| Alberto Arvelo Torrealba | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 3, 1905 Barinas, Venezuela |
| Died | March 28, 1971 (aged 65) Caracas, Venezuela |
| Occupation | Poet, Diplomat, Political figure |
| Notable award(s) | National Prize for Literature of Venezuela 1966 |
Alberto Arvelo Torrealba (September 3, 1905 - March 28, 1971), was a Venezuelan lawyer, educator and folklorical poet. Author of Florentino y El Diablo.
Torrealba was born in Barinas. But in his youth, he moved to Caracas where he studied high school, and attended the Central University of Venezuela. He graduated as lawyer and obtained a degree in political sciences in 1935.
After graduating, Torrealba published his first literary work: Música de Cuatro (Music for Cuatro) in 1928, establishing himself as a poet in the tradition of Venezuelan Floklore. He became a teacher of Spanish and literature in several schools in Caracas between 1935 to 1936. Torrealba was also a technical inspector of secondary education of the Federal District (Caracas), and inspector of primary school in both the states of Barinas and Apure in 1936. During this year, he married Rosa Dolores Ramos Calles.[1] and in 1937, was designated secretary of government of Portugesa state.
In 1940, he became president of the Technical Council of Education, and published Glosas al cancionero, which includes the first version of his most famous and critical acclaimed poem Florentino y El Diablo. Between 1941 to 1944, he became the president (governor) of Barinas. During his government, he cleaned the channels of the rivers Pagüey and Masparro and restored the commercial routes in the west plains. Torrealba was member of the Court of Appeals in 1948 and ambassador of Venezuela to Bolivia (1951–1952) and Italy (1952). He was also the minister of agriculture from 1952 to 1955.
After retiring from politics, he dedicated his life to his profession and literary vocation. In 1965 published a study of the poet Francisco Lazo Martí, and was awarded the National Prize for Literature for this work. In 1967 is compiled his poetic work at Obra poética. In 1968, was incorporated as Individual by the Venezuelan Academy of Language in 1966. In 1969, He worked as a translator of the Italian modernist poet Giuseppe Ungaretti. Alberto Arvelo Torrealba died in Caracas in 1971.[2]
A municipality in Barinas was named after him.