Andrés Eloy Blanco

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Andrés Eloy Blanco

Born	August 6, 1897 Cumaná, Sucre state
Died	May 21, 1955 Mexico City, Mexico

For Major League Baseball shortstop and switch-hitter batter who plays with the Kansas City Royals of the same name, see Andrés Blanco.

Andrés Eloy Blanco Meaño (Cumaná, Sucre state, August 6, 1897 - Mexico City, Mexico, May 21, 1955) was a Venezuelan poet and politician. In 1943, he married Liliana Iturbe, with whom he had two sons, Luis Felipe and Andrés Eloy Blanco Iturbe

Important Venezuelan poet, member of the Generación del 28 and founder of Acción Democrática (AD). His parents were Luis Felipe Blanco and Dolores Meaño. Andrés Eloy Blanco spent his childhood in the state of Nueva Esparta (Margarita island), until he moved to Caracas in 1908, to attend the National School, soon enters in the Central University of Venezuela, where he graduates as lawyer in 1918. From very young showed a great literary talent, which was recognized in diverse competitions, one of his first poems "La espiga y el arado", was awarded in the Floral Games of Ciudad Bolívar in 1916, in 1921, publishes his first book Tierras que me oyeron, and in 1923, receives the first prize in a competition promoted by the Real Academia Española, in the city of Santander (Spain), to which he concurred with the poem Canto a España, which gives to him a international notoriety.

In 1928, is member of the group of university students who raised against the dictatorship of Juan Vicente Gómez (Generación del 28). By such reason, between 1928 and 1933, was jailed in La Rotunda, then he pass to the Castillo Libertador of Puerto Cabello (1933-1934). During the time that was jailed, he gave samples of a great physical strength and moral, he continued producing original writings, that soon were fixed by his sisters, when he gets sick, is confined to Valera (1935). In the lapse that was prisoner, made contact with the farmers and illiterate workers, which inspired some of his works: Barco de Piedra, Malvina Recobrada (1937), Abigail (1937) and Baedecker 2000.

In these books, he used a treatment of the reality that he denominated like colombismo, and that derived from a discoverer attitude of the poet, in contact with the Latin American reality. After the death of Juan Vicente Gómez, initiates his political career in the Partido Democrático Nacional (PDN), is elected president of the Municipal Council of the Federal District, was charter member of Acción Democrática (AD), also participates in the foundation of the humoristic weekly magazine El Morrocoy Azul (1941), deputy by the Federal District (1945) and president of the Constituent National Assembly (1946-1947), evolves as minister of Outer Relations in the Government of Rómulo Gallegos and represents Venezuela in the Assembly of the United Nations (Paris, 1948). After the overthrow of Gallegos, he went into exile, in Cuba and Mexico, where he died in an automobile accident.

[edit] Legacy

In 1973, the Venezuelan Congress made an edition of his complete works, in 10 volumes, 5 of which gather his journalistic work, that contains short chronicles and tests. In this edition, also were contained his speeches, Andrés Eloy Blanco was a great orator, perhaps one of the best of the Venezuelan XX century. His rest, are in the National Pantheon, since July 2, 1981.