Araceli Ardón
Encyclopedia
Araceli Ardon is a Mexican
writer from Santiago de Querétaro
, Querétaro
.
is celebrated. He was a hero of the Independence, in whose honor this colonial city in Central Mexico was renamed. Araceli has lived most of her life in Santiago de Querétaro.
She studied Communications at the Monterrey Institute of Technology, Querétaro Campus. There, she later taught Latin-American Literature, Spanish
and Spanish as a Second Language, to High School and College students, from 1980 to 1999.
She lived for two years (1984–1985) in Boston
, Massachusetts
, United States
, where she attended Latin-American Literature courses with some of the best writers in the Spanish language.
Araceli Ardon published the cultural magazine “Ventana de Querétaro” (1986–1989).
Since 1986 she has taught courses to many US college students in Mexico.
In 1988 she was invited to be a Spanish Instructor at the University of Oregon
.
Araceli was Director of the Queretaro Museum of Art, located in the Old Augustinian Convent in Querétaro, from 1999 to 2006. During those years, she was responsible for 200 temporary art shows and organized hundreds of events.
In 2007 she was invited to the Modern Languages Department at Westmont College
, in Santa Barbara, California
, United States, as a Visiting Scholar and Artist in Residence
. Since 2009, she is the director of the DRT Foundation in Querétaro.
In 2001 she wrote the biography Semblanza of Querétaro’s Philanthropist Roberto Ruiz Obregón. In 2002, the Electoral Institute of Querétaro published her children’s book La pandilla de Miguel, in which the democratic values are highlighted, and in 2006 appeared her short stories El arzobispo del gorro azul, a series of tales about life in the Mexican Bajío during the Twentieth Century. One of these short stories, No es nada mío, was translated to be included in the compilation "Mexico: a Traveler's Literary Companion", edited by Catherine Mayo and published by Whereabouts Press, in California. This volume includes short stories by some of the best Mexican contemporary writers. Her short story, called in English It is Nothing of Mine received very good reviews by the media. The National Public Radio included it, in both languages, in its web page.
Araceli Ardon has also edited some volumes about the history and art of her city. As an example, there is her work as compiler of the book Romance de Piedra y Canto (1998), about the history of Querétaro’s drinking water and its famed aqueduct. She has also written texts and introductions to art catalogues.
On March 8, 2008, within the VII Congreso Internacional de Literatura Hispánica in Cuzco, Perú a paper about Ardón's work was presented: Araceli Ardón: A New Voice from Mexico's Heartland by Mary Docter, from Westmont College , and Dinora Cardoso, from Pepperdine University.
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
writer from Santiago de Querétaro
Santiago de Querétaro
Santiago de Querétaro is the capital and largest city of the state of Querétaro, located in central Mexico. It is located 213 km northwest of Mexico City, 96 km southeast of San Miguel de Allende and 200 km south of San Luis Potosí...
, Querétaro
Querétaro
Querétaro officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro de Arteaga is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities and its capital city is Santiago de Querétaro....
.
Biography
Araceli Ardon was born in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, in 1958, during a local holiday: on January 21, when the birthday of don Ignacio AllendeIgnacio Allende
Ignacio José de Allende y Unzaga , born Ignacio Allende y Unzaga, was a captain of the Spanish Army in Mexico who came to sympathize with the Mexican independence movement. He attended the secret meetings organized by Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez, where the possibility of an independent New Spain was...
is celebrated. He was a hero of the Independence, in whose honor this colonial city in Central Mexico was renamed. Araceli has lived most of her life in Santiago de Querétaro.
She studied Communications at the Monterrey Institute of Technology, Querétaro Campus. There, she later taught Latin-American Literature, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and Spanish as a Second Language, to High School and College students, from 1980 to 1999.
She lived for two years (1984–1985) in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where she attended Latin-American Literature courses with some of the best writers in the Spanish language.
Araceli Ardon published the cultural magazine “Ventana de Querétaro” (1986–1989).
Since 1986 she has taught courses to many US college students in Mexico.
In 1988 she was invited to be a Spanish Instructor at the University of Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
.
Araceli was Director of the Queretaro Museum of Art, located in the Old Augustinian Convent in Querétaro, from 1999 to 2006. During those years, she was responsible for 200 temporary art shows and organized hundreds of events.
In 2007 she was invited to the Modern Languages Department at Westmont College
Westmont College
Westmont offers 26 majors, including: alternative major, art, biology, chemistry, communication studies, computer science, economics and business, education program, engineering physics, English, history, European studies, kinesiology, liberal studies, mathematics, modern languages , music,...
, in Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
, United States, as a Visiting Scholar and Artist in Residence
Artist in residence
Artist-in-residence programs and other residency opportunities allow visiting artists to stay and work so that they may apply singular focus to their art practice....
