Odón Betanzos Palacios
Encyclopedia
Odón Betanzos Palacios was a Spanish
writer who lived in New York
since 1956 until his death in 2007. Odón Betanzos was a tenured member of the Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua Española
, which is a Director and Corresponding Member of the Royal Spanish Academy, the Guatemalan, Filipino
, Chilean
, Colombian
and Nicaraguan Language and the Hispanic Society of America.
Moreover, he was president of the Hispanic Cultural Foundation in the United States
and was in possession of the Commandery of the Order of Isabel the Catholic and the Civil Merit in the degree of Number granted by the King of Spain, and Columbus the Dominican Republic
, and received the Silver Medal of Andalusia
in 1989. Also, the rocianero writer gave his name to a foundation and an International Poetry Competition - the second largest in the province of Huelva
, after Juan Ramon Jimenez
-.
,in the province of Huelva
, Andalusia
, Spain
, on September 16, 1925. His father was Manuel (Manolo) Betanzos, and his mother was Caridad Palacios Urquijo, a descendant of an aristocratic Basque family. His father was shot in August 1936 in the Spanish Civil War
, when Odón was 10 years old, as he was accused of being a socialist. His literary taste was evident from an early age, showing a great concern in learning so, he read everything that fell into his hands. He earned honors from the time he began to study until high school ended. Dire need and economic hardship overwhelmed his home. His mother had to leave their village to look for ways to rebuild their lives and try to reunite the family, but he could not stand it any longer. He, therefore, decided to abandon their land travel alone to Madrid in search of work in August 1942, at the age of sixteen. At this young age he began his forced emigration that lasted until 1956 when he settled in New York
(United States
).
In Madrid
he continued his studies in high school, but his life changed completely by having to work to send money home and pay for his studies. He had to complete the last three years of high school, 5th, 6th and 7th, for free, studying at night, and when his work permitted. Surviving was hard, difficult and not very pleasant for the young man at his tender age, with simultaneous work and study.
There were several jobs. The first was to keep the accounting of a furniture store, while managing it on Calle Valverde, owned by a family friend of his mother - Caledonian Hernandez -a "good and fair man" who helped him a lot during those years of loneliness, anxiety, hunger and misery.
Since he didn't make enough money by working at this job, he set up a stationery along with a Basque man- Aldamiz - but the experience would be short - just a few months - because of the many difficulties involved in the business at the time.
His first residence was a modest pension in Fuencarral Street where Odon Betanzos found a room to be isolated with his books. Later, his mother decided to settle in Madrid with two of her five children, Manuel and Marisol, and together with Odon, they resided in the home of a sister of his mother's. They finally had their own home.
Among the many difficulties a new one was added: Caledonian Hernandez died and the business disappeared with his death, which meant that Odon lost his job and became wrapped in a sea of confusion. He had to find new employment.
Odon Betanzos made his way through the Merchant Navy
career in Cadiz
, as he himself said, "to raise my family," as from the 40's he sailed the seven seas. In 1956, he stopped sailing while in Caracas
, Venezuela
where, along with two Spanish friends, he formed an import/export company. The deal yielded no results, despite so many efforts, because it needed more capital available to them. It was precisely in the short time he lived in Venezuela - just four months - that he met and became involved with the outstanding figures of the country. Despite the favorable social environment as they moved in those lands, he decided to settle permanently in New York because the climate was not propitious.
He began his literary career in New York
, in 1956, where he settled in one of his trips along with a group of Spanish exiles who already lived there and was one of the founders of (Editorial Mensaje) Message magazine and editorial that led until his death. He graduated in Arts (MA) at Fordham University
, and Philosophy
(Ph.D.) at The City University of New York, where he received his doctorate, and later became a professor of the same institution. In 1986, he was elected president of the foundation that bears his name, based in his hometown, in Huelva
.
He died in New York
on September 24, 2007 due to heart disease and cancer with which he had been suffering for some years, and he was buried a week later in his hometown in Spain
, in Rociana's Cemetery, in the pantheon alongside his son, Manny. The author was suffering from health problems since two years ago, when he performed heart surgery followed by five by-pass. The president of the Foundation Betanzos, Antonio Ramírez, said the writer died in a New York hospital after several days of agony.
, Vasconcelos, Award the Knights Order and of Civil Merit in the degree of Number granted by the King of Spain, and the Christopher Columbus from the Dominican Republic. He was declared favorite son of his hometown of Rociana in 1979, where the House of Culture bearing his name, in addition to an existing intellectual foundation based in the locality. His works have been translated, at least in English, Portuguese, French, Italian, Russian, Chinese, Dutch, Arabic, Hebrew and Macedonian.
