René Marques
Encyclopedia
René Marqués was a renowned Puerto Rican
short story writer and playwright
.
. He developed an interest in writing at a young age and was politically keen to support independence for the non-sovereign nation of Puerto Rico
.
In the 1940s, Marqués wrote what is considered to be his best play, La Carreta
(The Oxcart). In 1951, it opened in San Juan
and helped secure his reputation as a leading literary figure in Puerto Rico. The drama
traces a rural
Puerto Rican family as it moved to the slum
s of San Juan and then to New York
in search for a better life, only to be disillusioned and to long for their island.
. In 1950, together with the other members of the group, Marqués worked for the Division of Community Education of Puerto Rico. Marqués however, did often come into conflict with Luis Muñoz Marín
. He believed in complete Puerto Rican sovereignty and he often criticized Muñoz Marín, when he became governor, because of his acceptance of U.S. sovereignty over Puerto Rico.
In 1954, Puerto Rican director, Roberto Rodríguez, produced La Carreta, the play opened at the Church of San Sebastian, located in Manhattan, New York. The success of the play motivated Míriam Colón and Rodríguez to form the first Hispanic
theater group with its own 60 seat theater, called "El Círculo Dramatico" (The Drama Circuit).
In 1959, Marqués published three plays together in the collection Teatro (Theater). These were La Muerte no entrará el Palacio (Death will not enter the Palace), Un Niño Azul para una Sombra (A Blue Boy for a Shadow) and Los Soles Truncos. In an essay
(1960), which the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party
published as a pamphlet, Marqués addressed the problem of the language of instruction in Puerto Rico's colonial situation. He concluded that only the enjoyment of complete national sovereignty will cleanse the pedagogical problem of all extra-pedagogical baggage.
, with Míriam Colón in the lead role.
René Marqués died in San Juan on March 22, 1979. Puerto Rico has named a school in his honor and in the Luis A. Ferré
Performing Arts Center in San Juan, there is a 760 seat René Marqués Theater.
La Carreta (The Oxcart)
El Hombre y Sus Sueños (Published in 1948)
Palm Sunday
El Sol y Los Mac Donald (Premiered 1950)
Los Soles Truncos (Premiered 1958) (Based on his short story "Purificación en la Calle del Cristo")
Un Niño Azul para esa Sombra
La Muerte No Entrará en Palacio
La Casa Sin Reloj
El Apartamiento
Mariana o el Alba
Sacrificio en el Monte Moriah
David y Jonatán, Tito y Berenice
Carnaval Afuera, Carnaval Adentro
Juan Bobo y la Dama de Occidente (Pantomime written for Ballet)
Novels
La Víspera del Hombre
La Mirada (1975)
Essays
El Puertorriqueño Dócil
Ensayos 1956-1969
Short Stories
Otro Día Nuestro
En Una Ciudad Llamada San Juan
Purificación en la Calle del Cristo
Cuentos Puertorriqueños de Hoy
Screenplays
Juan Sin Seso (Brainless Juan) (Short Film; Dir. Luis A. Maisonet)
Modesta (Short Film; Dir. Benji Doniger, Music by Héctor Campos Parsi)
Puerto Rican people
A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...
short story writer and playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
.
Early years
Marqués was born, raised and educated in the city of AreciboArecibo
Arecibo may refer to:*Arecibo, Puerto Rico, a municipality located by the Atlantic Ocean*Arecibo Observatory, a very sensitive radio telescope located approximately south-southwest from the city of Arecibo...
. He developed an interest in writing at a young age and was politically keen to support independence for the non-sovereign nation of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
.
In the 1940s, Marqués wrote what is considered to be his best play, La Carreta
La Carreta
La Carreta is a 1940s play by Puerto Rican playwright René Marqués. The story follows a family of "jíbaros" that in an effort to find better opportunities end up moving to the United States....
(The Oxcart). In 1951, it opened in San Juan
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
and helped secure his reputation as a leading literary figure in Puerto Rico. The drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
traces a rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
Puerto Rican family as it moved to the slum
Slum
A slum, as defined by United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, is a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security. According to the United Nations, the percentage of urban dwellers living in slums decreased from 47 percent to 37 percent in the...
s of San Juan and then to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in search for a better life, only to be disillusioned and to long for their island.
