Rosario Castellanos
Rosario Castellanos (
25 May 1925 –
7 August 1974) was a
Mexican poet and author. Along with the other members of the
generation of 1950, she was one of Mexico's most important literary voices in the last century. Throughout her life, she wrote eloquently about issues of cultural and gender oppression, and her work has influenced
feminist theory and
cultural studies. Though she died young, she opened the door of
Mexican literature to women, and left a legacy that still resonates today.
Born in
Mexico City, she was raised on the family ranch near
Comitán in the southern
state of
Chiapas. She was an introverted young girl, who took notice of the plight of the indigenous
Maya who worked for her family. According to her own account, she felt estranged from her family after a
soothsayer predicted that one of her mother's two children would die shortly, and her mother screamed out, "Not the boy!"
The family's fortunes changed suddenly when
President Lázaro Cárdenas enacted a
land reform and peasant emancipation policy that stripped the family of much of its land holdings. At sixteen, Rosario Castellanos and her parents moved to
Mexico City. One year later, her parents were dead and she was left to fend for herself.
Although she remained introverted, she joined a group of Mexican and
Central American intellectuals, read extensively, and began to write. She studied
philosophy and
literature at the
National University, where she would later teach, and joined the National Indigenous Institute, writing scripts for
puppet shows that were staged in impoverished regions to promote
literacy. Ironically, the Institute had been founded by President Cárdenas, who had taken away her family's land. She also wrote a weekly column for the newspaper
Excélsior.
In addition to her literary work, Castellanos held several government posts. In recognition for her contribution to Mexican literature, Castellanos was appointed ambassador to
Israel in 1971.
On
7 August 1974 Castellanos died in
Tel Aviv from a freak electrical accident.
Throughout her career, Castellanos wrote poetry, essays, one major play, and two novels: the semi-autobiographical
Balún Canán and
Oficio de tinieblas (translated into English as
The Book of Lamentations) depicting a
Tzotzil indigenous uprising in Chiapas based on one that had occurred in the 19th century. Despite being a
ladino – of European, not
indigenous descent – Castellanos shows considerable concern and understanding for the plight of indigenous peoples.
Balún-Canán (1957)
Poemas (1953-1955) (1957)
Ciudad Real: Cuentos (1960)
Oficio de tinieblas (1962)
Album de familia (1971)
Poesía no eres tú; Obra poética: 1948-1971 (1972)
Mujer que sabe latín . . . (1973)
El eterno femenino: Farsa (1973)