, Galicia, who emigrated to America as a child - and of a Puerto Rican mother, from Santurce. Odon Betanzos saw in her his own rebellion, and along with her intelligence, administrative ability, talent and understanding, she became irresistible. At that time, Amalia was a professor of cytology at the New York University
, a private university. The courtship was brief - just a year or so - and they married on March 21, 1953. On January 14, 1954, his only son was born, and he gave him the name of his father and that of his paternal grandfather, Manuel. The poet wanted to perpetuate the name of his ancestors in the son God had granted him. Manny became a magnificent and amazing person and after high school went on to study literature, social work and law. Because of the closeness and love they shared, the author was chosen by his son to be his best man the day of his wedding at St. Patrick's Cathedral, where he married a young lady he had met the first day of college; the same young woman the poet had secretly hoped his son would one day marry. In September 1993, the accidental and untimely death of his only son, aged 39, completely crushed Odon, and marked him both personally and in his literary work, to the day he died on the 24th of September 2007, just 14 years after his son's death.
Odon's own father's capture and shooting during the Spanish Civil War
, and then decades later, the death of his son, were both very heavy marks in the life of the author and of his literature. Some critics say, is was reflected in his writing due to his life's sorrows and weariness.
During the 70's, he published poetry, most of them collected in three anthologies: “Santidad y guerrería" (Holiness and Guerrieri), “Hombre de luz” (Man of Light) and “La mano universal" (The universal hand). Should be noted “Poemas del hombre y las desolaciones” (Likewise, we should point Poems of man and desolation), "De ese Dios de las totalidades" (From the God of wholes), "Antología poética” (Poetic Anthology), " La desolación" ("The desolation), " Sonetos de la muerte" (Sonnets of Death) and a two-volume novel about the Spanish Civil War
: “Diosdado de lo alto” (Diosdado from above). He also worked as well extensive teaching, journalism and essays. He published them in magazines and newspapers around half the world. His work has been chosen for doctoral theses in many parts of the world.
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
writer who lived in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
since 1956 until his death in 2007. Odón Betanzos was a tenured member of the Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua Española
Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua Española
The North American Academy of the Spanish Language is an institution made up of prominent Hispanicists, including writers, poets, professors, educators and experts in the language itself, whose mission it is to support and promote the study and correct usage of Spanish in the United States,...
, which is a Director and Corresponding Member of the Royal Spanish Academy, the Guatemalan, Filipino
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
, Chilean
Chilean people
Chilean people, or simply Chileans, are the native citizens and long-term immigrants of Chile. Chileans are mainly of Spanish and Amerindian descent, with small but significant traces of 19th and 20th century European immigrant origin...
, Colombian
Colombian people
Colombian people are from a multiethnic Spanish speaking nation in South America called Colombia. Colombians are predominantly Roman Catholic and are a mixture of Europeans, Africans, and Amerindians.-Demography:...
and Nicaraguan Language and the Hispanic Society of America.
Moreover, he was president of the Hispanic Cultural Foundation in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and was in possession of the Commandery of the Order of Isabel the Catholic and the Civil Merit in the degree of Number granted by the King of Spain, and Columbus the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, and received the Silver Medal of Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
in 1989. Also, the rocianero writer gave his name to a foundation and an International Poetry Competition - the second largest in the province of Huelva
Huelva
Huelva is a city in southwestern Spain, the capital of the province of Huelva in the autonomous region of Andalusia. It is located along the Gulf of Cadiz coast, at the confluence of the Odiel and Tinto rivers. According to the 2010 census, the city has a population of 149,410 inhabitants. The...
, after Juan Ramon Jimenez
Juan Ramón Jiménez
Juan Ramón Jiménez Mantecón was a Spanish poet, a prolific writer who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1956. One of Jiménez's most important contributions to modern poetry was his advocacy of the French concept of "pure poetry."-Biography:Jiménez was born in Moguer, near Huelva, in...
-.
Early years
Odón Betanzos Palacios was born in Rociana del CondadoRociana del Condado
Rociana County is a province located in the town of Huelva, Andalusia, Spain.- Geography :Rociana County belongs to the Judicial District of La Palma del Condado. It is located 37 km from the capital, its surface is 70.7 km2 and has a population of 6863 inhabitants. The province mainly live...
