Martín Luis Guzmán Franco (October 6, 1887 – December 22, 1976) was a Mexican

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

and

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

. Along with

Mariano Azuela Mariano Azuela González (January 1, 1873 – March 1, 1952) was a Mexican writer and medical doctor, best known for his fictional stories of the Mexican Revolution of 1910. He wrote novels, works for theatre and literary criticism. He is t ...

and Nellie Campobello, he is considered a pioneer of the revolutionary novel, a genre inspired by the experiences of the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

of 1910. He spent periods in exile in the United States and Spain. He founded newspapers, weekly magazines, and publishing companies. In 1958, he was awarded Mexico's National Prize in Literature.

Life

Guzmán was born in

Chihuahua, Chihuahua The city of Chihuahua or Chihuahua City ( ; Lipan language, Lipan: ) is the state capital of the Mexican state of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua. , the city of Chihuahua had a population of 925,762 inhabitants. while the metropolitan area had a popu ...

, the son of a colonel in the

Federal Army The Federal Army (), also known as the Federales () in popular culture, was the army of Mexico from 1876 to 1914 during the Porfiriato, the rule of President Porfirio Díaz, and during the presidencies of Francisco I. Madero and Victoriano Huerta. ...

, who was attached to the Mexican consulate in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. His father was killed in one of the early skirmishes of the

and Guzmán left for Mexico City. For several months in 1914, he was under the direct orders of General

Francisco "Pancho" Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa ( , , ; born José Doroteo Arango Arámbula; 5 June 1878 – 20 July 1923) was a Mexican revolutionary and prominent figure in the Mexican Revolution. He was a key figure in the revolutionary movement that forced ...

, later writing a five-volume

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...

of Villa, ''Memorias de Pancho Villa'' (1936–1951). On Villa's orders, Guzmán witnessed the entry of

Venustiano Carranza José Venustiano Carranza de la Garza (; 29 December 1859 – 21 May 1920), known as Venustiano Carranza, was a Mexican land owner and politician who served as President of Mexico from 1917 until his assassination in 1920, during the Mexican Re ...

's Constitutionalist Army to Mexico City, following the fall of

Victoriano Huerta José Victoriano Huerta Márquez (; 23 December 1850 – 13 January 1916) was a Mexican general, politician, engineer and dictator who was the 39th President of Mexico, who came to power by coup against the democratically elected government of ...

's government in July 1914. Carranza had him jailed, since as an adherent of Villa, formerly a Constitutionalist general who had broken with Carranza, Guzmán was a political enemy. He was released during the factional dispute between the Constitutionalists and the Army of the Convention, led by Villa. Guzmán went abroad to Paris and Madrid in 1914, where he began writing articles for the Spanish weekly magazine, ''España'', founded by

José Ortega y Gasset José Ortega y Gasset (; ; 9 May 1883 – 18 October 1955) was a Spanish philosopher and essayist. He worked during the first half of the 20th century while Spain oscillated between monarchy, republicanism and dictatorship. His philosoph ...

, and became part of the circle of Spanish intellectuals. His first published work, ''La querella de México'', was his assessment of Mexico's problems and limitations. Leaving Spain for the United States, he represented ''España'' and taught a short course at University of Minnesota, returning to Mexico briefly, where he worked at Mexican newspapers. Following the ouster of Carranza in 1920 by Sonoran generals Alvaro Obregón,

Plutarco Elías Calles Plutarco Elías Calles (born Francisco Plutarco Elías Campuzano; 25 September 1877 – 19 October 1945) was a Mexican politician and military officer who served as the 47th President of Mexico from 1924 to 1928. After the assassination of Ál ...

, and

Adolfo de la Huerta Felipe Adolfo de la Huerta Marcor (; 26 May 1881 – 9 July 1955) was a Mexican politician, the 45th President of Mexico from 1 June to 30 November 1920, following the overthrow of Mexican president Venustiano Carranza, with Sonoran generals ...

, Guzmán returned to Mexico and became the private secretary to Alberto J. Pani, President Obregón's minister of foreign affairs. Guzmán was involved in the 1921 centenary of the achievement of Mexico's independence. He subsequently ran afoul of Obregón's government when Obregón sought to impose Calles as his successor. Guzmán backed Adolfo de la Huerta's 1923 unsuccessful rebellion against Obregón and Calles, and was forced into exile to Spain for a decade, becoming a Spanish citizen. He again became involved in journalism, but his largest contribution to writing was his work of revolutionary fiction, ''El águila y la serpiente''. With the presidency of

Lázaro Cárdenas Lázaro Cárdenas del Río (; 21 May 1895 – 19 October 1970) was a Mexican army officer and politician who served as president of Mexico from 1934 to 1940. Previously, he served as a general in the Constitutional Army during the Mexican Revo ...

(1934–40), who had turned against his political patron Calles, Guzmán was invited to return to Mexico, where he returned to journalism and began writing ''Memorias de Pancho Villa''. Martin Luis Guzmán was a public figure in Mexico: he was elected to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

for the Federal District's 6th congressional district in 1922 and served as a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

for the Federal District from 1970 to 1976. He was also a member of the Mexican Academy of Language. He died suddenly on December 22, 1976, in

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 ...

due an acute myocardial infarction. His widow Ana West died seven years after him, on October 21, 1983. She was 95 years old when, after being hospitalized for some days due to an acute bilateral pneumonia, she suffered a cardiac arrest and died.

Works

His novels ' (1929) and ' (1928) depict the

and its political aftermath, with both of which the author was familiar, having contributed both to revolutionary agitation and to the formation of the new revolutionary government. * ''La querella de México'' (1915) * ''A orillas del Hudson'' (1920) * ''El águila y la serpiente'' (1928) * ''La sombra del caudillo'' (1929) * ''Aventuras democráticas'' (1931) * ''Mina al mozo: Héroe de Navarra'' (1932) * ''Filadelfia: Paraíso de conspiradores'' (1933) * ''Kinchil'' (1946) * ''Memorias de Pancho Villa'' (1951) * ''Apunte sobre una personalidad'' (1954) * ''Muertes Históricas'' (1958) * ''Islas Marías, novela y drama'' (1959) * ''Pábulo para la historia'' (1961) * ''Necesidad de cumplir las Leyes de Reforma'' (1963) * ''Febrero de 1913'' (1963) * ''Crónica de mi destierro'' (1964)

References

Sources

''Encyclopædia Britannica''

Life

Works

See also

References

Sources

Further reading