Manlio's Fans (2)

Manlio Argueta

Author profile

born

November 24, 1935 in San Miguel, El Salvador

gender

male

genre

Literature & Fiction, Poetry

About this author

edit data

Argueta was born in San Miguel (El Salvador) on November 24, 1935. Argueta has stated that his exposure to “poetic sounds” began during his childhood and that his foundation in poetry stemmed from his childhood imagination. Argueta’s interest in literature was strongly influenced by the world literature he read as a teenager. Argueta began his writing career by the age of 13 as a poet. He cites Pablo Neruda and García Lorca as some of his early poetic influences. Although he was relatively unknown at the time, Argueta won a national prize for his poetry around 1956, which gained him some recognition among Salvadoran and Central American poets. As he became more involved with the literary community of El Salvador, Argueta became a member of...more Argueta was born in San Miguel (El Salvador) on November 24, 1935. Argueta has stated that his exposure to “poetic sounds” began during his childhood and that his foundation in poetry stemmed from his childhood imagination. Argueta’s interest in literature was strongly influenced by the world literature he read as a teenager. Argueta began his writing career by the age of 13 as a poet. He cites Pablo Neruda and García Lorca as some of his early poetic influences. Although he was relatively unknown at the time, Argueta won a national prize for his poetry around 1956, which gained him some recognition among Salvadoran and Central American poets. As he became more involved with the literary community of El Salvador, Argueta became a member of the "Committed Generation". Because of his writings criticizing the government, Argueta was exiled to Costa Rica in 1972 and was not able to return to El Salvador until the 1990s. Argueta currently lives in El Salvador where he holds the position of Director of the National Public Library.

He belonged to a literary group by the name of Generación Comprometida (Committed Generation, referring to political and social commitment), also known as Círculo Literario Universitario (University Literary Circle), created by Italo López Vallecillos (1932-1986). Other members of the group included Roque Dalton (1935-1975), Alvaro Menen Desleal (1931-2000), Waldo Chávez Velasco (1932), Irma Lanzas (1933), Orlando Fresedo (1932), Mercedes Durand (1932-1998), Ricardo Bogrand (1932), and Mauricio de la Selva. Members of the group were revolutionary in both their writing and their political views, though some members claim that "Generación Comprometida" and "Círculo Literario Universitario" were two different groups, it's been said that "Generación Comprometida" would be formed three or four years after the "50's Generation", a group which would be formed by those writers whom started publishing between 1950 and 1952 and had been members of the “Cenáculo de Iniciación Literaria” such as Mercedes Durand, Irma Lanzas, Orlando Fresedo, Italo López Vallecillos, Waldo Chávez Velasco, Álvaro Menéndez Leal, Mauricio de la Selva and Ricardo Bogrand. The group sought to create social change in terms of the treatment of the lower class. But they also initiated rediscovery of cultural heritage to a certain extent. Manlio Argueta and his Committed Generation were heavily influenced by the French philosopher Jean Paul Sartre and his existentialist ideas. Existentialism is an outlook on life that emphasizes the existence, freedom, and actions of the individual. This perspective tends to be atheistic and stress human freedom and experience as a definition of existence as opposed to scientific definitions. Existentialists also do not believe in the existence of objective moral values.

Some of Argueta’s works include El valle de las Hamacas (Editorial Ariel, Buenos Aires, 1977), Un hombre por la patria (poetry, Editorial Universitaria, San Salvador, 1968), En el costado de la luz (poetry, EU, San Salvador, 1968), Caperucita en la zona roja / Little Red Riding Hood in the Red Light District (Casa de las Américas Prize 1977, various editions), Un día en la vida / One Day of Life (1980), Cuzcatlán, donde bate la mar del sur / Cuzcatlán, Where the Southern Sea Beats (1986), Milagro de la Paz / A Place Called Milagro de la Paz (San Salvador, Istmo Editores, 1995) Siglo de O(G)ro (San Salvador, DPI, 1997). A characteristic of Argueta’s writing style present in the majority of his works is the use of Salvadoran Spanish vernacular and slang. Argueta considers this a way to express and preserve some of El Salvador’s cultural identity.

Argueta is best known for his book One Day of Life, which has been translated into over 12 languages. The book takes the reader through one day of the life of Lupe, the main character. Lupe is a grandmother in a small vi(less)

combine editions
Books by Manlio Argueta

Average rating: 3.56 · 245 ratings · 43 reviews · 11 distinct works

	One Day of Life by Manlio Argueta, Bill Brow (Translator) 3.55 avg rating — 195 ratings — published 1982 — 7 editions	My rating:
	Cuzcatlan Where the Southern Sea Beats 3.69 avg rating — 16 ratings — 3 editions	My rating:
	Little Red Riding Hood in the Red Light District by Manlio Argueta, Edward Waters Hood (Translator) 3.83 avg rating — 12 ratings — published 1998	My rating:
	Magic Dogs of the Volcanoes/Los perros magicos de los volcanos 3.33 avg rating — 12 ratings — 3 editions	My rating:
	A Place Called Milagro de la Paz by Manlio Argueta, Manlio Arguerta 3.29 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2000	My rating:
	Un Día En La Vida by Manlio Argueta, Jenny Landaverde (Narrator) 3.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2007	My rating:
	Once Upon a Time 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2007	My rating:
	El Valle De Las Hamacas 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 1998	My rating:
	Magic Dogs of the Volcanoes/Los Perros Magicos de Los Volcanes by Manlio Argueta, Elly Simmons, Stacey Ross 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 1997	My rating:
	Once Upon a Time by Manlio Argueta, Linda J. Craft (Translator) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2007	My rating:

More books by Manlio Argueta…

Upcoming Events

No scheduled events. Add an event.

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Around the World ...: El Salvador	2	16	Aug 25, 2011 01:05pm
Nothing but Readi...: Log For Keeping Track of Authors From Other Countries	16	172	Dec 02, 2011 05:32pm
College Students! : * Spring/Summer 2012: Task List (AND RULES):	39	124	May 30, 2012 07:40pm

More…

Is this you? Let us know. If not, help out and invite Manlio to Goodreads.