

Minister of National Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

and Navy under president

Manuel Enrique Araujo Doctor of Pharmacy, Doctor Manuel Enrique Araujo (12 October 1865 – 9 February 1913) was a Salvadoran politician and physician who served as President of El Salvador from 1 March 1911 until his death on 9 February 1913 to his injuries sustain ...

(1911–1913). He also served as a member of the

Academia Salvadoreña de la Lengua The Academia Salvadoreña de la Lengua (Spanish for ''Salvadoran Academy of Language'') is an association of academics and experts on the use of the Spanish language in El Salvador. It was founded in San Salvador on October 19, 1876. It is a member ...

. Peralta Lagos's writing is

costumbrista ''Costumbrismo'' (in Catalan: ''costumisme''; sometimes anglicized as costumbrism, with the adjectival form costumbrist) is Literary costumbrismo, the literary or pictorial interpretation of local everyday life, mannerisms, and customs, primari ...

, is humorous, and is sometimes ironic.Escritores de El Salvador
/ref> Peralta Lagos had eight children including Jose Maria Peralta Salazar, who served as president of the parliament of El Salvador in the 1950's.

Works

His published works are: * Burla Burlando (collection of articles, 1923) * La Muerte de la Tórtola o Malandanzas de Un Corresponsal (novel, 1932) * Brochazos (short stories, 1925) * Dr. Gonorreitigorrea (novel, 1926) * Candidato (comedy in three acts, 1931) * Masferrer Humorista (essay, 1933) * Algunas Ideas Sobre la Futura Organización de la Enseñanza Superior de CA. (essay, 1936)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peralta Lagos, José María 1873 births 1944 deaths Salvadoran male writers Salvadoran engineers Salvadoran military personnel 19th-century Salvadoran writers 20th-century Salvadoran politicians Defence ministers of El Salvador