richard - Ecuadorian Literature

Quintiliano Sánchez

Quintiliano Sánchez Rendón (Quito, April 13, 1848 – Ibidem, July 24, 1925) was a prominent literary figure in Ecuador, known for his contributions as a poet, novelist, journalist, translator, grammarian, and educator. His critical stance against the government of General Ignacio de Veintemilla, his directorship of the Ecuadorian Academy of Language, and his dedication to literature and education left a lasting impact. Through his captivating works, such as the novel “Amar con desobediencia,” his notable poetry like “Oda al Chimborazo,” and his translations of Latin classics, Sánchez Rendón demonstrated his artistic talent and linguistic prowess. His involvement in journalism and the founding of newspapers, along with his role as an influential teacher, further exemplified his multifaceted influence in shaping Ecuadorian literature and intellectual discourse.

Celiano Monge

Celiano Monge Navarrete (Ambato, December 15, 1856 – Quito, November 21, 1940) was an Ecuadorian poet, historiographer, journalist, politician, educator, and founder of various newspapers. He taught philosophy, rhetoric, mathematics and experimental physics in schools in Quito, Latacunga and Ambato. He occupied important positions within the teaching profession: he was the Director of Education of the Tungurahua and Pichincha Provinces; and later he was appointed Member of the Superior Council of Public Education. He was the secretary of the Ecuadorian Academy of Language and the director of the National Academy of History. In 1939 Monge was named “Ambato’s favorite son and official chronicler.”

León Vieira

León Vieira Villafuerte (Baños, October 24, 1940) is an Ecuadorian poet, novelist, biographer, journalist, painter, and teaching professor. He’s lived in Guayaquil for many years where he’s taught at various teaching schools and universities and has directed various magazines. He’s also been the vice rector of the School of Fine Arts in Guayaquil and served as Regional Undersecretary of Education. In 2016, Vieira was decorated with the Juan Montalvo Medal by the city of Ambato for his academic and literary work. His novel El doctor Jehova (1976) was a finalist of the 1972 Seix Barral Award.

La victoria de Junín. Canto a Bolívar

Poema de José Joaquín de Olmedo, editado originalmente en la ciudad de Guayaquil, Ecuador, en 1825

Premio Eugenio Espejo (Eugenio Espejo Award)

The Premio Eugenio Espejo [Eugenio Espejo Award] is Ecuador’s national prize and the highest honor bestowed on its citizens. The prize was established by Decrees 667 and 699 (in August of 1975 and September of 1997, respectfully) and is awarded by Ecuador’s president every other year. The National Council of Culture selects finalists for the award, which are divided into five categories.

Ramón Burbano Cuesta

Ramón Burbano Cuesta was an Ecuadorian poet. In 1982 he published, “Arena removida : relatos y prosa poetica.”

Alfonso Cuesta y Cuesta

Alfonso Cuesta y Cuesta (Cuenca, Ecuador, 1912 – Mérida, Venezuela, 1991) was an Ecuadorian novelist, short story writer, poet and university professor. At the Central University of Venezuela he studied law, philosophy and literature, later earning postgraduate degrees in Santiago, Chile and Madrid, Spain. He taught high school level when he returned to Cuenca, and later became rector of the prestigious Benigno Malo School. Around this time, he became known as a writer and formed the Elán group. His first poetry book was Motivos nuestro (1930) and his first book of short stories was Llegada de todos los trenes del mundo (1932), for which he is recognized as one of the best representatives of the indigenist movement in early 20th century Ecuadorian literature. In 1940 Cuesta again left Ecuador and moved to Caracas, Venezuela to teach at the high school named Liceo Fermín Toro, from there he went on to teach at the Central University of Venezuela, he also chaired the literature department at the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the University of the Andes.

Arturo Cuesta Heredia

Arturo Cuesta Heredia (Azogues, August 18, 1922 – Cuenca, November 12, 2006) was an Ecuadorian lawyer, judge, writer and avant-garde poet. He obtained a law degree from the University of Cuenca in 1947. Cuesta is a member of the “ELAN group.” As a young writer he was often called, “the metaphor magician,” for his brilliant use of metaphors. His poetry book “Hermano Miguel” (1963) has been translated into various languages including Polish. Cuesta also wrote fiction, such as his short story book El callejón de los eucaliptos (1962). In 2002, the Ministry of Education and Culture awarded him the Cultural Merit Award.

Wenceslao Pareja

Dr. Wenceslao Pareja y Pareja (Guayaquil, September 1, 1880 – Quito, February 26, 1947) was an Ecuadorian doctor, medical researcher, writer and poet. As a doctor, he was one of the world’s leading experts on yellow fever, and was nominated for a joint Nobel Prize in Science for his research work with Hideyo Noguchi. Pareja published 4 books of poems. His 1912 polemic poem “Exodo,” which was published in El Guante magazine, is among the first poems to introduce modernismo in Ecuador. Pareja’s poem “La voz del río” from his first book, Voces Lejanas y otros poemas (1915), best exemplifies modernismo in his poems.

