Remigio Crespo Toral
Encyclopedia
Remigio Crespo Toral was an Ecuadorian writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....

 from Cuenca.

Biography

Born in Cuenca, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

, on August 4, 1860, into a well-known family of the region, Crespo Toral went to high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 in the Seminary College of Cuenca, from 1873 to 1877, the year in which he entered the University of Cuenca
University of Cuenca
University of Cuenca is an Ecuadoran university located in Cuenca. University of Cuenca is the principal university of Azuay Province. The university was founded in 1867....

, to study law and thus obtain a law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

 degree, a fact that happened nine years later, in 1886.

That same year he married Elvira Vega García (1868-1965), with whom he had ten children. In 1894 he was Director of Studies of Azuay Province. In the 1880's, he began his journalistic career, writing under the pseudonym "Stein". In 1905, President Leónidas Plaza Gutiérrez appointed him lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 of the Republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...

, to defend Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

 in its diplomatic conflict with Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

.

In 1909, in the centennial of the first cry of independence, Crespo Toral published a book titled Cien años de emancipación. In 1913, he participated in the foundation of the Banco del Azuay (first bank in Cuenca) led by the prominent businessman Federico Malo Andrade
Federico Malo Andrade
Federico Eulogio Malo Andrade was an Ecuadorian entrepreneur and a prominent figure that made fortune with the exportation of panama hats, quinine and with the foundation of financial institutions...

.

In 1917, he was crowned national poet, by decree of the President Alfredo Baquerizo Moreno, in the Central Park of Cuenca. This was a very important ceremony, which was attended by the entire city, including senior officials like President Baquerizo Moreno, the Ambassadors of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

, among others.

In 1919 he founded, with Alfonso Moreno Mora, "La Fiesta de la Lira", which was a literary contest, held just outside the city, in quiet countryside land. In 1925 he was appointed Rector of the University of Cuenca
University of Cuenca
University of Cuenca is an Ecuadoran university located in Cuenca. University of Cuenca is the principal university of Azuay Province. The university was founded in 1867....

 (where he studied five decades before), holding this post until his death in Cuenca, on July 8, 1939.

Works

  • Últimos pensamientos de Bolívar (1889)
  • Canto a Sucre (1897)
  • Mi Poema (1898)
  • Cien años de emancipación (1909)
  • América y España (1909)
  • La Leyenda de Hernán (1917)
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