Abelardo Díaz Alfaro

Abelardo Milton Díaz Alfaro
Born July 24, 1916
Caguas, Puerto Rico
Died July 22, 1999(1999-07-22) (aged 82)
Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
Occupation Author
Nationality Puerto Rico
Period 1940s
Genre Comedy, Romance
Notable works Campo Alegre, "Terrazo"
Spouse Gladys Meaux
Relatives His father Don Abelardo Diaz Morales was a baptist minister. His mother, Asunción Alfaro Prats was a teacher.

Abelardo Díaz Alfaro (July 24, 1916 – July 22, 1999) was a Puerto Rican author who achieved great fame throughout Latin America during the 1940s. His book Campo Alegre is a text that has been studied at schools in Austria, Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand as well as all over the Americas.[1]

Life and career

Díaz Alfaro was born in Caguas, Puerto Rico, but soon after, his family moved to Ponce. He was the son of Abelardo Diaz Morales (a Baptist minister) and Dona Asunción Alfaro Pratts (Doña Sunchita). His siblings were Abigail, Dalila, Miriam, Priscilla, Raquel, Lydia and Samuel. He returned to Caguas to attend University and married Gladys Meaux, with whom he had two daughters and one son.[1][2]

Díaz Alfaro obtained a bachelor's degree in arts at the Instituto Politécnico de San Germán, which is now known as Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico. He also obtained a title as a social worker, as well as certificates in Spanish and Psychology.[2]

He also obtained many honorary doctorates from different universities.

Some of his short stories, like "Peyo Mercé ensena inglés" or "Santa Cló va a la Cuchilla" (in Terrazo) create a Manichaean dichotomy between unlearned Puerto Rican peasants and American invaders (portrayed through the mandatory teaching of the English language in Puerto Rico). Thus, a praise of layman culture is expressed throughout his short stories. The metaphor of weak or feminine Americans versus uneducated but brave Puerto Ricans is taken later by other writers like Ana Lydia Vega.[1]

He was able to do conferences in many points of Latin America after reaching fame, including Mexico (at the Ateneo Español), Venezuela and many other countries. His books have been translated to English, Polish, Russian, German, French, Italian and Czech, among other languages.[2]

Works

Among the books he wrote are:

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Salon Hogar Archived April 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
  2. 1 2 3 New York Times


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