Javier de Viana (1868-1926) was a Uruguayan writer, journalist and politician assigned to the White Party and belonging to the generation of 900. He is known as one of the first professional storytellers in Uruguay, being at the top of the modernist narrative of his country.
He was very active at the political level, reaching the post of deputy. He lived great monetary deficiencies, however, his stories had a fairly positive recognition. He distinguished himself by belonging to the realistic and naturalistic currents.
Javier de Viana stood out as a writer in short stories. Photo: William Belmont Parker
Biography
Early years
Javier de Viana was born into a rural family on August 5, 1868 in Canelones, formerly the town of Guadalupe. His parents were José Joaquín de Viana and Desideria Pérez, who gave him a sister 6 years younger named Deolinda. He was the grandson of the first governor of Montevideo, Javier Joaquín de Viana.
Being the grandson and son of a working family of livestock, he dedicated part of his youth to this same profession. His adolescence was marked by the events that tore the country apart, such as anarchy, the financial crisis and insurrections.
He lived until the age of 12 in a rural area, when in 1880 he moved to Montevideo with his uncle Ezequiel to study at the Elbio Fernández high school. He studied Medicine and applied for a scholarship to study in France for a specialty in Psychiatry. He did not obtain it, for which he decided to abandon his studies.
He never practiced the profession of medicine, instead he entered the ranks of Rufino Domínguez at just under 18 years of age to serve in 1886 the Quebracho Revolution, which failed on the battlefield, but triumphed in public opinion, weakening to the government.
Exile
All the changes that took place around him motivated him to have strong political ideals, with a clear inclination for his ranch roots. This first led him to follow Domínguez and then the white leader Aparicio Saravia in the Revolution of 1904.
In June of that year, due to an illness, he was a prisoner in the war, but managed to escape escaping to Buenos Aires, Argentina. This exile lasted until 1918 when he was finally able to return to his nation.
His status as a landowner gave him some economic comfort until he was about 30 years old. He did not have the skills of a good businessman, so his economy worsened year after year until exile led him to near extreme poverty that forced him to sell his belongings to survive.
Return to Uruguay
Before going into exile in Argentina, de Viana married the widow María Eulalia Darribas in 1894. From this union, Gastón, his only son, was born. When he returned to Uruguay and his family, the economic situation had not improved. He lived in a humble home in La Paz.
The political situation had stabilized, for which he was elected alternate deputy in 1922 by the department of San José and the following year he held office.
His health, deteriorated by a neglected life and in poverty, caused a lung condition that led him to death in La Paz, on October 5, 1926 at the age of 58. Despite dying in poverty, for political interests it was declared that he died in Montevideo, where he was veiled.
Style
Before his period in Buenos Aires, de Viana was already writing mainly at a journalistic level in publications of a political nature such as La Verdad and El Fogón along with figures such as Elías Regules and Antonio Lussich. This activity continued on his return, in publications such as El País.
However, Javier de Viana as a serious writer was born in exile, driven to do so by the need to earn a living with his works. He had already published a collection of short stories called Campo, and two novels with a bitter reception, but with great personal affection.
It is in exile that he developed his characteristic style at the storytelling level. The main focus of his narrative is the gaucho as a representative of Uruguayan culture. A strong nationalism makes the external fulfill a certain role of disadvantage in relation to the regional.
Problems such as the border between Uruguay and Brazil, the pollution that the figure of the gringo brings, war, human existence itself and its destiny in front of nature; they nurture the different stories that the author wrote.
Rural influence
Having been raised in the country was ultimately a decisive factor in his narratives. On horseback, he learned to appreciate nature before knowing how to read and write, which can be seen in his way of describing in detail the landscape that surrounds his characters.
The language he uses is popular in nature, closer to the lower classes of the countryside. With this, he highlights the decadence into which man can fall in this environment, as well as the primitiveness of his life, even seeing a pessimistic tone in his narration.
Clinging to the past and worrying about the future, in a period of transition, is another element that comes to light in the pen of Javier de Viana, typical of the current to which he belongs as a writer.
At the same time, a contempt can be observed for what is far from civilized, such as illiteracy. This can be evidenced in the contempt for rural Brazil, whom it places below the Uruguayan.
Plays
The author at some point mentioned that he did not believe in literary competitions. Although he never received awards for his writing and despite the mixed reviews of his novelistic work, Javier de Viana won great appreciation from the public, who always expressed a special fondness for his stories.
The time that he was in exile allowed his popularity to spread beyond the borders of Uruguay, Argentina being another of the countries in which his work was greatly admired.
His works were of such importance that they were considered the beginning of Uruguayan realism, among which are the following titles:
Field (1896).
Gaucha (1899).
Gurí (1901).
With white badge (1904).
Macachines (1910).
Dry firewood (1911).
Yuyos (1912).
Thistles (1919).
Caltrops (1919).
On the message (1919).
Little Bugs of Light (1920).
The gaucho bible (1925).
References
- Barros Lémez, A, The short story work of Viana. Montevideo, 1985.
- Bula Píriz, Roberto. "Javier de Viana", La Mañana, Uruguay, 1989.
- Cantonen, ME The slopes of Javier de Viana. Montevideo, 1969.
- From Viana, Javier. "Autobiography" in Payment of debt, Yellow field and other writings, Montevideo, 1934.
- Lagrotta, Miguel. “The Revolution of the Quebracho. The guarantee of permanence of liberal values ”, 2012.