Poets - Ecuadorian Literature

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.

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.

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.

Santiago Vizcaino

Santiago Vizcaíno Armijos (Quito, 1982) is an Ecuadorian poet, novelist and short story writer. He has a degree in Communications and Literature from the Catholic Pontifical University of Ecuador (PUCE). He has worked as an editor at the newspaper Hoy, the Office of Publications of the House of Ecuadorian Culture, and the magazine Nuestro Patrimonio (Our Patrimony). In 2008 he published his first book of poetry, Devastacíon en la tarde (translated into English by Alexis Levitin as Destruction in the Afternoon) and a book-length study of the Argentine poet Alejandra Pizarnik, both of which received awards. In 2015, La Caída Editorial published a bilingual version of his short story collection “Matar a mamá/Matricide” with the English translation by Kimrey Anna Batts. In 2017 Vizcaíno published his debut novel Complejo. His second novel Taco bajo was published in 2019. Vizcaíno is currently the Director of the PUCE Center for Publications.

Ana Minga

Ana Minga (Loja, 1984) is an Ecuadorian journalist, poet and short story writer. She has published five books of poetry. Her book entitled “Tobacco Dogs / Perros de Tabaco” (2013) is an English translation of her poems by Alexis Levitin, published in a bilingual edition by Bitter Oleander Press. Her latest and fifth poetry collection, “La Hora del Diablo,” was released in 2018. Her works have been published in Argentina, Mexico, United States, Spain and Italy. She has lived in Quito and currently lives in Cuenca.

Benigna Dávalos

Benigna Dávalos Villavicencio (Riobamba, ca. 1910 – Quito, ca. 1960) was an Ecuadorian composer, poet, and lyricist known for her significant contributions to the pasillo genre, a traditional Ecuadorian music style. She is best remembered for writing both the lyrics and music of the renowned pasillo “Ángel de Luz,” which became a classic in Ecuadorian music and was later popularized in Peru as “Rayo de Luz.” Dávalos was a central figure in Quito’s cultural scene, hosting gatherings with renowned musicians and intellectuals. Her legacy endures through her music and evocative lyrics, capturing the emotional depth and melancholic spirit of the pasillo.

Atanasio Viteri

Atanasio Viteri Karolys (Latacunga, October 29, 1908-1965) was an essayist, novelist, poet, journalist and university professor. He wrote for the newspapers El Día, La Tierra and El Telégrafo. He was four times the director of the School of Journalism of the Central University of Ecuador, vice president of the National Union of Journalists, president of the Press Freedom Commission of the IV Inter-American Press Congress (Bogotá, 1946) and press secretary of the National Assembly of 1945. He is one of the “poets of Elan,” a group of Ecuadorian poets born between 1905 and 1920 representing the neosymbolism or lyrical vanguard movement.

José Alfredo Llerena

José Alfredo Llerena (Guayaquil, 1912—Quito, 1977) was a distinguished Ecuadorian poet, journalist, fiction writer, art critic, and essayist. A member of the Elan literary group, he is recognized as a key figure in Ecuador’s modernist movement. His most notable work, the poetry collection “Agonía y paisaje del caballo” (1934), features 18 of his poems. In addition to poetry, he wrote the novel “Oleaje en la tierra” (1955) and the short story collection “Segunda vida de una santa” (1953). His contributions to nonfiction include “Aspectos de la fe artística” (1938) and “Ecuador, perfil de su progreso” (1960).

Enrique Segovia

Enrique Segovia Antepara (Guayaquil, 1901-Guayaquil, December 6, 1967) was an Ecuadorian poet. Known for his work, “América,” published in 1939, Segovia had a tumultuous life marked by addiction to morphine, cocaine, and alcohol. Rodolfo Pérez Pimentel, a prominent chronicler of Guayaquil, recalled seeing Segovia in their neighborhood during his childhood, describing him as a pale, thin, and poorly dressed figure resembling a zombie. According to writer José Ayala Cabanilla, Segovia was frequently spotted wandering the streets barefoot, clad in tattered clothing, under the influence of drugs or alcohol. To make a living, he would offer his services as a writer of love letters for a sucre each and Quinceañera speeches for 10 sucres each. A few months prior to his death, the Guayas branch of the House of Ecuadorian Culture published “Mis mejores poesías” (My Best Poems), a collection of Segovia’s poems written between 1920 and 1967.