Juan José Arreola
Encyclopedia
Juan José Arreola Zúñiga (September 21, 1918 – December 3, 2001) was a Mexican
writer and academic. He is considered Mexico's premier experimental short story writer of the twentieth century. Arreola is recognized as one of the first Latin American writers to abandon realism; he uses elements of fantasy to underscore existentialist and absurdist ideas in his work. Although he is little known outside his native country, Arreola has served as the literary inspiration for a legion of Mexican writers who have sought to transform their country's realistic literary tradition by introducing elements of magical realism, satire, and allegory. Alongside Jorge Luis Borges
, he is considered one of the masters of the hybrid subgenre of the essay-story. He published only one novel, La feria (The Fair; 1963).
(then Zapotlán el Grande), in the state of Jalisco
. He was the fourth son out of fourteen of Felipe Arreola and Victoria Zúñiga. In 1930, he began working as a bookbinder, which led to a series of other jobs. In 1937, he relocated to Mexico City
, where he entered the Theatrical School of Fine Arts (Escuela Teatral de Bellas Artes).He later was found to be related to JOSE ALFREDO ZUNIGA.
In 1941, while working as a professor, he published his first work, Sueño de Navidad ("Christmas Dream"). In 1942 he also wrote a short story called "Un Pacto con el Diablo" ("A Pact with the Devil"). In 1943, while working as a journalist, he published his second work, Hizo el bien mientras vivió ("He did well as long as he lived"). In 1945, he collaborated with Juan Rulfo
and Antonio Alatorre
to publish the literary journal Pan.
Shortly afterward, he traveled to Paris
at the invitation of Louis Jouvet
. During this time, he became acquainted with Jean-Louis Barrault
and Pierre Renoir
. A year later he returned to Mexico.
In 1948, he worked as an editor for the journal Fondo de Cultura Económica
, and obtained a grant from El Colegio de México
. His first collection of short stories
, Varia invención, was published in 1949. Around 1950, he began collaborating on the anthology Los Presentes, and received a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation
.
(El Guardagujas).
In 1963, he received the Xavier Villaurrutia Prize. The same year, he published La feria, a work dense with references to his native Zapotlán
, which would be remembered as one of his finest literary accomplishments. The following year, he edited the anthologies Los Presentes and El Unicornio, and became a professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico
.
In 1967, he appeared in the controversial Alejandro Jodorowsky
film Fando y Lis
, which was eventually banned in Mexico.
In 1969, Arreola was recognized by the José Clemente Orozco
Cultural Group of Ciudad Guzmán. In 1971, Confabulario, Palindroma, La feria, and Varia invención were republished as part of a series of his greatest works, Obras de Juan José Arreola. Around 1972, he published Bestiario, a follow-up to 1958's Punta de plata. The following year, he published La palabra educación, and in 1976, Inventario.
In 1979, he received the National Prize in Letters (Premio Nacional en Letras) in Mexico City. In 1989, he was awarded the Jalisco Prize in Letters and in 1992 the Literatura Latinoamericana y del Caribe Juan Rulfo
Prize. In 1997, he received the Alfonso Reyes Prize; and in 1998, the Ramón López Velarde
Prize. In 1999, on his eightieth birthday, he was named favorite son of Guadalajara
, where he died two years later.
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 and academic. He is considered Mexico's premier experimental short story writer of the twentieth century. Arreola is recognized as one of the first Latin American writers to abandon realism; he uses elements of fantasy to underscore existentialist and absurdist ideas in his work. Although he is little known outside his native country, Arreola has served as the literary inspiration for a legion of Mexican writers who have sought to transform their country's realistic literary tradition by introducing elements of magical realism, satire, and allegory. Alongside Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo , known as Jorge Luis Borges , was an Argentine writer, essayist, poet and translator born in Buenos Aires. In 1914 his family moved to Switzerland where he attended school, receiving his baccalauréat from the Collège de Genève in 1918. The family...
, he is considered one of the masters of the hybrid subgenre of the essay-story. He published only one novel, La feria (The Fair; 1963).
Youth and early career
Arreola was born in Ciudad GuzmánCiudad Guzmán
Ciudad Guzmán is a city in the Mexican state of Jalisco.It is located at , 124 km south of Guadalajara, at a height of 1,507 metres above sea level...
(then Zapotlán el Grande), in the state of Jalisco
Jalisco
Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...
. He was the fourth son out of fourteen of Felipe Arreola and Victoria Zúñiga. In 1930, he began working as a bookbinder, which led to a series of other jobs. In 1937, he relocated 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...
, where he entered the Theatrical School of Fine Arts (Escuela Teatral de Bellas Artes).He later was found to be related to JOSE ALFREDO ZUNIGA.
In 1941, while working as a professor, he published his first work, Sueño de Navidad ("Christmas Dream"). In 1942 he also wrote a short story called "Un Pacto con el Diablo" ("A Pact with the Devil"). In 1943, while working as a journalist, he published his second work, Hizo el bien mientras vivió ("He did well as long as he lived"). In 1945, he collaborated with 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 Antonio Alatorre
Antonio Alatorre
Antonio Alatorre Chávez was a Mexican writer, philologist and translator, famous due to his influential academic essays about Spanish literature, and because of his book Los 1001 años de la lengua española -Early years:Antonio Alatorre was born in Autlán de la Grana, Jalisco...
to publish the literary journal Pan.
