JORGE ZALAMEA: BIOGRAPHY, STYLE, WORKS, AWARDS - BIOGRAPHIES - 2025

Jorge Zalamea (1905-1969) was a Colombian writer, poet, journalist, and diplomat. The literary career of this intellectual began when he was barely sixteen years old. At that time he worked as a theater critic for the newspaper El Espectador.

Zalamea's literary work was characterized by being written with a cultured, precise and critical language. In the texts of this author, sobriety was notorious, as well as the sense of equality and justice that formed part of his personality. A good part of the writer's work was of political, social, cultural and historical content.

Jorge Zalamea. Source: biografiasyvidas.com

Some of the most outstanding titles of Jorge Zalamea's literary production were: The abduction of the Sabines, The Bethlehem hostel, The great Burundún-Burundá has died, The dream of the stairways and The metamorphosis of its excellence. On the other hand, the writer served as minister of education and ambassador.

Biography

Birth and family

Jorge Zalamea Borda was born on March 8, 1905 in Bogotá, Colombia. He came from a cultured family with a high socioeconomic level. It is known that his father was Benito Zalamea, a notable accountant for the energy company.

Studies

Jorge studied at institutions in his hometown. He was trained in the Modern Gymnasium and the Military School. Zalamea was attracted to literature as a student, so he frequented the Cafe Windsor where prominent young intellectuals met. There he met León de Greiff.

Later he entered the School of Agronomy and after a while he retired. Zalamea's talent for writing opened the doors of the newspaper El Espectador for him when he was only sixteen years old. There he began to write theater reviews and began his literary career.

Between theater and writing

The young Zalamea remained in his early youth developing journalistic work in different print media in his hometown. At the beginning of the 1920s he joined the group "Los Nuevos", which aimed to reform the literature and politics of Colombia.

Later he joined a theater company and toured various countries in America performing between 1925 and 1927. At that time, Jorge published his first play, which was the play El Regreso de Eva. At that time, the intellectual began to wonder about the bond that united the reader with poetry.

Start of your diplomatic career

Jorge Zalamea began his diplomatic career in the late 1920s. So he went to Spain in 1928 to serve as a commercial advisor on behalf of his country. After that he was appointed as vice consul in England. The author was in Europe until 1935 and at that time he wrote De Jorge Zalamea to Colombian youth.

Back to Colombia

The diplomat returned to his country after living seven years in Europe. He was immediately appointed by President Alfonso López Pumarejo as Minister of Education in 1936. That same year he unveiled The Department of Nariño: Scheme for a Sociological Interpretation, an essay with socio-political content.

After passing through the education cabinet, Zalamea held the position of Secretary General of the Presidency in 1937. During the exercise of his political functions, the writer continued to develop his literature. At that time he published the work La industria nacional.

Continuity in public office and diplomacy

Zalamea kept holding political and diplomatic posts for a long time. He was elected Chamber representative for Cundinamarca in 1941. That year was one of the most productive as a writer. He unveiled five works, including: The Abduction of the Sabine Women, The Bethlehem Hostel and The Wonderful Life of Books.

Subsequently, Jorge was appointed Colombian ambassador to Mexico in 1943 during Pumarejo's second presidential term (1942-1945). Some time later he performed the same function in Italy.

Zalamea and Saint-John Perse

During his diplomatic functions in Mexico and Italy, Zalamea met again with the poetic work of the French Saint-John Perse and began its translation. She first translated Elogios in 1946 and later Lluvia, nrob, exilio.

Saint-John Perse, an author whom Zalamea admired and from whom he translated several of his works. Source: Nobel Foundation, via Wikimedia Commons

In the words of the Colombian writer, Perse became a kind of "consolation" in difficult times in his life.

Back to Colombia

Jorge Zalamea returned to Colombia in 1948. That same year he began to work as director of the Crítica publication, a job he carried out until 1951. On April 9, 1948, the liberal political leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitán was assassinated and that led to the disturbances known as “ The Bogotazo ”.

The writer was not oblivious to the events. From the microphones of the National Radio, he supported the Colombian people to defend themselves against the injustices and atrocities of tyrannical governments. Some of his opponents considered that the intellectual incited people to violence.

End of

Zalamea's Critique magazine became a stone in the shoe for the politicians of the day. The scathing articles caused the outlet to be censored. Finally, after fighting for a time against the bans, the publication stopped circulating on October 14, 1951.

Jorge went into exile a year later due to the constant threats he received. He settled in Buenos Aires and continued with his literary work there. At that time, the writer published El gran Burundún-Burundá has died, which was considered one of his most renowned works.

Trip around the world

Bogotá, Zalamea's hometown. Source: Felipe Restrepo Acosta, via Wikimedia Commons

The writer undertook a trip around the world between 1952 and 1959. Zalamea toured Egypt, China, the Middle East and India. During that journey, he began to develop The Dream of the Stairs, his best-known poem. This prose text represented the voice of the least favored to denounce the inequality and misery of the peoples.

Last years and death

Zalamea returned to his country in mid-1959 and in October he began to develop the literary cycle "Poesía al Aire Libre". In the last years of his life, the author dedicated himself to finishing The Dream of the Stairs and published it in 1964. He attended various cultural and literary events.

Jorge Zalamea died on May 10, 1969 in the city where he was born, he was then sixty-five years old.

Style

The literary style of the Colombian writer Jorge Zalamea was characterized by the use of a cultured, well-elaborated and precise language. His works were critical, analytical, profound, and at times with a high level of irony. The author sought in every possible way to connect with the needs of the readers, especially his poetry.

The predominant themes in this writer's publications were justice, equality, human struggle, man, history, politics, culture and society in general.

Plays

Fragment of

“… I only want now the living and wounding word that, like a sling stone, clears the breasts and, like vahorous drawn steel, knows how to find the path of blood. I just want the cry that destroys the throat, leaves the taste of entrails on the palate and calcines the profirient lips. I just want the language that is used on the steps… ”.

Awards and honours

- Casa de las Américas Prize in 1965, for the essay work Ignored and Forgotten Poetry.

- Lenin Peace Prize in 1968.

References

1. Jorge Zalamea Borda. (2017). Colombia: Banrepcultural. Recovered from: encyclopedia.banrepcultural.org.
2. Jorge Zalamea. (2019). Spain: Wikipedia. Recovered from: es.wikipedia.org.
3. Tamaro, E. (2019). Jorge Zalamea. (N / a): Biographies and Lives. Recovered from: biografiasyvidas.com.
4. Jorge Zalamea. (S. f.). Cuba: EcuRed. Recovered from: ecured.cu.
5. Sánchez, R. (2008). Jorge Zalamea: poetry and peace. Colombia: International Poetry Festival of Medellín. Recovered from: depoesiademedellin.org.