| Andrés Eloy Blanco | |
|---|---|
| 154th Minister of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela | |
| In office 15 February 1948 – 24 November 1948 |
|
| President | Rómulo Gallegos |
| Preceded by | Gonzalo Barrios |
| Succeeded by | Luis Emilio Gómez Ruiz |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 August 1896 Cumaná, Sucre state |
| Died | 21 May 1955 (aged 58) Mexico City, Mexico |
| Spouse(s) | Lilina Iturbe |
| Profession | writer, poet, politician |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Signature | |
Andrés Eloy Blanco Meaño (Cumaná, Sucre state, Venezuela, 6 August 1897 - Mexico City, Mexico, 21 May 1955) was an important Venezuelan poet, politician, member of the Generación del 28, and one of the founders of Acción Democrática (AD).
Blanco spent his childhood in the state of Nueva Esparta (Margarita Island), until he moved to Caracas in 1908 to attend the National School. He graduated from the Central University of Venezuela with a law degree in 1918. In 1943, he married Lilina Iturbe, with whom had two sons, Luis Felipe and Andrés Eloy Blanco Iturbe.
His great literary talent was recognized from an early age. One of his first poems, "La espiga y el arado", was honored in the Floral Games of Ciudad Bolívar in 1916. In 1921 he published his first book, Tierras que me oyeron. In 1923, was brought to international attention when one of his poems, Canto a España, won a competition promoted by the Real Academia Española, in the city of Santander (Spain).
In 1928, he participated as one of the students who raised against the dictatorship of Juan Vicente Gómez (the Generación del 28) and was subsequently sentenced to seven years imprisonment, first in from (1928–1933) in La Rotunda, and later in the Castillo Libertador of Puerto Cabello (1933–1934). While in prison, he continued to produce original works, that soon were fixed by his sisters. Sickness causes him to be confined to Valera (1935). During his imprisonment, he made contact with the farmers and illiterate workers, which inspired some of his works such as Barco de Piedra, Malvina Recobrada (1937), Abigail (1937) and Baedecker 2000.
In these books, he used a treatment of reality which he called colombismo, which derived from a discoverer attitude of the poet, in contact with the Latin American reality. After the death of Juan Vicente Gómez,he initiates his political career in the Partido Democrático Nacional (National Democratic Party) (PDN), and is elected president of the Municipal Council of the Federal District. He was also a member of Acción Democrática (AD), and participated 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), he evolves as Foreign Relations Minister in the Government of Rómulo Gallegos and represents Venezuela in the Assembly of the United Nations (Paris, 1948). After Gallegos was overthrown,he went into exile, to Cuba and Mexico, where he died in an automobile accident at the age of 57.
In 1973, the Venezuelan Congress issued a ten-volume edition of his complete works, five of which gathered his journalistic work, containing short chronicles and texts. His speeches were also contained in this edition. Andrés Eloy Blanco was a great orator, perhaps the best of the Venezuelan the 20th century. His remains lay at the National Pantheon, since 2 July 1981.
Several Venezuelan municipalities are named in his honor.