MANUEL ACUÑA: BIOGRAPHY, STYLE, WORKS, PHRASES - ARTE - 2025

Manuel Acuña Narro (1849-1873) was a Mexican writer, poet, and playwright whose work would have been broader if he had not made the decision to end his life. However, he has been considered one of the most outstanding literary figures of romanticism in Mexico.

Acuña's writings were characterized by having a simple and at the same time expressive language, where fatality was his maximum inspiration. Although her work was not abundant, the titles that she managed to publish gave her recognition. Among them are Nocturno, a poetic work and The Past, a theater piece of a dramatic nature.

Portrait of Manuel Acuña. Source: Sergio Zaragoza Sicre, via Wikimedia Commons

Manuel Acuña was a romantic and passionate, a poet highly attracted to love. In his short existence, life did not always smile at him, his strong character and difficult personality led him down the path of darkness, preventing him from coming out of a love disappointment. Such was his depression that weakness prevailed and his art left with his death.

Biography

Birth and family

Manuel was born on August 27, 1849 in the city of Saltillo, Coahuila, into a traditional and cultured family. His parents were Francisco Acuña and Refugio Narro. From an early age he was attracted to letters and literature.

Acuña Education

Acuña received the first teachings from his parents. Later she entered the Josefino School in the city where she was born. When she finished high school, she went to the capital of the country, in 1865, to study mathematics, philosophy, Latin and French at the Colegio de San Ildefonso.

Then, in 1866, he began studying medicine at the then-well-known National School of Medicine. For a period he stayed in a modest room in the old convent of Santa Brígida, but at the same time he went to live in the residences of the institution where he studied. He could not finish the race.

First literary steps

Manuel Acuña began to materialize his taste for writing in his years as a university student. He began to attend the different gatherings that were held in the capital. There he had the opportunity to meet his good friend Juan de Dios Peza.

At that time he also wrote for print media, a work in which he carried out until the end of his days. Some of the newspapers where he collaborated were El Renacimiento, El Libre Pensador, El Federalista, El Búcaro and El Eco de Ambos Mundos, among others.

Loss of a friend

Acuña suffered the death of his friend Eduardo Alzúa in 1869. The loss surprised and saddened him. The tragic event inspired him to dedicate a poem to his companion, and that short elegy opened the doors of recognition in the literary and intellectual society of his country.

La Nezahualcóyotl

The writer became interested in the history and literature of his country, and for this reason he decided to form, together with some friends and intellectuals, the Nezahualcóyotl Literary Society. The fundamental objective of that group was to expose Mexican culture as a form of unification of the collective.

First publications

Through his participation in the Nezahualcóyotl Literary Society, Acuña managed to publish several of his first writings. Sonnet, La brisa, Por eso and Dry Leaves were published in La Iberia and El Anáhuac. In addition, the group also disseminated different cultural works in these magazines.

Acuna in love

Manuel Acuña was not lucky in love. According to scholars, he fell madly in love with the young Rosario de la Peña. However, it was not reciprocated, so she became his main muse in inspiration for his poems. She was one of the reasons for his suicide.

Portrait of Rosario de la Peña, unrequited love of Manuel Acuña. Source: Old newspaper, via Wikimedia Commons

Between success and misfortune

Although Manuel Acuña began to have success and recognition in literature, his financial situation was not good and his heart was broken. Depression took control of his life, so nothing made sense to him, so he took refuge in pain and misery, and took his focus away from the essence of life.

Death

Acuña gave no truce to life, and love disenchantment led him to a fatal end. On December 6, 1873, he decided to end his existence by taking a dose of potassium cyanide, when he was only twenty-four years old. His death surprised his friends and the Mexican literary community.

His body was found by his good friend Juan de Dios Peza in room thirteen of the student residences of the medical school. Along with his remains were five letters. It is known that in one he asked that an autopsy not be performed, while the content was not known in the others.

Grave

At first, his body was deposited in the Campo Florido cemetery in Mexico City. Then his remains were buried in the Rotunda of Illustrious Persons, until finally in 1917 they were taken to his hometown, specifically in the Rotunda of Illustrious Coahuilenses.

Style

Manuel Acuña's literary style was characterized by a clear and simple language, and passion and romance were outstanding features in his poetry. The fatalistic and pessimistic personality of the author were evident in his texts; and love and lack of love were his main inspiration.

In some verses of the Mexican writer you can see certain ornaments that made his work more expressive. However, these features were not evident in Nocturno a Rosario: on the contrary, reality, precision and frankness sealed that outstanding poem by Acuña.

Plays

- Poetry (posthumous edition, 1884).

-Short description of his work

Last

It was the only dramatic work by the Mexican writer, which was released on May 9, 1872 and was well received by the public and critics. He told the story of a woman who after overcoming herself and finding love, returned to misery as a result of the bad actions of past loves.

The playwright knew how to capture with skill and integrity the social situation of Mexico of his time, and showed the knowledge he had. He also made a criticism of fanaticism; in this manuscript, science and pedagogy had a place of honor. With this work Manuel Acuña demonstrated his great capacity for theater.

Characters

The prose work was divided into three acts and had as characters:

- Eugenia.

- Maria.

- David.

- Ramiro.

- Antonio.

- Manuel.

- Two servants.

Fragment

"Act first. Scene I. Eugenia and David

David: - What is he thinking! (Approaching). Eugenia!