Shortly afterward, he traveled to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
at the invitation of Louis Jouvet
Louis Jouvet
Louis Jouvet was a renowned French actor, director, and theatre director.- Life :Overcoming speech impediments and sometimes paralyzing stage fright as a young man, Jouvet's first important association was with Jacques Copeau's Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier, beginning in 1913...
. During this time, he became acquainted with Jean-Louis Barrault
Jean-Louis Barrault
Jean-Louis Barrault was a French actor, director and mime artist, training that served him well when he portrayed the 19th-century mime Jean-Gaspard Deburau in Marcel Carné's 1945 film Les Enfants du Paradis .Jean-Louis Barrault studied with Charles Dullin in whose troupe he acted...
and Pierre Renoir
Pierre Renoir
Pierre Renoir was a French stage and film actor and served briefly as the director of the Théâtre de l'Athénée in Paris, taking over after the death of Louis Jouvet in 1951....
. A year later he returned to Mexico.
In 1948, he worked as an editor for the journal Fondo de Cultura Económica
Fondo de Cultura Económica
Fondo de Cultura Económica is the most important publishing house in Mexico and one of the most important ones in Latin America. It was originally established in 1934 by Daniel Cosío Villegas as a way to provide students of economics with books in Spanish on the subject...
, and obtained a grant from El Colegio de México
El Colegio de México
El Colegio de México, A.C. is a prestigious Mexican institute of higher education, specializing in teaching and research in the social sciences and the humanities...
. His first collection of short stories
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
, Varia invención, was published in 1949. Around 1950, he began collaborating on the anthology Los Presentes, and received a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
.
Later career
In 1952, Arreola published Confabulario, widely considered to be his first great work. It was awarded the Jalisco Literary Prize in 1953. The following year, Arreola published La hora de todos. The year after that, he published a revised Confabulario and won the Premio del Festival Dramático from the National Institute of Fine Arts. In 1958, he published Punta de plata, and in 1962, Confabulario total. In 1962, he published The SwitchmanThe Switchman
The Switchman is an existentialist short story by Mexican writer Juan José Arreola. The short story was originally published as a...
(El Guardagujas).
In 1963, he received the Xavier Villaurrutia Prize. The same year, he published La feria, a work dense with references to his native Zapotlán
Zapotlán
Zapotlán refers to one of several locations in Mexico:*Zapotlán el Grande: city and municipality in the state of Jalisco Mexico.*Zapotlán de Juárez: city and municipality in the state of Hidalgo Mexico....
, which would be remembered as one of his finest literary accomplishments. The following year, he edited the anthologies Los Presentes and El Unicornio, and became a professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico
National Autonomous University of Mexico
The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México is a university in Mexico. UNAM was founded on 22 September 1910 by Justo Sierra as a liberal alternative to the Roman Catholic-sponsored Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) (National Autonomous...
.
In 1967, he appeared in the controversial Alejandro Jodorowsky
Alejandro Jodorowsky
Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky, known as Alejandro Jodorowsky, is a Chilean filmmaker, playwright, actor, author, comic book writer and spiritual guru...
film Fando y Lis
Fando y Lis
Fando y Lis is a film adaptation of a Fernando Arrabal play by the same name, and it is Alejandro Jodorowsky's first feature length film. Arrabal was working with Jodorowsky on performance art at the time...
, which was eventually banned in Mexico.
In 1969, Arreola was recognized by the José Clemente Orozco
José Clemente Orozco
José Clemente Orozco was a Mexican social realist painter, who specialized in bold murals that established the Mexican Mural Renaissance together with murals by Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and others...
Cultural Group of Ciudad Guzmán. In 1971, Confabulario, Palindroma, La feria, and Varia invención were republished as part of a series of his greatest works, Obras de Juan José Arreola. Around 1972, he published Bestiario, a follow-up to 1958's Punta de plata. The following year, he published La palabra educación, and in 1976, Inventario.
In 1979, he received the National Prize in Letters (Premio Nacional en Letras) in Mexico City. In 1989, he was awarded the Jalisco Prize in Letters and in 1992 the Literatura Latinoamericana y del Caribe Juan Rulfo
Juan Rulfo Prize
The Juan Rulfo Prize for Latin American and Caribbean Literature, created in 1991, is awarded to writers of literature from Latin America or the Caribbean who write in Spanish, Portuguese, French, or English, or to writers from any part of America who write in Spanish...
Prize. In 1997, he received the Alfonso Reyes Prize; and in 1998, the Ramón López Velarde
Ramón López Velarde
Ramón López Velarde was aMexican poet. His work is generally considered to be postmodern, but is unique for its subject matter. He achieved great fame in his native land, to the point of being considered Mexico's national poet....
Prize. In 1999, on his eightieth birthday, he was named favorite son of Guadalajara
Guadalajara, Jalisco
Guadalajara is the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco, and the seat of the municipality of Guadalajara. The city is located in the central region of Jalisco in the western-pacific area of Mexico. With a population of 1,564,514 it is Mexico's second most populous municipality...
, where he died two years later.
External links
- Page at Centro Virtual Cervantes
- Short biography in Spanish
- Enotes entry
- List of short stories
- Article from Encyclopædia Britannica online