JOSÉ JOAQUÍN HEAVY: BIOGRAPHY, STYLE, WORKS - ARTE - 2025

José Joaquín Pesado Pérez (1801-1861) was a Mexican writer and politician, who also stood out in the journalistic area. His written work was not abundant. However, it was enough to leave a legacy in the field of Mexican literature.

Pesado's work was characterized by being simple, with the use of precise language. Poetry and the novel were some of the genres developed by the writer. Some of his most prominent titles were Los Aztecas and El Inquisidor de México.

Portrait of José Joaquín Pesado. Source: Photoprint by Ignacio Escalante, via Wikimedia Commons

As a politician, José Pesado served in various positions, and also became governor of the state of Veracruz. In general, his life was always linked to writing and the political and social events of his country. He was so prominent that he managed to make history with each of the tasks he carried out.

Biography

Birth and family

José Joaquín was born on February 9, 1801 in the city of Palmar de Bravo, Puebla. He came from a middle class family. His parents were Domingo Pesado, originally from Galicia, and Josefa Francisca Pérez Sarmiento Casado y Toro, of Mexican nationality.

Heavy Studies

José Joaquín was orphaned when he was seven years old. For this reason his mother decided to move to the town of Orizaba, where he began to study. However, his education was given at home, under the supervision of his mother.

From an early age he showed interest in studies, and had the ability to learn different subjects. In his youth he had already reached a high level of knowledge, especially in letters. He also had a knack for languages, including Latin.

First marriage

José Pesado married for the first time when he was just twenty-one years old, on February 19, 1922, to María de la Luz Llave Segura. As a result of that love, nine children were born: Guadalupe, María del Carmen, Susana, Juan, Isabel, José, Joaquín, Samuel and Esther.

First political steps

Pesado's passion for politics was born in his younger years. His thinking was aligned with the ideas of freedom, so he was a member of the liberal party. Later, in 1838, he obtained the post of Minister of the Interior during the presidency of Anastasio Bustamante.

At that time, he also had to assume the leadership of Foreign Relations and declare war on France after his first invasion of Mexican territory. In the mid-nineteenth century he was part of the government of Nicolás Bravo Rueda, and fulfilled various ministerial functions.

Landscape of Puebla, birthplace of José Joaquín Pesado. Source: Luistlatoani, via Wikimedia Commons

Heavy on writing

José Joaquín Pesado combined letters with politics. For a time he exhibited his ideas of freedom in the newspaper La Opposition, together with his friend and colleague Modesto de Olaguíbel. Later he joined the conservative ranks and took the lead in spreading the word about that political group.

Jury of the National Anthem of Mexico

The writer participated in the choice of lyrics for the National Anthem of his country, a task that he carried out in the company of the jurist José Bernardo Cuoto Pérez, who was his cousin. On February 3, 1854, they chose the work presented by the poet and playwright Francisco de Paula González.

The political offices of Heavy

- Governor of Veracruz from 1834 and for one year.

- Minister of the Interior of Mexico in 1838.

- Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1838 for about a month, from November 14 to December 10.

- Secretary of Foreign Relations, Interior and Police from July 29 to October 20, 1846.

Last years and death

During the last years of his life, Joaquín Pesado was active in politics and writing. He also married for the second time in 1842 with Ana Segura Argüelles, with whom he had seven children. The writer died in Mexico City on March 3, 1861.

Signature of José Joaquín Pesado. Source: Photoprint by Ignacio Escalante, via Wikimedia Commons

Recognitions

- Member of the Lateran Academy.

- Member of the Mexican Academy of the Language.

- Corresponding member of the Royal Spanish Academy.

Style

The literary style of José Joaquín Pesado was characterized by the use of a simple, precise and well-structured language. Also in his short work there was a presence of the religious. In addition, he was interested in making known indigenous culture and literature, and in general Mexican idiosyncrasy.

In the poetry of this Mexican writer you can see the assonance and consonant rhyme, which was made more expressive with the frequent use of exclamations. Some of his poems were written in the first person singular, as if recounting his own experiences. On the other hand, love and passion were also topics of interest to him.

Plays

- The frustrated love (1838).

- The inquisitor of Mexico (1838).

- Original and translated poetry (1839).

- Question of Tehuantepec (1852).

- The Aztecs. Poetry. (1854).

