Manuel Curros Enríquez
Encyclopedia
Manuel Curros Enríquez (September 15, 1851 - February 7, 1908) was a Galician writer and journalist in the Galician language
, and is considered to be one of the leading figures of Galician culture and identity.
, Galicia, Spain
. He was the son of a scriban. Manuel went to school until he had to help his father as a scriban.
When he was sixteen years old, he ran away from home and went to live with some relatives. He ended up in Madrid
, living with his brother Ricardo. There, he had a chance to continue his studies and he even went to University. He started to study Law, but did not get a degree.
He was still a Law student in Madrid when he started to publish poems in Galician. His "Cantiga", written around this time, was later put to music and has now become a popular Galician song.
After the revolution in September, 1868, Curros adopted democratic ideals. He then began a literary career. He also shared a home with Modesta Luisa Polonia Vázquez Rodríguez beginning in 1871, having a son with her in 1873, and then marrying her in 1877.
In this same year, Curros wins a price in Ourense
with his poem A Virxe do Cristal, and is widely recognized as a prominent Galician poet. He then moved to Ourense where he continued his writings.
In 1877 he moved back to Galicia and he took part in a Literary Competition in Ourense, being awarded several prizes for his submissions of Galician poetry. In 1880 he published Aires da miña terra, a book of poems that became greatly successful despite the bishop of Orense, Cesáreo Rodríguez, pressing charges against the author, saying that the book included heresies and blasphemies. The judges ordered the destruction of the issues that had not been sold yet, plus the originals, and Curros was found guilty of attacking the free exercise of cults in Ourense, though he was absolved in A Coruña
. The trial became widely followed and increased the circulation and sales of his book, which sold out in fifteen days, a feat for a book written in a language at the time considered a mere unlearned dialect. This book appeared in the same year as Rosalia de Castro's Follas Novas, thus marking a momentum in the reawakening of Galician literature after centuries of silence. Having lost his job, he returned to Madrid in 1883 and began working in the Republican journal El Porvenir (The Future).
In the year 1888 he published O Divino Sainete, a combined satire on Dante's Divine Comedy and the religious establishment of the time in Spain. He also wrote journalism in Spanish extensively, in such remarkable cultural journals of the time as El Imparcial and in other Republican publications.
In 1894, he emigrated to Havana
, where he was warmly received. He had a chance to publish his own newspaper, La Tierra Gallega (The Galician Land). However, this paper was not long-lived, and it was eventually suspended. Curros then joined the staff of another paper, El Diario de las Familias (Journal of the Families). In this new role, he supported the autonomists. This did not earn him the sympathies of the local authorities, nor of other Galicians.
He returned to A Coruña
in 1904. He was cheered by regionalists
. However, he would go back to Havana to work on another journal, Diario de la Marina.
In 1908 he was admitted at the Asturian Medical Center at Havana, because he refused to go to the Galician Medican Center. He was very ill. He died on February 7 1908, and his remains were shipped back to Galicia.
Galician language
Galician is a language of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, spoken in Galicia, an autonomous community located in northwestern Spain, where it is co-official with Castilian Spanish, as well as in border zones of the neighbouring territories of Asturias and Castile and León.Modern Galician and...
, and is considered to be one of the leading figures of Galician culture and identity.
Early life
Manuel Curros Enríquez was born in CelanovaCelanova
Celanova is a village and municipality located in the province of Orense, Galicia, Northern Spain. Situated near the border with Portugal, the village is bordered by Ramirás, Cartelle, A Merca, A Bola, Verea and Quintela de Leirado....
, Galicia, Spain
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...
. He was the son of a scriban. Manuel went to school until he had to help his father as a scriban.
When he was sixteen years old, he ran away from home and went to live with some relatives. He ended up in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, living with his brother Ricardo. There, he had a chance to continue his studies and he even went to University. He started to study Law, but did not get a degree.
He was still a Law student in Madrid when he started to publish poems in Galician. His "Cantiga", written around this time, was later put to music and has now become a popular Galician song.
After the revolution in September, 1868, Curros adopted democratic ideals. He then began a literary career. He also shared a home with Modesta Luisa Polonia Vázquez Rodríguez beginning in 1871, having a son with her in 1873, and then marrying her in 1877.
In this same year, Curros wins a price in Ourense
Ourense
Ourense is a city in northwestern Spain, the capital of the province of the same name in Galicia. Its population of 108,674 accounts for 30% of the population of the province and makes it the third largest city of Galicia.-Population:...
with his poem A Virxe do Cristal, and is widely recognized as a prominent Galician poet. He then moved to Ourense where he continued his writings.
In 1877 he moved back to Galicia and he took part in a Literary Competition in Ourense, being awarded several prizes for his submissions of Galician poetry. In 1880 he published Aires da miña terra, a book of poems that became greatly successful despite the bishop of Orense, Cesáreo Rodríguez, pressing charges against the author, saying that the book included heresies and blasphemies. The judges ordered the destruction of the issues that had not been sold yet, plus the originals, and Curros was found guilty of attacking the free exercise of cults in Ourense, though he was absolved in A Coruña
A Coruña
A Coruña or La Coruña is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. It is the second-largest city in the autonomous community and seventeenth overall in the country...
. The trial became widely followed and increased the circulation and sales of his book, which sold out in fifteen days, a feat for a book written in a language at the time considered a mere unlearned dialect. This book appeared in the same year as Rosalia de Castro's Follas Novas, thus marking a momentum in the reawakening of Galician literature after centuries of silence. Having lost his job, he returned to Madrid in 1883 and began working in the Republican journal El Porvenir (The Future).
In the year 1888 he published O Divino Sainete, a combined satire on Dante's Divine Comedy and the religious establishment of the time in Spain. He also wrote journalism in Spanish extensively, in such remarkable cultural journals of the time as El Imparcial and in other Republican publications.
In 1894, he emigrated to Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, where he was warmly received. He had a chance to publish his own newspaper, La Tierra Gallega (The Galician Land). However, this paper was not long-lived, and it was eventually suspended. Curros then joined the staff of another paper, El Diario de las Familias (Journal of the Families). In this new role, he supported the autonomists. This did not earn him the sympathies of the local authorities, nor of other Galicians.
He returned to A Coruña
A Coruña
A Coruña or La Coruña is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. It is the second-largest city in the autonomous community and seventeenth overall in the country...
in 1904. He was cheered by regionalists
Regionalism (politics)
Regionalism is a term used in international relations. Regionalism also constitutes one of the three constituents of the international commercial system...
. However, he would go back to Havana to work on another journal, Diario de la Marina.
In 1908 he was admitted at the Asturian Medical Center at Havana, because he refused to go to the Galician Medican Center. He was very ill. He died on February 7 1908, and his remains were shipped back to Galicia.
Works
- A Virxe do Cristal (1877)
- Aires da miña terra (1880)
- O divino sainete (1888)