Alfonso Rumazo González - Ecuadorian Literature

Alfonso Rumazo González (Latacunga, Ecuador, 1903 — Caracas, Venezuela, 2002) was an Ecuadorian writer, historian, essayist and literary critic. He authored over 30 books in various fields (poetry, fiction, biography, literary criticism). Among his notable works is the biography Manuela saenz, la libertadora del libertador (Quito, 1984), about Doña Manuela Sáenz de Vergara y Aizpuru (1797-1856) who was an Ecuadorian revolutionary heroine of South America who had an intimate relationship with Simon Bolivar around 1822–1830. Rumazo González was nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1999.

Literary family

Alfonso Rumazo González’ brother is the writer José Rumazo González who wrote the poem Parusía. Alfonso Rumazo González is the father of the novelist Lupe Rumazo and the grandfather of the poet Alexander Ritter Alzamora Rumazo.

Alfonso Rumazo González with his daughter Lupe Rumazo (second to the left) and his granddaughters Solange Alzamora Rumazo (left) and Constanza Alzamora Rumazo (right). Caracas, March 18, 1993. Event held in his honor at the National Academy of History of Venezuela to celebrate his 90 years.

Lupe Rumazo is interviewed about her father Alfonso Rumazo González

Alfonso Rumazo González’s daughter Lupe Rumazo and grandson Alexander Ritter Alzamora Rumazo are interviewed. Circa 2015.

Pictures

Alfonso Rumazo González teaching at the Central University of Venezuela.

Alfonso Rumazo González with Pablo Neruda — Alfonso Rumazo González (bottom right) with Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda (center) and Neruda’s wife Matilde (far left), circa 1956.

Alfonso Rumazo González with Benjamín Carrión — Pianist Inés Cobo de Rumazo González, Alfredo Pérez Guerrero, Lupe Rumazo de Alzamora, Benjamín Carrión, Alfonso Rumazo González, violinist Gerardo Alzamora Vela and the poet Francisco Tobar García. Quito, 1959, at the residence of Gerardo and Lupe de Alzamora.

Alfonso Rumazo González with — Alfonso Rumazo González (fourth to the right) in the home of the poet Jorge Carrera Andrade (first on the left) who was then serving as Ecuador’s ambassador in Venezuela. In this picture, seated on the left of Alfonso Rumazo González is the Venezuelan poet Pascual Venegas Filardo (third to the right). Caracas, circa 1963.

Alfonso Rumazo González with former Venezuelan Presidents Edgar Sanabria (1958-1959) and Ramón J. Velásquez (1993-1994).

Works

Biographical works

Manuela Sáenz, la libertadora del Libertador
Bolívar
Gobernantes del Ecuador (1932), read it for free here.
O’Leary, edecán del Libertador
Miranda, protolíder de la independencia americana

Poetry

Vibración azul (1930), read it for free here.

Fiction

Los Ideales
Esmeraldas
Justicia, la mala palabra (Finalist of the Rómulo Gallegos International Novel Prize).

Literary criticism

Siluetas líricas de poetas ecuatorianos (1932), read it for free here.
Nuevas siluetas
Literatura Ecuatoriana en el siglo XX

Awards and recognition

Alfonso Rumazo González was an Honorary Professor of the Simon Rodriguez Experimental National University. He was a member of the National Academy of History of Ecuador, corresponding member of the National Academy of History of Venezuela, a member of Ecuadorian Academy of Language, a corresponding member of the Royal Spanish Academy, and corresponding member of the Venezuelan Academy of Language. He was a member of UNESCO – Division of Human Rights (Specialist).

His awards include:

Orden del Libertador, Gran Cordón, Venezuela
Orden Francisco de Miranda, Venezuela (primera clase)
Orden Andrés Bello, Venezuela (primera clase)
Orden Antonio José de Sucre, Venezuela (primera clase)
Orden José de San Martín, Argentina
Orden Nacional Al Mérito, Ecuador
Orden Vicente Emilio Sojo, Venezuela (primera clase)
Orden Cecilio Acosta, Venezuela (primera clase)
Orden 27 de noviembre de 1820, Venezuela (primera clase)