,in the province of Huelva
Huelva
Huelva is a city in southwestern Spain, the capital of the province of Huelva in the autonomous region of Andalusia. It is located along the Gulf of Cadiz coast, at the confluence of the Odiel and Tinto rivers. According to the 2010 census, the city has a population of 149,410 inhabitants. The...
, Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, on September 16, 1925. His father was Manuel (Manolo) Betanzos, and his mother was Caridad Palacios Urquijo, a descendant of an aristocratic Basque family. His father was shot in August 1936 in the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, when Odón was 10 years old, as he was accused of being a socialist. His literary taste was evident from an early age, showing a great concern in learning so, he read everything that fell into his hands. He earned honors from the time he began to study until high school ended. Dire need and economic hardship overwhelmed his home. His mother had to leave their village to look for ways to rebuild their lives and try to reunite the family, but he could not stand it any longer. He, therefore, decided to abandon their land travel alone to Madrid in search of work in August 1942, at the age of sixteen. At this young age he began his forced emigration that lasted until 1956 when he settled in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
(United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
).
In Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
he continued his studies in high school, but his life changed completely by having to work to send money home and pay for his studies. He had to complete the last three years of high school, 5th, 6th and 7th, for free, studying at night, and when his work permitted. Surviving was hard, difficult and not very pleasant for the young man at his tender age, with simultaneous work and study.
There were several jobs. The first was to keep the accounting of a furniture store, while managing it on Calle Valverde, owned by a family friend of his mother - Caledonian Hernandez -a "good and fair man" who helped him a lot during those years of loneliness, anxiety, hunger and misery.
Since he didn't make enough money by working at this job, he set up a stationery along with a Basque man- Aldamiz - but the experience would be short - just a few months - because of the many difficulties involved in the business at the time.
His first residence was a modest pension in Fuencarral Street where Odon Betanzos found a room to be isolated with his books. Later, his mother decided to settle in Madrid with two of her five children, Manuel and Marisol, and together with Odon, they resided in the home of a sister of his mother's. They finally had their own home.
Among the many difficulties a new one was added: Caledonian Hernandez died and the business disappeared with his death, which meant that Odon lost his job and became wrapped in a sea of confusion. He had to find new employment.
Odon Betanzos made his way through the Merchant Navy
Merchant Navy
The Merchant Navy is the maritime register of the United Kingdom, and describes the seagoing commercial interests of UK-registered ships and their crews. Merchant Navy vessels fly the Red Ensign and are regulated by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency...
career in Cadiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
, as he himself said, "to raise my family," as from the 40's he sailed the seven seas. In 1956, he stopped sailing while in Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
where, along with two Spanish friends, he formed an import/export company. The deal yielded no results, despite so many efforts, because it needed more capital available to them. It was precisely in the short time he lived in Venezuela - just four months - that he met and became involved with the outstanding figures of the country. Despite the favorable social environment as they moved in those lands, he decided to settle permanently in New York because the climate was not propitious.
Literary career
- "Escribir es como estar picado de tarántula; quien está herido no tiene solución; no hay más salida que entregarse por entero a la escritura (...) Nadie se parece a nadie. Al escritor se le conoce por la palabra, que en él tiene que ser esencia".
- "Writing is like being bitten by tarantula, who is injured has no solution, there is more output to surrender himself entirely to writing (...) Nobody seems to anyone. The writer is known by the word, that in him must be his essential".
He began his literary career in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, in 1956, where he settled in one of his trips along with a group of Spanish exiles who already lived there and was one of the founders of (Editorial Mensaje) Message magazine and editorial that led until his death. He graduated in Arts (MA) at Fordham University
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
, and Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
(Ph.D.) at The City University of New York, where he received his doctorate, and later became a professor of the same institution. In 1986, he was elected president of the foundation that bears his name, based in his hometown, in Huelva
Huelva
Huelva is a city in southwestern Spain, the capital of the province of Huelva in the autonomous region of Andalusia. It is located along the Gulf of Cadiz coast, at the confluence of the Odiel and Tinto rivers. According to the 2010 census, the city has a population of 149,410 inhabitants. The...
.
He died in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
on September 24, 2007 due to heart disease and cancer with which he had been suffering for some years, and he was buried a week later in his hometown in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, in Rociana's Cemetery, in the pantheon alongside his son, Manny. The author was suffering from health problems since two years ago, when he performed heart surgery followed by five by-pass. The president of the Foundation Betanzos, Antonio Ramírez, said the writer died in a New York hospital after several days of agony.
