Augusto Monterroso
Encyclopedia
"The Dinosaur" redirects here. For the song by Was (Not Was)
, see Walk the Dinosaur
. For other uses, see Dinosaur (disambiguation)
Augusto Monterroso Bonilla (December 21, 1921 - February 7, 2003) was a Guatemala
n writer.
, Honduras
to a Honduran mother and Guatemalan father. In 1936 his family settled definitively in Guatemala City
, where he would remain until early adulthood. Here he published his first short stories and began his clandestine work against the dictatorship of Jorge Ubico
. To this end he founded the newspaper El Espectador with a group of other writers.
He was detained and exiled to Mexico City
in 1944 for his opposition to the dictatorial regime. Shortly after his arrival in Mexico, the revolutionary government of Jacobo Arbenz triumphed in Guatemala, and Monterroso was assigned to a minor post in the Guatemalan embassy in Mexico. In 1953 he moved briefly to Bolivia
upon being named Guatemalan consul
in La Paz
. He relocated to Santiago de Chile in 1954, when Arbenz's government was toppled with help from a North American intervention.
In 1956 he returned definitively to Mexico City, where he would occupy various academic and editorial posts and execute his work as a writer for the rest of his life.
In 1988, Augusto Monterroso received the highest honour the Mexican government can bestow on foreign dignitaries, the Águila Azteca. He was also awarded the Spanish
Prince of Asturias Award
, in 2000. In 1997, Monterroso was awarded the Guatemala National Prize in Literature
for his body of work.
He died of heart
problems at the age of 81, in Mexico City
.
" generation, which was best known for its novelists. As such he is recognized alongside such canonical authors as Julio Cortázar
, Carlos Fuentes
, Juan Rulfo
and Gabriel García Márquez
.
Save for Lo demás es silencio ("The Rest is Silence"), his first and only foray into the form of the novel, Monterroso published only short pieces. He worked throughout his career to perfect the short story form, often delving into analogous genres (most famously the fable
) for stylistic and thematic inspiration. Even Lo demás es silencio, however, largely eschews the traditional novelistic form, opting instead for the loose aggregation of various apocryphal short texts (newspaper clippings, testimonials, diary entries, poems) to sketch the "biography" of its fictional main character.
Monterroso is often credited with writing one of the world's shortest stories, "El Dinosaurio" ("The Dinosaur"), published in Obras completas (Y otros cuentos). The story reads, in its entirety:
Carlos Fuentes
wrote of Monterroso (referring specifically to The Black Sheep and Other Fables): "Imagine Borges' fantastical bestiary having tea with Alice. Imagine Jonathan Swift
and James Thurber
exchanging notes. Imagine a frog from Calaveras County
who has seriously read Mark Twain
. Meet Monterroso."
Was (Not Was)
-Studio albums:-Compilation albums:-Singles:-Contributions:* A Christmas Record - "Christmas Time In The Motor City"* That's The Way I Feel Now: A Tribute to Thelonious Monk - "Ba-Lue-Bolivar-Ba-Lues-Are"...
, see Walk the Dinosaur
Walk the Dinosaur
"Walk the Dinosaur" is a hit single recorded and released by the band Was in 1987, later featured on their hit 1988 album, What Up, Dog?-Song info:...
. For other uses, see Dinosaur (disambiguation)
Dinosaur (disambiguation)
A dinosaur is a member of a largely extinct group of vertebrates which is ancestral to birds.Dinosaur may also mean:*A metaphor that describes something as out of date, or rendered obsolete by later developments-Places:...
Augusto Monterroso Bonilla (December 21, 1921 - February 7, 2003) was a Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
n writer.
Life
Monterroso was born in TegucigalpaTegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa , and commonly referred as Tegus , is the capital of Honduras and seat of government of the Republic, along with its twin sister Comayagüela. Founded on September 29, 1578 by the Spanish, it became the country's capital on October 30, 1880 under President Marco Aurelio Soto...
, Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
to a Honduran mother and Guatemalan father. In 1936 his family settled definitively in Guatemala City
Guatemala City
Guatemala City , is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Guatemala and Central America...
, where he would remain until early adulthood. Here he published his first short stories and began his clandestine work against the dictatorship of Jorge Ubico
Jorge Ubico
Jorge Ubico y Castañeda was a Guatemalan dictator who held the title of President of Guatemala from 14 February 1931 to 4 July 1944.-Early years:...
. To this end he founded the newspaper El Espectador with a group of other writers.