The Generation of the 40's
René Marqués was a member of what was known in Puerto Rico as "The Generation of the 40's". This was a group of intellectuals headed by Lorenzo HomarLorenzo Homar
Lorenzo Homar , is considered by many to be Puerto Rico's greatest graphic artist.-Early years:Homar, born in the "Barrio" Puerta de Tierra of San Juan, Puerto Rico, inherited his love for the arts from both of his parents. His father was an arts promoter and his mother a pianist. He went to...
. In 1950, together with the other members of the group, Marqués worked for the Division of Community Education of Puerto Rico. Marqués however, did often come into conflict with Luis Muñoz Marín
Luis Muñoz Marín
Don José Luis Alberto Muñoz Marín was a Puerto Rican poet, journalist, and politician. Regarded as the "father of modern Puerto Rico," he was the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico. Muñoz Marín was the son of Luis Muñoz Rivera, a renowned autonomist leader...
. He believed in complete Puerto Rican sovereignty and he often criticized Muñoz Marín, when he became governor, because of his acceptance of U.S. sovereignty over Puerto Rico.
In 1954, Puerto Rican director, Roberto Rodríguez, produced La Carreta, the play opened at the Church of San Sebastian, located in Manhattan, New York. The success of the play motivated Míriam Colón and Rodríguez to form the first Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
theater group with its own 60 seat theater, called "El Círculo Dramatico" (The Drama Circuit).
In 1959, Marqués published three plays together in the collection Teatro (Theater). These were La Muerte no entrará el Palacio (Death will not enter the Palace), Un Niño Azul para una Sombra (A Blue Boy for a Shadow) and Los Soles Truncos. In an essay
Essay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
(1960), which the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party
Puerto Rican Nationalist Party
The Puerto Rican Nationalist Party was founded on September 17, 1922. Its main objective is to work for Puerto Rican Independence.In 1919, José Coll y Cuchí, a member of the Union Party of Puerto Rico, felt that the Union Party was not doing enough for the cause of Puerto Rican independence and he...
published as a pamphlet, Marqués addressed the problem of the language of instruction in Puerto Rico's colonial situation. He concluded that only the enjoyment of complete national sovereignty will cleanse the pedagogical problem of all extra-pedagogical baggage.
Later years
In 1965, George Edgar and Stella Holt produced the English version of Marqués' "The Oxcart" Off-BroadwayOff-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
, with Míriam Colón in the lead role.
René Marqués died in San Juan on March 22, 1979. Puerto Rico has named a school in his honor and in the Luis A. Ferré
Luis A. Ferré
Don Luis Alberto Ferré Aguayo was a Puerto Rican engineer, industrialist, politician, philanthropist, and a patron of the arts. He was the third Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico from 1969 to 1973, and the founding father of the New Progressive Party which advocates for Puerto Rico...
Performing Arts Center in San Juan, there is a 760 seat René Marqués Theater.
Noted Works
PlaysLa Carreta (The Oxcart)
El Hombre y Sus Sueños (Published in 1948)
Palm Sunday
El Sol y Los Mac Donald (Premiered 1950)
Los Soles Truncos (Premiered 1958) (Based on his short story "Purificación en la Calle del Cristo")
Un Niño Azul para esa Sombra
La Muerte No Entrará en Palacio
La Casa Sin Reloj
El Apartamiento
Mariana o el Alba
Sacrificio en el Monte Moriah
David y Jonatán, Tito y Berenice
Carnaval Afuera, Carnaval Adentro
Juan Bobo y la Dama de Occidente (Pantomime written for Ballet)
Novels
La Víspera del Hombre
La Mirada (1975)
Essays
El Puertorriqueño Dócil
Ensayos 1956-1969
Short Stories
Otro Día Nuestro
En Una Ciudad Llamada San Juan
Purificación en la Calle del Cristo
Cuentos Puertorriqueños de Hoy
Screenplays
Juan Sin Seso (Brainless Juan) (Short Film; Dir. Luis A. Maisonet)
Modesta (Short Film; Dir. Benji Doniger, Music by Héctor Campos Parsi)
See also
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- French immigration to Puerto RicoFrench immigration to Puerto RicoThe French immigration to Puerto Rico came about as a result of the economic and political situations which occurred in various places such as Louisiana , Saint-Domingue and in Europe....
- List of Puerto Rican writers
- Puerto Rican literature
- Puerto Rican Nationalist PartyPuerto Rican Nationalist PartyThe Puerto Rican Nationalist Party was founded on September 17, 1922. Its main objective is to work for Puerto Rican Independence.In 1919, José Coll y Cuchí, a member of the Union Party of Puerto Rico, felt that the Union Party was not doing enough for the cause of Puerto Rican independence and he...