Abel Romeo Castillo was an Ecuadorian historian, journalist, writer and poet born in Guayaquil on January 22, 1904. He is one of the most famous characters in Ecuadorian literature of the early 20th century, standing out for his essays, poems and songs.
Castillo is the author of Romance de mi Destino, a popular Ecuadorian corridor performed by singer Julio Jaramillo. This song has become one of the popular songs in Ecuador.
Throughout his life he worked as a journalist for the newspaper El Telégrafo, of which his father owned.
Biography
Son of José Abel Castillo and Betsabé Castillo Martiz, his father was at that time the owner and manager of the newspaper El Telégrafo, so Abel from an early age was related to the world of writing and journalism.
After graduating with a bachelor's degree in philosophy, he traveled to the United States, where he studied English and briefly took medicine classes.
Before finally deciding on the lyrics, he also attended Culver Military School, where he was boxing champion at featherweight, however, he never decided to pursue a sports career.
He obtained the title of Doctor of Historical Sciences at the faculty of philosophy and letters of the Central University of Madrid in 1931, then he went to the universities of Columbia in the United States, and La Plata in Argentina, where he took journalism classes. He married Giannina Echeverría Espinoza in 1946.
Contributions
In 1933 he returned to Ecuador where he became an important figure in the cultural and social sphere of his time.
He was one of the founders of the Guayaquil Society of Independent Artists and Writers, and was also involved in the creation of the Guayaquil and Quito journalism schools.
During the years after his return to Ecuador, he held very important public and private positions such as Deputy to the National Assembly, Member of the Ecuadorian Delegation to the United Nations, Director of the School of Journalism at the University of Guayaquil and Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters.
Plays
He made several historical essays where he mainly touched on political and social issues, as well as the effect of journalism in Ecuador (specifically in Guayaquil) and its impact on people.
Some of these essays were The Independent Guayaquil Printing House, The Governors of Guayaquil in the 18th century, Bolívar in Ecuadorian Thought, and New Discovery of Guayaquil.
songs
Apart from his great contributions to the development of education, journalism and writing in Ecuador, Abel Romeo Castillo is well remembered for his songs and musical poems, among which are the Creole Romance of the Guayaquil girl, Romance of the tremor and Romance of my destination.
Romance of my destiny is perhaps his most famous song, published as a poem in 1936 and massively popularized in 1940 thanks to the musicalization by Gonzalo Vera Santos.
References
- Efrén Avilés Pino (nd). Abel Romeo Castle. Retrieved on December 20, 2017, from Enciclopedia del Ecuador.
- Galo Roldós Garcés (August 8, 2015). Romance of my destiny. Retrieved on December 20, 2017, from Mundo Poesía.
- Fernando Sánchez (November 1, 2015). Abel Romeo Castillo, Poet from Ecuador. Retrieved on December 20, 2017, from Poetas Siglo XXI.
- Romance of my destiny (October 7, 2014). Retrieved on December 20, 2017, from El Universo.
- The author of the Romance of my destiny, Abel Romeo Castillo (July 28, 2017). Retrieved on December 20, 2017, from El Comercio.