Aurelio Falconí

Aurelio Falconí Zamora (Cojitambo, Cañar Province, March 18, 1885 – Guayaquil, August 6, 1970) was an Ecuadorian writer, poet, diplomat and teacher. Falconí was one of the initiators of modernismo in Ecuador, and along with his friends Julio E. Rueda and Luis F. Veloz, founded Altos Relieves, one of the first magazines to publish young poets influenced by modernismo. His poetry book, “Policromía” (1907), exemplifies modernismo in early 20th century Ecuadorian literature. For some years Falconí taught Spanish, literature and history at the Vicente Rocafuerte National School. He later taught Greek mythology and wrote a school text book on the subject entitled “Tratado de mitología griega y romana” (1933). He later stopped writing poetry to focus on painting.

Abel Romeo Castillo

Abel Romeo Castillo y Castillo (Guayaquil, January, 22 1904 – Guayaquil, November 11, 1996) was an Ecuadorian writer, historian, biographer, journalist and poet. He was the son of José Abel Castillo Albornoz, the former owner of the newspaper El Telégrafo. Castillo earned a doctoral degree in history in 1931 from the Central University of Madrid, Spain. Among his more notable books are his biographical works on Medardo Ángel Silva, Aurora Estrada i Ayala and José Joaquín de Olmedo, to name a few. His poems “Romance de mi destino” and “Romance criollo de la niña guayaquileña,” were turned into popular pasillo songs. Castillo was one of the founders of the Society of Independent Artists and Writers, and of the Guayas branch of the House of Ecuadorian Culture. Castillo was a member of the Ecuadorian Academies of Language and History.

Characters in Jorge Icaza’s Huasipungo (The Villagers)

A list of characters in Huasipungo (1934, English translation by Bernard M. Dulsey: The Villagers, 1964) a novel by Jorge Icaza.

Name	Description
Don Alfonso Pereira	considered a gentleman of high society in Quito
Doña Blanca Chanique	Pereira’s wife and a matron of the church.
Doña Lolita	Pereira’s adolescent daughter.
Uncle Julio	Pereira’s powerful uncle, who has the habit of talking in plural.
Mr. Chapy	the manager of the exploitation of wood in Ecuador; an American with great financial resources and millionaire connections abroad.
Policarpio	the mayordomo of the Cuchitambo hacienda owned by Don Alfonso Pereira.
Andrés Chiliquinga	the novel’s main protagonist of the novel, an Indian in the hacienda of Don Alfonso Pereira. He heads the resistance during the eviction of the Indians from their huasipungos.
Jacinto Quintana	a mestizo who is the teniente politico, he is a bartender and foreman. He is corrupt and authoritarian. He despises and abuses the Indians.
Juana	Jacinto Quintana’s mestiza wife, who has occasional sexual relations with Pereira and the priest.
Gabriel Rodríguez	a one-eyed mestizo who is mean to the Indian people.
The priest	An adulterer who gives sermons and puts fear in the hearts of the Indians in order to take advantage of them and achieve financial gain.
Cunshi	drés Chiliquinga’s wife, who is physically and sexually abused both by Pereira and by her own husband.

List of characters in Huasipungo (The Villagers)

Tatiana Hidrovo Quiñónez

Tatiana María del Carmen Hidrovo Quiñónez (Portoviejo, 1961) is an Ecuadorian writer, university professor, researcher, historian and politician. She served on Ecuador’s Constituent Assembly from 2007 to 2008, which was tasked with drafting a new constitution.She has published several historical books about Ecuador’s Manabí region, including works on politics, the Catholic church, colonial-era proselytization of indigenous peoples, and more. In Montecristi, Ecuador, she was the president and director of the Ciudad Alfaro Civic Center.

Edwin Ulloa Arellano

Edwin Ulloa Arellano (Riobamba, 1947) is an Ecuadorian poet, novelist, short story writer, journalist, psychologist and retired university professor. Ulloa has lived in Guayaquil since adolescence. He was an official of the House of Ecuadorian Culture in Guayaquil. His books include Sobre una tumba una rumba (1992, short stories), La sombra de tu sonrisa (2014, poetry), Polvo de Ángel (2010, novel). He has worked as the general editor of the ANDES State News Agency, Diario Expreso, and La Otra Magazine, and as the director of the newspaper El Telégrafo.

Pedro Gil Flores

Pedro Gil Flores (Manta, May, 18, 1971 – January 22, 2022) was an Ecuadorian poet and short story writer. He published his first book of poems at the age of 17, Paren la Guerra que yo no juego (1988), followed by Delirium Tremens (1993), Con unas arrugas en la sangre (1997), He llevado una vida feliz (2001) Sano Juicio (2003), 17 Puñaladas no son nada (2010) and Crónico, Poemas del Siquiátrico Sagrado Corazón (2012). In 2014 Gil published a book of short stories titled El príncipe de los canallas (2o14). He has directed a writing workshop at the Eloy Alfaro Lay University of Manabí (ULEAM). He was called the “Ecuadorian Rimbaud” by the literary historian Hernán Rodríguez Castelo. He coordinated the poetry workshop of the Portoviejo branch of the House of Ecuadorian Culture.