Miguel Álvarez Castro (1795–1856) 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 ...

politician and poet. He is considered the first

national poet. Álvarez Castro was born on a hacienda near the city of

San Miguel, El Salvador San Miguel () is a city in eastern El Salvador. It is the country's third most populous city. It is located east of the capital, San Salvador. It is also the capital of the department of San Miguel and a municipality. The population of the cit ...

. In his youth, he studied in the ''Colegio de Infantes'' in

Antigua Guatemala Antigua Guatemala (), commonly known as Antigua or La Antigua, is a city in the Guatemalan Highlands, central highlands of Guatemala. The city was the capital of the Captaincy General of Guatemala from 1543 through 1773, with much of its Baroque- ...

, but he was forced to abandon his studies after the death of his parents. He was a member of the 1822

constituent assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

in the

First Mexican Empire The Mexican Empire (, ) was a constitutional monarchy and the first independent government of Mexico. It was also the only former viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire to establish a monarchy after gaining independence. The empire existed from 18 ...

. During the era of the

Federal Republic of Central America The Federal Republic of Central America (), initially known as the United Provinces of Central America (), was a sovereign state in Central America that existed between 1823 and 1839/1841. The republic was composed of five states (Costa Rica ...

under

Francisco Morazán José Francisco Morazán Quesada (; born October 3, 1792 – September 15, 1842) was a liberal Central American politician and general who served as president of the Federal Republic of Central America from 1830 to 1839. Before he was president ...

, he became a Minister of Foreign Relations. A loyal follower of Morazán, Álvarez Castro followed Morazán into exile in

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

until Morazán's execution. In El Salvador, Álvarez Castro participated in the attempted overthrow of

Francisco Malespín Francisco Malespín Herrera (1806 – 25 November 1846) was a Salvadoran military officer and politician, elected as the president of El Salvador in 1844. He served from 7 February 1844 to 15 February 1845, when he was deposed by his vice presi ...

, after which he exiled himself in Nicaragua. After Malespín's fall from power, Álvarez Castro returned to his country where he retired from public life. His poetry is collected in anthologies like ''Guirnalda Salvadoreña'' (1884) by

Román Mayorga Rivas Román Mayorga Rivas (1862 – 28 December 1925) was a Nicaraguan journalist and poet. He is considered the founder of modern journalism in El Salvador. Biography Mayorga Rivas was born in 1862 in León, Nicaragua. Mayorga Rivas was the son of ...

and ''Galería poética centroamericana'' (1888) by

Ramón Uriarte Ramón or Ramon may refer to: People Given name *Ramón (footballer, born 1950), Brazilian footballer * Ramón (footballer, born 1983), Brazilian footballer * Ramón (footballer, born 1988), Brazilian footballer *Ramón (footballer, born 1990), Br ...

. Álvarez Castro was known for his neoclassical poetical works, with subjects from the pastoral to the patriotic. Some of his most famous poems included "A la meurte del Coronel Pierzon" pon the Death of Colonel Pierzonand "Al ciudadano Jose del Valle" de to Jose del Valle, Citizen" He died in poverty in 1856.

Bibliography

* Cañas Dinarte, Carlos (2000). ''Diccionario escolar de autores salvadoreños''. San Salvador: Dirección de publicaciones e impresos. * Escobar Galindo, David (1995). ''Índice antológico de la poesía salvadoreña''. San Salvador : UCA Editores. .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez Castro, Miguel 1795 births 1855 deaths Salvadoran politicians Salvadoran poets Salvadoran male poets 19th-century poets 19th-century male writers 19th-century Salvadoran writers People from New Spain