Juan Antonio Pérez Bonalde (1846–1892) was a Venezuelan translator and poet. He is best known for his Hispanic

romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

style of work and was seen a precursor of

Modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

. He is buried in the

National Pantheon of Venezuela The National Pantheon of Venezuela (''Panteón Nacional de Venezuela'') is a final resting place for national heroes. The Pantheon (Latin ''Pantheon'', from Greek ''Pantheon,'' meaning " Temple of all the Gods") was created in the 1870s on the ...

Life

Juan Antonio Pérez Bonalde was born in

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

, Venezuela, in 1846. His poem ''Vuelta a la Patria'' (Return to the Homeland) is about his return to Venezuela. He translated works of English, German, Italian, Danish, Chinese, Portuguese, French writers into Spanish. The "Songbook" by

Heine Heine is both a surname and a given name of German origin. People with that name include: People with the surname * Albert Heine (1867–1949), German actor * Alice Heine (1858–1925), American-born princess of Monaco * Armand Heine (1818–1883) ...

and the poem "The Raven" by

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

are his most famous translations. After he lost a daughter, he wrote a poem ''Flor'' (Flower) in memory of her. He lived many years in exile, due to political problems his family had with the government of that time. His family emigrated to

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

in 1861 fleeing from the

Federal War The Federal War () — also known as the Great War or the 5 Year War — was a civil war in Venezuela between the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party over the monopoly the Conservatives held over government positions and land ownership, an ...

. After the conclusion of the conflict he returned to Venezuela in 1864 but his stay was short lived when

Antonio Guzmán Blanco Antonio Leocadio Guzmán Blanco (28 February 1829 – 28 July 1899) was a Venezuelan military leader, statesman, diplomat and politician. He was the president of Venezuela for , from 1870 until 1877, from 1879 until 1884, and from 1886 until 1 ...

came to power in 1870. He settled in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, from where he traveled through the United States, Europe and South America but later returned to Venezuela in 1876 at the advent of a new president,

Francisco Linares Alcántara Francisco de Paula Linares Alcántara (13 April 1825 – 30 November 1878) was the president of Venezuela (1877–1878) and a member of the Liberal Party of Venezuela. Personal life Francisco Linares Alcántara was born on 13 April 1825, in ...

. However, in just one year he returned to New York again, when Guzmán Blanco returned to power. Pérez Bonalde came back to his home country in 1889 at the request of President Raimundo Andueza Palacio but he could not assume his new post as diplomat due to health problems. Pérez Bonalde died in

La Guaira La Guaira () is the capital city of the Venezuelan Vargas (state), state of the same name (formerly named Vargas) and the country's main port, founded in 1577 as an outlet for nearby Caracas. The city hosts its own professional baseball team i ...

, Venezuela, in 1892. A

metro station A metro station or subway station is a train station for a rapid transit system, which as a whole is usually called a "metro" or "subway". A station provides a means for passengers to purchase tickets, board trains, and evacuate the syste ...

in Caracas is named after him.

Works

* Estrofas (1877, English: Stanzas) * Ritmos (1880, English: Rhythms) * Poema del Niágara (1880, English: Niagara's Poem) * Vuelta a la Patria (English: Return to the Homeland) * Flor (English: Flower)

References

External links

* * 1846 births 1892 deaths Writers from Caracas Venezuelan translators Venezuelan male poets Burials at the National Pantheon of Venezuela 19th-century Venezuelan poets 19th-century translators 19th-century male writers English–Spanish translators German–Spanish translators Latin–Spanish translators Portuguese–Spanish translators Venezuelan exiles {{venezuela-poet-stub