Awards
He received many awards throughout his life, among those: the Commendation of Isabel the Catholic, Medal of AndalusiaAndalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
, Vasconcelos, Award the Knights Order and of Civil Merit in the degree of Number granted by the King of Spain, and the Christopher Columbus from the Dominican Republic. He was declared favorite son of his hometown of Rociana in 1979, where the House of Culture bearing his name, in addition to an existing intellectual foundation based in the locality. His works have been translated, at least in English, Portuguese, French, Italian, Russian, Chinese, Dutch, Arabic, Hebrew and Macedonian.
Personal life
It was in 1952 during one of his trips to New York that he met the Bronx woman who would become his wife, Amalia Migues, the daughter of a Spaniard - PontevedraPontevedra
Pontevedra is a city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the comarca and province of Pontevedra, in Galicia . It is also the capital of its own municipality which is, in fact, often considered as an extension of the actual city...
, Galicia, who emigrated to America as a child - and of a Puerto Rican mother, from Santurce. Odon Betanzos saw in her his own rebellion, and along with her intelligence, administrative ability, talent and understanding, she became irresistible. At that time, Amalia was a professor of cytology at the New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, a private university. The courtship was brief - just a year or so - and they married on March 21, 1953. On January 14, 1954, his only son was born, and he gave him the name of his father and that of his paternal grandfather, Manuel. The poet wanted to perpetuate the name of his ancestors in the son God had granted him. Manny became a magnificent and amazing person and after high school went on to study literature, social work and law. Because of the closeness and love they shared, the author was chosen by his son to be his best man the day of his wedding at St. Patrick's Cathedral, where he married a young lady he had met the first day of college; the same young woman the poet had secretly hoped his son would one day marry. In September 1993, the accidental and untimely death of his only son, aged 39, completely crushed Odon, and marked him both personally and in his literary work, to the day he died on the 24th of September 2007, just 14 years after his son's death.
Odon's own father's capture and shooting during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, and then decades later, the death of his son, were both very heavy marks in the life of the author and of his literature. Some critics say, is was reflected in his writing due to his life's sorrows and weariness.
During the 70's, he published poetry, most of them collected in three anthologies: “Santidad y guerrería" (Holiness and Guerrieri), “Hombre de luz” (Man of Light) and “La mano universal" (The universal hand). Should be noted “Poemas del hombre y las desolaciones” (Likewise, we should point Poems of man and desolation), "De ese Dios de las totalidades" (From the God of wholes), "Antología poética” (Poetic Anthology), " La desolación" ("The desolation), " Sonetos de la muerte" (Sonnets of Death) and a two-volume novel about the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
: “Diosdado de lo alto” (Diosdado from above). He also worked as well extensive teaching, journalism and essays. He published them in magazines and newspapers around half the world. His work has been chosen for doctoral theses in many parts of the world.
Lyric
- Santidad y guerrería (Holiness and Guerrieri), (1969)
- Hombre de luz (Man of Light) (1972)
- La mano universal (Universal Hand) (1985)
- Poemas el hombre y las desolaciones (Poetry man and desolation) (1988)
- De ese Dios de las totalidades (In this God of wholes) (1991)
- Antología poética (Poetic Anthology) (1995)
- Sonetos de la muerte (Sonnets of Death) (2000)
Narrative
- Diosdado de lo Alto (novela sobre la Guerra Civil Española, en dos partes, 1980 y 1990 (Diosdado on High (novel about the Spanish Civil War, in two parts, 1980 and 1990)
Criticism
- Experiencias vitales en la obra poética de Miguel Hernández (Life experiences in the poetry of Miguel HernandezMiguel HernándezMiguel Hernández Gilabert was a 20th century Spanish poet and playwright.-Biography:Hernández was born in Orihuela, in the Valencian Community, to a poor family and received little formal education; he published his first book of poetry at 23, and gained considerable fame before his death...
) (1981).
External links
- Sitio web de la Fundación Odón Betanzos(Spanish)
- Fallece el director de la Academia Norteamericana del Español, Los Tiempos, 27 de septiembre de 2007. (Spanish)
- Asociación de Casas-Museo y Fundaciones de Escritores, Fundación Odón Betanzos Palacios (Spanish)
- http://www.museosdeescritores.com/ESP_II/autor/obentanzos.htm (In Spanish). Asociación de Casa-Museo y fundaciones de Escritores, Fundación Odón Betanzos Palacios.