LUIS VARGAS TEJADA: BIOGRAPHY AND WORKS - HISTORY - 2024

Luis Vargas Tejada (1802 - 1829) was a Colombian poet, playwright, and politician who, along with Francisco de Paula Santander, continued to fight against the dictatorship of the liberator Simón Bolívar, even reflecting in one of his works titled Catón de Utica.

In addition, he is known for his famous dramaturgy entitled Las convulsiones, which has been taken to the stage countless times not only in Colombia, but in the rest of the world. It is a work that has endured over time for its ability to move viewers.

Source: flickr.com

On the other hand, he participated in the independence political feat of the Viceroyalty of New Granada for the unification of Greater Colombia, in addition to participating in the Ocaña Convention and in the so-called “septembrina conspiracy” with the intention of killing Simón Bolívar; plan that failed and forced him to flee.

His poetry was characterized by a tendency towards neoclassicism and romanticism, although more towards the romantic side, despite the situation he experienced. In addition, he is recognized for being the first who started the Colombian comic theater, opening the doors for the influence of other artists.

Biography

Early life

Luis Vargas Tejada was born on November 27, 1802, although the exact place where his mother gave birth is not known. Some historians claim that he was born in Bogotá, others in Santafé. He was the son of Juan David Vargas and María Luisa de Tejada.

He was born to a humble family, but with a high knowledge of letters. From a young age, he began to feel an interest in writing, so his aunt gave him the first teachings shortly after beginning the independence movements in 1810.

However, the young Luis Vargas Tejada continued in a self-taught way and with the help of some friends he learned other disciplines such as classical and modern languages: English, French, German, Italian, Latin, among others.

At an early age he began to develop his taste for poetry, making his first works in different languages; was characterized by performing rhymes with great ease.

Participation in politics - Ocaña Convention

While working in literature and the dramatic arts, he began to get involved in Colombian politics of the time despite having no academic or political training.

At first he began as the private secretary of the Colombian military Francisco de Paula Santander and when he was only 19 years old, he was given the position of secretary of the Senate.

In 1828, together with a group of deputies who were with Santander, he traveled to the Ocaña Convention with the objective of reforming the 1821 constitution of Gran Colombia. It was Vargas Tejada who began the speech of the convention with one of his verses.

The interest of the Ocaña Convention was to debate and resolve the differences between the nations of Greater Colombia. However, it ended in a confrontation of ideas between the supporters of the Venezuelan military Simón Bolívar - president of Gran Colombia - and Francisco de Paula Santander.

Upon returning from the convention, the work entitled Historic Memories emerged, in which Vargas Tejada recounted, according to his point of view, the entire meeting in Ocaña. Subsequently, he was appointed plenipotentiary minister of the United States.

Opposition to Simón Bolívar

Vargas Tejada, being on the side of Santander and since the incident at the Ocaña Convention, began to frown on President Bolívar, seeing him as a militaristic and dictatorial personality.

In fact, in the monologue Catón de Útica, he had quietly criticized the dictatorial tendencies of Bolívar, whom he had previously admired as a warrior in his work entitled Memories of Boyacá.

From that moment on, Vargas Tejada declared his enmity with the Venezuelan military, remaining faithful to Santander.

On August 27, 1828, Simón Bolívar -through the Organic Decree- abolished the constitution and eliminated the vice-presidency that at that time was under the command of Francisco de Paula Santander. Through the decree, Bolívar was to rule with a constitutional character until 1830.

Since that date, Bolívar had declared and assumed the dictatorship to provisionally govern Gran Colombia. However, Bolívar's decision caused a group of young people to form a junta, made up of a group of politicians opposed to Bolívar, among them Luis Vargas Tejada.

September conspiracy

The group of young people, mostly intellectuals and politicians, met to put a stop to the dictatorship imposed by Bolívar. In one of those meetings, Luis Vargas Tejada delivered his famous stanza that is remembered to this day.

The stanza was referred directly to Bolívar and reflects the determination on the part of the group to confront the dictator.

The youth group had considered the idea of ​​killing the president, so they began recruiting soldiers. Luis Vargas Tejada had been one of those who put together the plan against Simón Bolívar.

On the night of September 25, a group of civilians and soldiers - commanded by the Venezuelan military man Pedro Carujo - entered the Presidential Palace, assassinating several of the president's guards and heading towards Bolívar's room.

Bolívar's partner, Manuela Sáenz, was the one who woke up and then alerted Bolívar, convincing him to escape through the window.

The plan having failed, many of those implicated and innocent were arrested for trial. Santander was one of the first suspects and was immediately sentenced to death; however, Bolívar spared his life and sent him into exile.

Flight and death

Many of those involved in the attack were able to escape, among whom was Luis Vargas Tejada. In his flight, he managed to take refuge in a town in the department of Cundinamarca, Colombia, in the house of his aunt Josefa Acevedo de Gómez.

Despite this, Vergas Tejada considered that it was not a safe place, so he left for the eastern plains, having to hide in a cave for a year. During that time she wrote one of her theatrical monologues, entitled La madre de Pausanias, and the tragedy entitled Doraminta, in addition to writing letters to her mother.

Leaving the cave, he headed towards Venezuela, having to take several rivers in the Eastern Plains. It is believed that Vargas Tejada drowned in December 1829 trying to reach his destination.

Plays

The Dusk and to my lyre

As for the elaboration of the dialogues and characters, it has the essence of the Italian playwright Carlo Goldoni, of whom Vargas Tejada himself was a follower, to the point of translating one of his pieces into Spanish.

The mother of Pausanias and Doraminta

While Luis Vargas Tejada was hiding in one of the caves, he wrote many more literary works. The works were characterized by clearly neoclassical prose, in which he managed to reflect his struggle for Independence and the political struggle against the dictatorship of Simón Bolívar.

Pausanias's mother and the Doraminta tragedy were the recognized works of Luis Vargas Tejada during his stay in the cave while fleeing the dictatorship towards Venezuela.

References

1. Luis Vargas Tejada, Cultural Network Portal of the Bank of the Republic in Colombia, (nd). Taken from encyclopedia.banrepcultural.org
2. Luis Vargas Tejada, Spanish Wikipedia, (nd). Taken from wikipedia.org
3. The dictatorship of Bolívar (1828 - 1830), Website of the University of Antioquia, (nd). Taken from docencia.udea.edu.co
4. Septembrina conspiracy, Wikipedia in Spanish, (nd). Taken from wikipedia.org
5. Poetry Selection, Miguel de Cervantes Virtual Library Portal, (nd). Taken from cervantesvirtual.com
6. Luis Vargas Tejada, Website Biographies and Lives, (nd). Taken from biografiasyvidas.com