- Epic essay. Beginning of a poem entitled: "The revelation" (1856).

- Sites and scenes of Orizaba and Córdoba (1860).

- The liberator of Mexico D. Agustín de Iturbide. Biography (Posthumous edition, 1872).

-Short description of some of his works

Frustrated love

It was one of Pesado's novels, which he published in 1838. Love was the main argument. With this work, the writer made a space for himself within the romantic and passionate writers of his country. In the plot, fate had a primary place and the characters evolve through the various difficulties that are presented to them.

The inquisitor of Mexico

It was another of José Joaquín Pesado's short novels, which was published in the same year as El amor frustrado. Perhaps that is why in some later editions they published them together. The work was of a historical nature, and the subject was the inquisition that was carried out in Mexico in the seventeenth century by the Holy Office.

The language used by the author was clear and precise, which facilitated the understanding and understanding of the work. The Indians and Spaniards who conquered New Spain played a predominant role. Narration, dialogue and description were constant literary elements in the text.

Fragment

“–Sir –said the maiden, coming out of her dejection–, what need is there for me to declare the faith that I follow?

- To obey this court.

–Only to God I manifest my heart.

- Do not be obstinate, because this court has the power to punish the offense you make to heaven.

–Only God has the revenge of my wrongs.

- Is it true that you follow the religion of Moses?

- If my answer were affirmative, it would be the basis of my condemnation; and if negative, it could be of no use to me. This unfair inequality makes me choose, as the most prudent party, that of silence.

–Your blindness is great, Sara, how can you deny that your family celebrated Jewish celebrations in Veracruz?

–If I am a criminal, I am it alone ”.

The aztecs

It was the best known book of poems of the Mexican writer, which was published in 1854 and distributed in about sixty pages. The work dealt with the different ancient verses of the indigenous Mexicans, which were translated into Spanish with the collaboration of the historian Faustino Galicia.

This work by Pesado was considered the first inspired by the songs of the natives of the Aztec territory. Some scholars have argued that at the time it was not given the deserved recognition, perhaps because of the support that Pesado showed the Church, added to his later conservative ideas.

Fragment of "In the death of a warrior"

"Hail fearless warrior

in the death of a warrior

in value, first;

speed like the eagle, and like the fierce tiger;

the one with the intrepid face, the right-handed arrowhead:

Well it is, that in high songs

always your fame alive, and in war exercises

youth receive

of your inflamed spirit

unquenchable burning.

… And about the diaphanous air

arms wielding, knows how to stop the momentum

of the enemy side;

strong shield of Mexico

glory of the city ”.

-Fragments from other poems

"A night storm in Orizaba"

"The chariot of the Lord, caught up

at night, in a storm that roars and grows, the heaven of heavens shakes, between the whirlwinds and the cloudy.

… The forest burns, wounded with a living flame;

and the current looks like fire

from the river, through the fields spread.

To the terrible roar of the burning lightning, spear from the sad and downcast chest, cry of anguish the terrified people ”.

"Loss"

"So, my beautiful Elisa, and beautiful how much it dodges, your sweet homeland and your family leave?

Ah! What fatal star

starting motivates you

disdaining my tears and complaints?

My tears, that one day

they moved your pity, my dear!

… I miserable meanwhile, to the cold grave

this dismal day in my memory

I will have a long cry.

Your rigor, your detour, and my unhappy longing will make history

of Elisa and her lover, of his detachment and his constant love ”.

"The anticipated affection"

«When I was a child and in my garden

to the fragile branches it did not reach, for the divine Philis he sighed,

that no woman, more goddess seemed.

My chest keeps his portrait printed, she forgets who loves her the most, and I remember his sweet kiss ”.

References

1. José Joaquín Pesado. (2019). Spain: Wikipedia. Recovered from: es.wikipedia.org.
2. Tola, Fernando. (1998). The Aztecs. (N / a): Talking to the Ghosts. Recovered from: hablaconlosfantasmas.com.
3. Muñoz, Angel. (2017). José Joaquín Pesado. Mexico: Encyclopedia of Literature in Mexico. Recovered from: elem.mx.
4. McDonough, K. (2016). The Aztecs. In the death of a warrior. (N / a): Scalar. Recovered from: scalar.usc.edu.
5. The inquisitor of Mexico. (S. f.). (N / a): Virtual Torch Library. Recovered from: antorcha.net.