ARTURO BORJA: BIOGRAPHY AND WORKS - LITERATURE - 2025

Arturo Borja (1892-1912) was a poet born in Quito, Ecuador, in 1892. Although his literary production was very short, he is considered one of the precursors of modernism in his country. Together with three other authors, he formed the Decapitated Generation, named for the early death of all its components.

Borja began to write at a very young age. His personality, and therefore his main theme, was very marked by the education received from his father. Thus, the strict discipline to which he was subjected caused him to grow up in a very repressive environment, increasing his natural tendency to depression.

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During a trip to Paris, the author came into contact with several of the best-known writers of the moment, the so-called Damned Poets. On his return to Ecuador, he imitated what he had seen in the French capital, leading a group of young authors, all characterized by their bohemianism and talent.

In 1812 he married and spent several weeks on his honeymoon. Just a few weeks later, the young poet committed suicide by overdosing on morphine. His work was published in a special edition by his friends in 1820.

Biography

Arturo Borja Pérez was born in the city of Quito (Ecuador) on September 15, 1892. His family had very notable ancestors, since Borja was a direct descendant of Pope Alexander VI and the granddaughter of Ferdinand II of Aragon.

His childhood was marked by the personality of his father, Luis Felipe Borja Pérez, well known in Ecuador for his political, legal and, also, literary work. According to the poet's biographers, his childhood was peaceful, but not happy. This was due, as noted, to the character of his father.

In the family home, strict discipline reigned. Some scholars come to consider Arturo's father as obsessive and always aware of his work. It seems that the father imposed strict schedules and strict discipline on all his children, which ended up suppressing the development of Arturo's personality.

The consequence of this repressive education was the poet's propensity for depression. Many biographers point out that he had a decisive influence on the suicide that ended his life.

On the other hand, Arturo Borja was always very interested in poetry. He was only fifteen when he wrote his first poems.

Trip to paris

It was precisely while writing that Arturo injured his eye with his pen. It is not known how it happened, but the fact is that the tip of that feather became bald on one of his eyeballs. To try to improve the injury, the poet and his father traveled to Paris in 1907, when he was only 15 years old.

As a result of the accident, Arturo had to wear a black bandage on his injured eye for a year. This, while still a teenager, increased his mood problems, affecting his mood.

According to the biographers, his attitude varied depending on the moment, alternating phases of melancholy and sadness with other energetic and sociable ones.

However, that trip to Paris turned into a great opportunity for the young poet. Arturo had a knack for languages ​​and enrolled in a literary course in the French capital.

Cursed Poets

The mentioned literature course was not the only benefit Borja got from his stay in Paris. During the time he was there, he came into contact with the so-called "Cursed Poets": Baudelaire, Verlaine, Samain and Mallarmé. From them he learned part of their writing style, vibrant and melancholic.

Not only did he soak up the literature of those poets, especially that of Baudelaire, Mallarmé and Rimbaud, but he also caught part of their behavior. These authors had a reputation for living in a bohemian way, consuming a large amount of alcohol and other drugs.

Return to Ecuador

At the age of 17, Arturo Borja returned to his Ecuador, specifically to the capital, Quito. It seems that, on his return, Borja's character had improved and the chronicles describe him as a smiling young man. Imitating what he had seen in France, he formed a literary group, gathering around him a series of young authors.

Among the most assiduous to their meetings were Ernesto Noboa Caamaño (with whom he had met in Europe), Humberto Fierro and Medardo Ángel Silva, among others. These authors were not only attracted to French poets, but also to Rubén Darío and Juan Ramón Jiménez.

At that time, Borja and his companions adopted a bohemian way of life, giving continuous displays of ingenuity and joy. His poem Madness Mother was written during this period.

Regarding his personal life, Arturo Borja began a courtship with Carmen Rosa Sánchez Destruge, described as a beautiful Guayaquil by her contemporaries. Apparently, the two met frequently in the cemetery, something that gives indications about their character.

Newspaper La Prensa

Leaving aside his bohemian side a bit, Borja tried to assume more responsibilities. For this, he agreed to direct the literary sheet of the newspaper La Prensa.

This medium, quite close to revolutionary political positions, paid great attention to grammar. The confrontations between Arturo and a literary critic on this subject, ended up exhausting the young man.

On the other hand, in 1910 he translated the Count de Lautréamont's "Les Chants de Maldoror" into Spanish. His work was published in the magazine Letras.

Death of his father

A sad event caused a change in the life that Arturo Borja was leading. In 1912, his father passed away, leaving him 8000 sucres. The poet then decided to stop working and just dedicate himself to writing and doing the activities that he liked the most.

Upon receiving the inheritance, Borja also began to express his intention to commit suicide when his father's money ran out. At the time, his friends didn't take those words too seriously, thinking it was just a macabre joke.

However, biographers point out that, quite possibly, Borja started taking morphine at that time, as did his colleagues Noboa and Caamaño. Before receiving the inheritance, he had not been able to acquire it and, being able to pay for it, he became a regular consumer.

Marriage

After a period of dating, Arturo Borja and Carmen Sánchez Destruge got married on October 15, 1912, when he was 20 years old. Both enjoyed several weeks of honeymoon in a farm near Guápulo.

As a sign of his feelings, he dedicated some poems to his wife, such as En el blanco cementerio.

