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Miguel Angel Asturias

Miguel Ángel Asturias Rosales (Spanish pronunciation: [mi(ˈ)ɣel ˈaŋxel asˈtuɾjas]; 19 October 1899 – 9 June 1974) was a Guatemalan poet-diplomat, novelist, playwright and journalist. Winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1967, his work helped bring attention to the importance of indigenous cultures, especially those of his native Guatemala.

Asturias was born and raised in Guatemala though he lived a significant part of his adult life abroad. He first lived in Paris in the 1920s where he studied ethnology. Some scholars view him as the first Latin American novelist to show how the study of anthropology and linguistics could affect the writing of literature. While in Paris, Asturias also associated with the Surrealist movement, and he is credited with introducing many features of modernist style into Latin American letters. In this way, he is an important precursor of the Latin American Boom of the 1960s and 1970s.

One of Asturias' most famous novels, El Señor Presidente, describes life under a ruthless dictator. The novel influenced later Latin American novelists in its mixture of realism and fantasy. Asturias' very public opposition to dictatorial rule led to him spending much of his later life in exile, both in South America and in Europe. The book that is sometimes described as his masterpiece, Hombres de maíz (Men of Maize), is a defense of Mayan culture and customs. Asturias combined his extensive knowledge of Mayan beliefs with his political convictions, channeling them into a life of commitment and solidarity. His work is often identified with the social and moral aspirations of the Guatemalan people.

After decades of exile and marginalization, Asturias finally received broad recognition in the 1960s. In 1966, he won the Soviet Union's Lenin Peace Prize. The following year he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, becoming the second Latin American author to receive this honor (Gabriela Mistral had won it in 1945). Asturias spent his final years in Madrid, where he died at the age of 74. He is buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

Birth and Death Data: Born October 19, 1899 (Guatemala City), Died June 9, 1974 (Madrid)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1926

Roles Represented in DAHR: author

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BVE-35787 10-in. 7/19/1926 Noble canción de la universidad popular Coro de Hombres ; Orquesta Internacional Male vocal chorus, with orchestra author  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Asturias, Miguel Angel," accessed April 26, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102452.

Asturias, Miguel Angel. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 26, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102452.

"Asturias, Miguel Angel." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 26 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102452

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