MARIANO LATORRE: BIOGRAPHY, STYLE, WORKS - BIOGRAPHIES - 2025

Mariano Latorre (1886-1955) was a Chilean writer, novelist and academic whose work was developed within the Creole movement. The author focused on publicizing the Chilean idiosyncrasy and the influence of the geographical environment.

Literary criollismo was characterized by exposing the relationship between man and nature. The most outstanding features of Latorre's literary work were the use of simple and colloquial language, the description of the nature and culture of his country. The main objective of this author was to promote love, respect and knowledge for his native Chile.

Mariano Latorre. Source: Unknown - Ecran Magazine, via Wikimedia Commons

Mariano Latorre traveled for many years throughout the Chilean territory in order to soak up the main characteristics of the regions and capture them in his texts. Some of his most prominent titles were: Cuentos del Maule, La sombra del caserón, Zurzulita, On Panta, Hombres y zorros, Viento de Mallines and El choroy de oro.

Biography

Birth and family

Mariano was born on January 4, 1886 in the town of Cobquecura in the province of Itata. He came from a cultured family, of good socioeconomic status and of Spanish and French descent. His parents were Mariano de la Torre Sandelis and Fernandina Court Blezac.

Studies

Mariano Lautaro Latorre Court studied his first years of studies in institutions in his hometown and in Constitución. In those childhood days, he went to explore nature with his friends and was connected in a special way with the sea and rivers. Then he continued his high school in Parral, Valparaíso, Santiago and Talca.

Latorre began to get involved with literature and writing in his student years. He completed high school in 1905 and at the request of his father began his law degree at the University of Chile. Three years later he withdrew to train in Spanish and linguistics at the Pedagogical Institute.

First tasks

After the death of his father in 1906, the young Mariano worked as a supervisor at the National Institute to pay for his studies. It later began to make its way into print media such as Zig-Zag. There he published the articles "At the beginning of autumn" and "Chilean landscape".

Latorre took off his professional life in 1908 when he began teaching Spanish at the Liceo de Santiago. At the same time he wrote for Revista Andina and Pro-Cultura. The quality of his pen earned him a writing position at the Young Musa publication.

First post

The nascent writer published his first narrative work Cuentos de Maule in 1912. With this publication, he participated that same year in the Fine Arts Literary Contest and was the winner. Latorre's work was worthy of good reviews, but there was censorship by those who opposed the criollismo that the author began to promote.

Personal life

Mariano Latorre graduated from teaching at the Pedagogical Institute in 1915 and that same year he married. He married Virginia Blanco Balzada on January 31 at the church of San Javier. As a result of the relationship, two children named Mariano and Mirella were born. The latter was a renowned radio and television actress.

Travel time

The writer continued to develop his literary work and in 1915 he won the El Mercurio newspaper contest with the short story Risquera vana. Then Latorre decided to start a tour of the mountainous regions of Chile between 1915 and 1917 to learn about the landscape, culture, customs and history of the areas.

The result of Mariano's exploratory trips was the book Cuna de condors that he released in 1918. In that work he reflected the hard life of the inhabitants of the mountain range in relation to the elements of nature. The author achieved respect and admiration with this publication.

Literary boom

Mariano Latorre's literary career was consolidated between 1918 and 1929. In those years he published works such as La sombra del caserón, Zurzulita, Ully, Hombres de la selva and Chilenos del mar, all within the ranks of criollismo. At that time he worked as a critic of new publications in the insert "Los Libros" by Zig-Zag.

America tour

Latorre's successful career as a writer led him to travel across America to participate in literary conferences and cultural events. He visited Colombia and Argentina between 1938 and 1941. In the city of Buenos Aires his work La Literature de Chile was published, which compiled the talks he gave about his work.

The writer appeared in Bolivia in 1943 and a year later was recognized with the Chilean National Prize for Literature.

Last years and death

The writer dedicated himself to developing his literary work based on the culture and history of his nation. In the last years of his life he worked as a teacher and was rector of the Pedagogical Institute from 1945. Latorre published at the end of his life works such as Puerto Mayor, El choroy de oro and Chile, country of corners.

Plaque commemorating the writer Mariano Latorre in the Cobquecura square. Source: Xarucoponce, via Wikimedia Commons

Mariano Latorre passed away unexpectedly on November 10, 1955 in Santiago de Chile at the age of sixty-nine. Important personalities of the time attended his funeral. His remains were buried in the General Cemetery of the Chilean capital.

Style

Mariano Latorre's literary style was characterized by being within the guidelines of criollismo, that is, by highlighting the characteristics of the different Chilean regions and their relationship with the geographical aspect. In the prose of the writer a simple, colloquial and often regionalist language was evidenced.

Latorre's stories and novels stood out for their descriptive and expressive quality. The author wrote about man's relationship with nature, about his ability to adapt to hostile environments. Mariano wrote to the sea, the mountains, the dialects, the races, the customs and the history.

Plays

- Tales of the Maule (1912).

- Cradle of condors (1918).

- The shadow of the mansion (1919).

- Zurzulita (1920).

- Ully (1923).

- Men of the jungle (1923).

- Chileans of the sea (1929).

- The Chileanness of Daniel Riquelme (1931).

- On Panta (1935).

- Men and foxes (1937).

- The literature of Chile (1941).

- Mapu (1942)

- Mallines Wind (1944).

- Puerto Mayor (1945).

- The golden choroy (1946).

- Chile, country of corners (1947).

- The snail (1952).

- La paquera (1958, posthumous edition).

- The island of the birds (1959, posthumous edition).

- Memories and other confidences (1971, posthumous edition).

References

1. López, B. (S. f.). Mariano Latorre, father of criollismo. Spain: Miguel de Cervantes Virtual Library. Recovered from: cervantesvirtual.com.
2. Tamaro, E. (2019). Mariano Latorre. (N / a): Biographies and Lives. Recovered from: biografiasyvidas.com.
3. López, B. (S. f.). Mariano Latorre's bibliographic note. Spain: Miguel de Cervantes Virtual Library. Recovered from: cervantesvirtual.com.
4. Mariano Latorre (1886-1955). (2018). Chile: Chilean Memory. Recovered from: memoriachilena.gob.cl.
5. Mariano Latorre. (2019). Spain: Wikipedia. Recovered from: es.wikipedia.org.