Death

As noted above, none of Arturo Borja's friends and literary group companions had believed in his threat to kill himself when the inheritance money ran out.

However, the poet was totally serious. Thus, on November 13, 1912, once his honeymoon was over, Arturo Borja took an overdose of morphine that caused his death.

According to the chroniclers of the time, both spouses had come to commit suicide together. For unexplained reasons, Borja's wife did not do her part and remained alive.

At that time, all the relatives, including the widow, tried to hide the suicide to avoid social scandal. The version they offered was that she died of a collapse.

Plays

Arturo Borja died when he was only 20 years old. This caused that his work was not very extensive, although experts say that they are enough to prove the quality of the poet. There were, in total, twenty-eight poems, the majority published posthumously in the book La Fluuta del Onix.

Despite this low production, Borja is considered one of the pioneers of modernism in Ecuador. Together with the rest of the components of the Decapitated Generation, they brought to the country a new style of writing poetry, both in terms of style and subject matter..

His early works show a bit of an optimistic attitude, as can be seen in his work Summer Idyll. However, over time, his writing evolved towards a more sinister theme, with death playing a very leading role.

Critics affirm that the poems show a deep despair, so much that it becomes a wish to die.

Some of his most recognized poems were Madre Locura, Las Flores del Mal and the Flute of the Onix.

The Headless Generation

Arturo Borja was part of the so-called Decapitated Generation, a literary trend made up of four Ecuadorian poets during the first decades of the 20th century.

They were part of that group, in addition to Borja, Medardo Ángel Silva. Ernesto Noboa y Caamaño and Humberto Fierro. They are considered the forerunners of modernism in their country and their work shows a clear influence from the cursed French writers and Rubén Darío.

The term "beheaded generation" appeared long after the death of the four poets. In the middle of the 20th century, critics and literary journalists found similarities between the authors' works, grouping them within the same artistic trend.

The name "Decapitated Generation" comes from the premature death of the four poets, all of whom died at a very young age.

Both Arturo Borja and his other three companions were from upper-class families. His poetry is characterized by reflecting existential boredom, eternal doubt, tragic love affairs and the misunderstanding of society.

This attitude had its correspondence in the way of life of the poets. An introverted attitude prevailed, accompanied by high drug use. It was, in short, a way of facing and rejecting a society they considered dehumanized.

Style and theme

Death was one of the most common themes among modernist poets, and Borja and the rest of his generation companions were no exception. Several of his poems show a longing for death, glorifying his features.

Some critics link this longing to a French word very common among French modernists: ennui. Its meaning is "a state of paralyzing indifference and reluctance to live." It is a definition that fits perfectly into Borja's work.

On the other hand, the members of the Decapitated Generation stop writing about reality and only suggest it through different symbols. They describe, through these literary devices, feelings of frustration, confusion or resentment.

As an example of the above, experts point to the poem On the Way of the Chimeras, by Arturo Borja himself. In this work, the poet affirms that death is the only way out of the pain and suffering he suffers.

Musicality

One of the stylistic characteristics of Arturo Borja's work is the musicality of his creations. Even to describe the darkest and most negative feelings, such as melancholy or boredom, Borja used a brilliant and melodious style.

To achieve this effect, the author combines verses of different measures and rhythms, which ends up producing surprising and novel effects compared to the poetry before his time.

The Onyx Flute

As noted, Borja's early death meant that he did not leave too many works. In addition, some of them ran the risk of being lost and not becoming known to the general public.

For this reason, a group of friends of the poet decided to take action in 1820, eight years after Borja's death. It was Nicolás Delgado and Carlos Andrade who undertook the task of publishing their poems in a book they called "The Onyx Flute".

Edited at the Central University, whose printing press they used, the book includes poems such as "Mystical and Lunar Spring", "Far Vision", "Vas Lacrimae", "The Far Flowers", as well as others, all of great beauty.

Apart from the poems themselves, the book became a little gem thanks to its illustrations. The poet's friends made the drawings that accompany the 20 compositions and 8 poems that make up "The Onyx Flute" themselves.

Poems

His most important works were:

- The Onyx flute.

- Unpublished poems.

- I'm going into oblivion.

- Melancholy my goodness.

- Fur collar.

- Mystical and lunar spring.

- Summer idyll

Translation

In addition to his poetic work, Arturo Borja was the author of an outstanding translation of "Les Chants de Maldoror", by the Count of Lautréamont. Thanks to his knowledge of French, he was able to publish his version on the pages of "Letters" in 1910.

Your memory for me

One of the most famous poems by Arturo Borja is For me your memory. Part of that recognition is given to him by the musical version that the composer Miguel Ángel Casares Viteri made.

Since then, the work has been performed by prominent vocalists, such as Carlota Jaramillo and Bolívar “El pollo” Ortiz.

References

1. EcuRed. Arturo Borja. Obtained from Ecured.cu
2. Poeticous. Arturo Borja Pérez. Retrieved from poeticous.com
3. Encyclopedia of Ecuador. Borja Arturo. Obtained from encyclopediadelecuador.com
4. Wikipedia. Arturo Borja. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org
5. TheBiography. Biography of Arturo Borja Pérez (1892-1912). Retrieved from thebiography.us
6. Revolvy. Arturo Borja. Retrieved from revolvy.com
7. Roosevelt, Samuel Ruffin. The Modernist Trend in Ecuadorian Poetry. Recovered from books.google.es