Juan Díaz Covarrubias (27 December 1837 – 11 April 1859) was a Mexican writer and poet of liberal ideology. He was one of the Martyrs of

Tacubaya Tacubaya is a Poverty in Mexico, working-class area of Mexico City in the borough of Miguel Hidalgo, D.F., Miguel Hidalgo. The ''colonia (Mexico), colonia'' Tacubaya and adjacent areas in other colonias are collectively referred to as Tacubaya. ...

who were executed during the

Reform War The Reform War (17 December 185711 January 1861) or War of Reform (), also known as the Three Years' War (), and the Mexican Civil War, was a complex civil conflict in Mexico fought between Mexican liberals and conservatives with regional var ...

in Mexico.

Biography

Diaz Covarrubias was born in

Xalapa Xalapa or Jalapa (, ), officially Xalapa-Enríquez (), is the capital city of the Mexico, Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Veracruz and the name of the surrounding municipality. In 2020 census the city reported a population of 443,063 ...

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

, on 27 December 1837. His father, the poet José de Jesús Díaz, had an artistic influence on him, since it was customary to hold ''

tertulia A ''tertulia'' (, ; ; ) is a social gathering with literary or artistic overtones, especially in Iberian Peninsula, Iberia or in Spanish America. Tertulia also means an informal meeting of people to talk about current affairs, arts, etc. The word ...

s'' at the home. In 1848 he moved with his family to

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

and enrolled in the to study philosophy and Latin. He became friends with law student Manuel Mateos — the brother of — and Ignacio Manuel Altamirano. He also was a pupil of Ignacio Ramírez "El Nigromante". Despite his great interest in literature and poetry, in 1852 Díaz Covarrubias began to study for a career in medicine. He joined 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 ...

and simultaneously published articles and poems in the newspapers ''El Monitor Republicano'', ''El Siglo Diez y Nueve'' and the ''Diario de Avisos''. In 1859, hearing rumours of the imminent clash between liberal and conservative troops in Tacubaya, he went there to offer his medical services to the troops of Santos Degollado. The battle of Tacubaya resulted to be a victory for the conservative army commanded by Leonardo Márquez. After the battle General

Miguel Miramón Miguel Gregorio de la Luz Atenógenes Miramón y Tarelo, known as Miguel Miramón, (29 September 1831 – 19 June 1867) was a Mexican Conservative Party (Mexico), conservative general who disputed the president of Mexico, Mexican presidency with ...

ordered the Liberal officials who had been apprehended to be executed. In an excess committed by the Márquez's soldiers, in addition to officials and soldiers, doctors and civilians were executed. Covarrubias and his friend Mateos died at the ''paredón'' (execution wall) in

, Mexico City, on 11 April 1859. The shooting of Díaz Covarrubias and the other Martyrs of Tacubaya was strongly criticized by in ''El Siglo Diez y Nueve''. Manuel Acuña called Diaz Covarrubias "the Poet Martyr". The town of San Juan Sugar in Hueyapan de Ocampo,

, was re-named in his honour on 20 May 1938. Chalco de Díaz Covarrubias, the municipal seat of the surrounding municipality of Chalco in the State of Mexico, also added the poet's surname to its name, as a tribute to his work.

Works

He belonged to the romanticism movement and is considered one of the pioneers of the Mexican

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

. In his short life, he wrote numerous poems, several short stores and three novels: * ''Gil Gómez el insurgente'' (Gil Gómez the Insurgent) * ''La clase media'' (The Half Class) * ''El diablo en México'' (The Devil in Mexico) * ''La azucena y la violeta'' (The Lily and the Violet) * ''La sensitiva'' (The Sensitive Girl) * ''Episodio juvenil'' (Juvenile Episode) In 1959, on the centenary of his death, the historian Clementina Díaz y de Ovando compiled his ''Complete Works.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz Covarrubias, Juan 1859 deaths 1837 births Executed Mexican people Mexican male novelists Mexican male poets 19th-century Mexican poets 19th-century Mexican novelists 19th-century Mexican male writers Writers from Veracruz People from Xalapa

Biography

Works

See also

References