He was detained and exiled to Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
in 1944 for his opposition to the dictatorial regime. Shortly after his arrival in Mexico, the revolutionary government of Jacobo Arbenz triumphed in Guatemala, and Monterroso was assigned to a minor post in the Guatemalan embassy in Mexico. In 1953 he moved briefly to Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
upon being named Guatemalan consul
Consul (representative)
The political title Consul is used for the official representatives of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, and to facilitate trade and friendship between the peoples of the two countries...
in La Paz
La Paz
Nuestra Señora de La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of the La Paz Department, and the second largest city in the country after Santa Cruz de la Sierra...
. He relocated to Santiago de Chile in 1954, when Arbenz's government was toppled with help from a North American intervention.
In 1956 he returned definitively to Mexico City, where he would occupy various academic and editorial posts and execute his work as a writer for the rest of his life.
In 1988, Augusto Monterroso received the highest honour the Mexican government can bestow on foreign dignitaries, the Águila Azteca. He was also awarded the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Prince of Asturias Award
Prince of Asturias Awards
The Prince of Asturias Awards are a series of annual prizes awarded in Spain by the Prince of Asturias Foundation to individuals, entities or organizations from around the world who make notable achievements in the sciences, humanities, and public affairs....
, in 2000. In 1997, Monterroso was awarded the Guatemala National Prize in Literature
Guatemala National Prize in Literature
The Miguel Ángel Asturias National Prize in Literature is the most important literary award in Guatemala...
for his body of work.
He died of heart
Heart
The heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system , that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions...
problems at the age of 81, in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
.
Work
Although Monterroso limited himself almost exclusively to the short story form, he is widely considered a central figure in the Latin American "BoomLatin American literature
Latin American literature consists of the oral and written literature of Latin America in several languages, particularly in Spanish, Portuguese, and indigenous languages of the Americas. It rose to particular prominence globally during the second half of the 20th century, largely due to the...
" generation, which was best known for its novelists. As such he is recognized alongside such canonical authors as Julio Cortázar
Julio Cortázar
Julio Cortázar, born Jules Florencio Cortázar, was an Argentine writer. Cortázar, known as one of the founders of the Latin American Boom, influenced an entire generation of Spanish speaking readers and writers in the Americas and Europe.-Early life:Cortázar's parents, Julio José Cortázar and...
, Carlos Fuentes
Carlos Fuentes
Carlos Fuentes Macías is a Mexican writer and one of the best-known living novelists and essayists in the Spanish-speaking world. He has influenced contemporary Latin American literature, and his works have been widely translated into English and other languages.-Biography:Fuentes was born in...
, Juan Rulfo
Juan Rulfo
Juan Rulfo was a Mexican author and photographer. One of Latin America's most esteemed authors, Rulfo's reputation rests on two slim books, the novel Pedro Páramo , and El Llano en llamas...
and Gabriel García Márquez
Gabriel García Márquez
Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez is a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo throughout Latin America. He is considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in...
.
Save for Lo demás es silencio ("The Rest is Silence"), his first and only foray into the form of the novel, Monterroso published only short pieces. He worked throughout his career to perfect the short story form, often delving into analogous genres (most famously the fable
Fable
A fable is a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, mythical creatures, plants, inanimate objects or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized , and that illustrates a moral lesson , which may at the end be expressed explicitly in a pithy maxim.A fable differs from...
) for stylistic and thematic inspiration. Even Lo demás es silencio, however, largely eschews the traditional novelistic form, opting instead for the loose aggregation of various apocryphal short texts (newspaper clippings, testimonials, diary entries, poems) to sketch the "biography" of its fictional main character.
Monterroso is often credited with writing one of the world's shortest stories, "El Dinosaurio" ("The Dinosaur"), published in Obras completas (Y otros cuentos). The story reads, in its entirety:
- Cuando despertó, el dinosaurio todavía estaba allí.
- ("When [s]he awoke, the dinosaur was still there.")
Carlos Fuentes
Carlos Fuentes
Carlos Fuentes Macías is a Mexican writer and one of the best-known living novelists and essayists in the Spanish-speaking world. He has influenced contemporary Latin American literature, and his works have been widely translated into English and other languages.-Biography:Fuentes was born in...
wrote of Monterroso (referring specifically to The Black Sheep and Other Fables): "Imagine Borges' fantastical bestiary having tea with Alice. Imagine Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift was an Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer , poet and cleric who became Dean of St...
and James Thurber
James Thurber
James Grover Thurber was an American author, cartoonist and celebrated wit. Thurber was best known for his cartoons and short stories published in The New Yorker magazine.-Life:...
exchanging notes. Imagine a frog from Calaveras County
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
"The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" is an 1865 short story by Mark Twain, his first great success as a writer, bringing him national attention. The story has also been published as "Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog" and "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"...
who has seriously read Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
. Meet Monterroso."
External links
- Augusto Monterroso on the Guatemalan Literature Webpage