Eugenia: –Ah! Is it you, David? That you have returned soon, my friend.

David: –Very soon?

Eugenia: –At least, you haven't taken as long as I expected. And it seems, you come very happy, right?

David: –And with good reason: imagine that when I came back from Tacubaya I found myself on the same train that I came on, with an old schoolmate, whom you don't know, but about whom I have spoken to you many times, citing him as the best and the dearest of my friends.

Eugenia: –Manuel Romea?

David: –Yes, Manuel Romea. Very good boy: you'll see when you try it. And I love him very much; as it is the personification of my student memories, time, perhaps, the most beautiful of my life, since that was when I met you.

Eugenia: –Thank you, David. And tell me: have you already seen El Siglo XX de Ayer?

David: –No. What does it say is important?

Eugenia: - Bring a paragraph in which he gets rid of praise for you, saying that… (He takes a newspaper and shows it to him at the point to which he refers) look, here it is.

David: –Let's see! (Reading). We are pleased to announce to our readers that the famous artist whose triumphs we spoke about in one of our past issues, has returned, after five years of absence… ”.

Night

It was the most recognized poetic work of Manuel Acuña, which was also known as Nocturno a Rosario, for being dedicated to the woman with whom he fell in love without being reciprocated. The poem was a declaration of love where the clarity of the language did not need literary embellishments.

Bronze relief of Nezahualcoyotl, who inspired the name of the literary society created by Manuel Acuña. Source: Thelmadatter, via Wikimedia Commons

The innocence and ease that the author gave to the verses opened the doors to a world of possibilities in the field of literature. However, despite all the good prognosis obtained by his abilities, the writer chose death. The romantic and the passionate were a clear reflection of his personal experience.

Fragment

"Well, I need

tell you that I adore you, tell you that I love you

with all my heart;

that I suffer a lot, that I cry a lot, that I can not so much anymore, and to the cry that I implore you

I implore you and speak to you on behalf

of my last illusion.

… I want you to know

that many days ago

I am sick and pale

from not sleeping so much…

That was my hope…

more because of its brilliance

the deep abyss opposes

that exists between the two, Goodbye for the last time, love of my loves;

the light of my darkness, the essence of my flowers, my poet's look, my youth, goodbye! ”.

-Fragments of other poems by the author

"Goodbye to Mexico"

"Well, that of fate in pursuit

weak against his chain, facing the duty that orders it

I have to say good bye;

before my mouth opens

to make way for this accent,

the voice of my feeling

wants to speak a word to you.

In the light of this day

of ineffable and pure charm

when I give you my goodbye I swear, Oh sweet Mexico of mine!

What if he truncates with his strength

all human ties, will tear you from my arms

But never from my chest! "

"The happiness"

"A blue sky of stars

shining in the vastness;

a bird in love

singing in the forest;

by environment the aromas

of the garden and the orange blossom;

next to us the water

sprouting from the spring

our hearts close, our lips much more, you rising to heaven

and me following you there

that's love my life, That's happiness! "

"Dry leaves"

"… Each leaf is a memory

as sad as tender

what was on that tree

a heaven and a love;

together they form all

the song of winter, the stanza of the snows

and the hymn of pain.

Tomorrow at the same hour

when the sun kissed you for the first time, over your pure and bewitching source

the kiss of dawn will fall again…

In God you require my faith to believe,

and raise an altar within me.

Ah! If it is enough that I see you

so that I love God, believing in you…! ”.

Phrases

- "Matter, immortal as glory changes forms, but never dies."

- “Even more than with our lips we speak with our eyes; with the lips we speak of the earth, with the eyes of the sky and of ourselves ”.

- "What do you want me to do, piece of my life? What do you want me to do with this heart?".

- “I understand that your kisses should never be mine, I understand that I will never see myself in your eyes; and I love you, and in my crazy and ardent ravings I bless your disdain, I adore your deviations, and instead of loving you less I love you much more ”.

- "Tomorrow that our eyes can no longer meet, and that we live absent, very far from each other, that this book tells you about me as everything talks about you."

- "How should the immobile eyelids of a dead man cry?"

- "I was lonely and sad when the night made you fold your white wings to welcome me…".

- “I feel that the garden of my tenderness sprouts in flowers, that the stanza of a song trembles in its thicket; and to the loud and ardent murmur of each note, being something great that springs up within my heart ”.

- “I will speak of the incautious butterfly that in incessant and daring flight, already leaves the sky for the rose; the rose is already leaving the sky… ”.

- “I will begin by saying of course, that there is no virtue, beliefs or illusions; that in criminal and stupid tranquility faith no longer beats in hearts; that the imbecile man, to the blind glory, only thinks about the gold and the doubloons ”.

References

1. Olascoaga, A. (2018). The night poet. Mexico: Gatopardo. Recovered: gatopardo.com.
2. Tamaro, E. (2004-2019). Manuel Acuña. (N / a): Biographies and Lives. Recovered from: biografiasyvidas.com.
3. Manuel Acuña. (2019). Spain: Wikipedia. Recovered from: es.wikipedia.org.
4. Acuña Manuel. (2019). (N / a): Writers Org. Recovered from: writers.org.
5. Díaz, C. (S. f.). Biography of Manuel Acuña. (N / a): History and Biography. Recovered from: historia-biografia.com.