Víctor Domingo Silva Endeiza (May 12, 1882,

Tongoy Tongoy is a Chilean coastal town in the commune of Coquimbo in Elqui Province, Coquimbo Region. It is located to the south of Chile's second oldest city, La Serena, next to Guanaqueros beach, on a rocky promontory opposite the Pacific Ocean, ...

Elqui Province Elqui Province () is a province in the Chilean region of Coquimbo (IV). The provincial capital is the city of Coquimbo. Geography and demography According to the 2012 census by the National Statistics Institute (''INE''), the province spans a ...

– August 20, 1960,

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

) was a Chilean poet, journalist, playwright and writer. He was of

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

descent by mother's side. Silva was born into an educated family that instilled in him a love of literature. In 1906, he was elected diputado (deputy) (a member of the lower house of Chile's

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate Deliberative assembly, assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate ...

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) of the provinces of

Copiapó Copiapó () is a List of cities in Chile, city and communes of Chile, commune in northern Chile, located about 65 kilometers east of the coastal List of towns in Chile, town of Caldera, Chile, Caldera. Founded on December 8, 1744, it is the capi ...

, Freirina and Chañaral. During his tenure as Deputy, Silva began publishing poetry in

El Mercurio (known online as ''El Mercurio On-Line'', ''EMOL'') is a Chilean newspaper with editions in Valparaíso and Santiago. is owned by El Mercurio S.A.P. (''Sociedad Anónima Periodística'' 'joint stock news company'), which operates a network of ...

, a well-known newspaper centered in the Valparaiso region. He was dubbed "''el poeta nacional''" ("the national poet") since he dedicated a significant portion of his poetry to national topics, including his celebrated patriotic poem, ''La Bandera'' ("The Flag"). Silva entered the diplomatic corps in 1928 and was posted to

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

in Argentina, where he was a driving force behind the establishment of the Chilean province of Aisén. Later he was appointed consul general of Chile, and was posted to

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

where he remained for several years, finally returning to Chile in 1948. In 1954, Chile's national award for literature was bestowed upon him.

Selected poems

* Adolescencia (1906) * Golondrina de invierno (1912) * Palomilla brava (1923) * El alma de Chile (1928), antología poética * El mestizo Alejo (1934) * Poemas de Ultramar (1935) * El cachorro (1937) * La Criollita

Selected plays

* El Rey de la Araucanía (1936) * Aún no se ha puesto el sol (1950) * La tempestad se avecina * El hombre de la casa

References

1882 births 1960 deaths People from Elqui Province Chilean male poets Diplomats for Chile Chilean people of Basque descent National Prize for Literature (Chile) winners 20th-century Chilean poets 20th-century Chilean male writers {{Chile-writer-stub