Natalicio Talavera (1839–1867) was a Paraguayan poet and journalist. Talavera became known as one of the first post-independence Paraguayan poets. He died of disease while serving in the Paraguayan War, which he covered extensively.
Biography edit
Talavera was born in Villarrica, Paraguay on 8 September 1839. Born into a wealth family, he was educated in Villarrica and later in Asunción.[1] During the 1850s, he became a member of the "Aurora" movement (often described as a group or school), a collection of young Paraguayan philosophers and authors.[2][3]
Following the outbreak of the Paraguayan War in 1865, Talavera enlisted in the Paraguayan army. While serving in the army, he wrote reports of the war that came to be read by both sides of the conflict.[4] In 1867, he started publishing an army newspaper catering to the Paraguayan army, hoping to raise morale.[2] However, while encamped with the army near Humaitá, Talavera contracted cholera and his health went into decline.[5] He finished his last missive on 28 September before dying on 11 October 1867.[2]
Legacy edit
Talavera's work is considered part of the Latin American romanticist movement, and he is noted in some sources as the main poet of Paraguayan Romanticism.[6] He was posthumously awarded the National Order of Merit, and 11 October was declared Day of the Paraguayan Poet by the Paraguayan government in 1972.[2]
The town of Natalicio Talavera, founded in 1918, is named after him.[7]
References edit
- ^ Tissera, Ana. "History, poetics and doctrine: the national anthems of Paraguay." La Colmena: Journal of the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico 97 (2018): 71-90.
- ^ a b c d "Natalicio Talavera, escribiendo sobre las páginas de la Guerra Grande - Articulos - ABC Color". www.abc.com.py (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-07-20.
- ^ Williams, John Hoyt. "Foreign Tecnicos and the Modernization of Paraguay, 1840-1870." Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs 19, no. 2 (1977): 233-57. Accessed July 20, 2021. doi:10.2307/174705.
- ^ Warren, Harris Gaylord. "Journalism in Asunción under the Allies and the Colorados, 1869-1904." The Americas 39, no. 4 (1983): 483-98. Accessed July 20, 2021. doi:10.2307/981249.
- ^ https://prism.ucalgary.ca/bitstream/handle/1880/106211/9781552388105_chapter07.pdf?sequence=11&isAllowed=y [bare URL PDF]
- ^ Boat, José Vicente Peiró. "Literary manifestations of the XIX in Paraguay: La Aurora magazine." Arrabal (2000): p. 33-40.
- ^ "Natalicio Talavera – Municipalidad de Natalicio Talavera – Gobernaciones y Municipios" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-07-21.