. Since 2009, she is the director of the DRT Foundation in Querétaro.
Memberships
- Member of the Board of Directors of Interamerican University Studies InstituteInteramerican University Studies InstituteThe Interamerican University Studies Institute fosters educational and cultural exchange between the U.S. and Latin America to address the need for better understanding among the peoples of the Americas. Over the past 21 years, IUSI has sponsored more than 2,000 US citizens in the city of...
, EugeneEugene, OregonEugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...
, OregonOregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. - Founding Member of the Human Rights Commission of the State of Quéretaro Council, where she served for two terms.
- Member of the Tec Alumni Women Association in Querétaro.
- Member of the Querétaro Philharmonic OrchestraOrquesta Filarmónica del Estado de QuerétaroThe Orquesta Filarmónica del Estado de Querétaro is a philharmonic orchestra based in the Mexican state of Querétaro....
Governing Council. - Member of the World Association of Women Journalists and Writers (President of the Querétaro Chapter, 1990–1995).
- Member of Friends of the Querétaro Museum of Art (President 1995-1999).
- Member of the Querétaro Branch of the Mexican Culture Seminar (President 2000-2006, 2010-to date).
- Honorary member of Sigma Delta PiSigma Delta PiSigma Delta Pi, the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society , was established on November 14, 1919, at the University of California at Berkeley. Its insignia is the royal seal of Fernando and Isabel, representing Castille, León and Aragón...
, National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society - Member of ALTA, American Literary Translators Association
Awards
- In 1988 she obtained the Rosario CastellanosRosario CastellanosRosario Castellanos was a Mexican poet and author. Along with the other members of the Generation of 1950 , she was one of Mexico's most important literary voices in the last century...
National Prize - In 2006, the Congress of the State of Querétaro bestowed her the “Junipero SerraJunípero SerraBlessed Junípero Serra, O.F.M., , known as Fra Juníper Serra in Catalan, his mother tongue was a Majorcan Franciscan friar who founded the mission chain in Alta California of the Las Californias Province in New Spain—present day California, United States. Fr...
” medal, because of her contribution to the cultural and artistic development of the State of Querétaro.
Published works
Araceli Ardón has published countless journalistic articles and interviews in newspapers and magazines. In 1998, her first novel, Historias íntimas de la casa de Don Eulogio, was published. It tells of the life and afterlife of Don Eulogio, poet and professor, who returns home several years after his death. The book chronicles the effect this event has on his descendants, in the midst of the twentieth century's changes in traditions and values in this provincial city of splendid mansions and convents that still guard unexpected secrets. Don Eulogio was presented at the International Book Fair (FIL) in Guadalajara in 1999. The Virtual University of the Monterrey Institute of Technology produced a special program about this book, that was transmitted by satellite television to all Latin-America.In 2001 she wrote the biography Semblanza of Querétaro’s Philanthropist Roberto Ruiz Obregón. In 2002, the Electoral Institute of Querétaro published her children’s book La pandilla de Miguel, in which the democratic values are highlighted, and in 2006 appeared her short stories El arzobispo del gorro azul, a series of tales about life in the Mexican Bajío during the Twentieth Century. One of these short stories, No es nada mío, was translated to be included in the compilation "Mexico: a Traveler's Literary Companion", edited by Catherine Mayo and published by Whereabouts Press, in California. This volume includes short stories by some of the best Mexican contemporary writers. Her short story, called in English It is Nothing of Mine received very good reviews by the media. The National Public Radio included it, in both languages, in its web page.
Araceli Ardon has also edited some volumes about the history and art of her city. As an example, there is her work as compiler of the book Romance de Piedra y Canto (1998), about the history of Querétaro’s drinking water and its famed aqueduct. She has also written texts and introductions to art catalogues.
On March 8, 2008, within the VII Congreso Internacional de Literatura Hispánica in Cuzco, Perú a paper about Ardón's work was presented: Araceli Ardón: A New Voice from Mexico's Heartland by Mary Docter, from Westmont College , and Dinora Cardoso, from Pepperdine University.
Narrative
- Historias íntimas de la casa de Don Eulogio (1998) ISBN 9686771026
- A Shelter for Fantasy, a House of Goblins, in "Platícame del Parque / Tell me about the Park" (2004)
- El arzobispo del gorro azul (2006) ISBN 968513104X
- It is Nothing of Mine, in "Mexico: a Traveler's Literary Companion" (2006) ISBN 1883513154
External links
- On Ediciones Vieira
- C.M. Mayo, Editing a Literary Tour of Mexico : NPR at www.npr.org Text in National Public Radio
- Interamerican University Studies Institute at iusi.org IUSI