Centennial Celebrations of Latin American Poet
Alvaro Figueredo

The year 2007 marked the 100 years of the birth of Uruguayan poet, educator and essayist, Alvaro Figueredo, regarded as one of the main poets of his native country.

During his lifetime (1907-1966) Alvaro Figueredo published two collections of poetry and various poems in other publications. He founded the literary journal, Mástil, and received awards for his critical essays on literature and pedagogy. A commemorative edition of one of Alvaro Figueredo’s poetry collections, MUNDO A LA VEZ (originally published in 1956) was re-edited in 2007 by Botella del Mar Ediciones sprearheaded by Alfredo Maria Villegas Oromi in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with a foreward by Rafaeal Gomensoro.

Several celebrations of his life and work were organized in Uruguay during 2007 to honour his legacy.

On April 10, 2007, the Primer Homenaje del año 2007 was held at the Third International Meeting of the “Poetas de las Dos Orillas” in Montevideo and had over 100 attendees, that included poets from Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Brazil, and invited speakers, R. Gomensoro, J. Albistur and J. Báez. These speakers discussed Alvaro Figueredo’s poetic work, particularly of MUNDO A LA VEZ.

Another event was held on the birth date of the poet on September 6, 2007, at his birthplace, Pan de Azúcar, Uruguay, at the location of the Casa de Cultura y Museo Alvaro Figueredo. Dr. Maria del Luján Figueredo, eldest granddaughter of the poet, was invited to give a lecture on the poetry of Alvaro Figueredo, “Acercamiento a la subjetividad en la poesía de Álvaro Figueredo.” [An Approach to Subjectivity in the Poetry of Alvaro Figueredo] Montevideo, Uruguay. This paper was later published in Hermes Criollo: Revista de Crítica y de Teoría Literaria y Cultural [Ed. Hebert Benítez. Montevideo, Uruguay. Año 6. N°. 12 (Summer 2007 / Fall 2008): 78-86] and in Letras. N° 8 (2003-2008; Sept. 2008.): 16-23. Pan de Azúcar, Uruguay, together with studies and reflections on his work.

Canadian Events

Several celebrations across Canada honoured the life and work of Alvaro Figueredo. A commemorative event was hosted on September 26, 2007 in Toronto at York University to contribute to the centenary celebrations It was co-sponsored by the a Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics and the Office of the Master, Founders College, and generously supported by the Office of the Dean, Faculty of Arts and the Office of the Vice-President of Research and Innovation, York University.

Presentations on the life and works of Uruguayan writer Álvaro Figueredo, with poetry readings, were held at the Celebración Cultural del Idioma Español (CCIE) / Celebration of the Spanish Language, Annual Festival de la Palabra y de la Imagen / Festival of Words and Images. Organized by Dr. Margarita Feliciano, Department of Hispanic Studies, Glendon College, York University in Toronto on October 25, 2007.

Dr. María Figueredo, also gave a lecture on Alvaro Figueredo and the connections to literature and music titled, ‘Todo canta:’ La musicalización de la poesía de Álvaro Figueredo, su música inherente y la interpretación de Abayubá Caraballo” [‘Everything sings’: Alvaro Figueredo’s Poetry Set to Music, its Inherent Musicality and its Interpretation by Abayubá Caraballo] at the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP), Canada Chapter, held at Ryerson University on October 8, 2008.

“The Centennial of Latin American Poet Alvaro Figueredo”

Date: Wednesday, September 26th, 2007
Location: Senior Common Room, Founders College

This event was co-sponsored by the Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics and the Office of the Master, Founders College,and is generously supported by the Office of the Dean, Faculty of Arts, and the Office of the Vice-President of Research and Innovation, York University.

Program

Prof. Rómulo Cosse, born in Lavalleja, Minas in 1938, served as Director of the Department of Research of the National Library of Uruguay (1990- 2010) and was Director of the Centre for Linguistic-Literary Research at the Universidad Veracruzana (1980-1982). He was professor of literature at the Universidad Católica del Uruguay for many years since 1989. Previously, he had received a special appointment at the University of Washington, Seattle (1982-1989), the Universidad Veracruzana (1980-1982), and Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas (1977-1979), Instituto de Filosofía, Ciencias y Letras de Montevideo (1976) and Instituto Departamental de Lavalleja (1960-1976). (http://www.mec.gub.uy/academiadeletras/Investigadores/R.Cosse/Cosse.htm)

Prof. Alvaro Miranda, born in Santa Marta, Colombia (1945- ), is a poet and novelist. His degree in Philosophy and Literature is from the Universidad de La Salle, Bogotá. After publishing numerous works in collective volumes, his first book, Indiada, appeared in 1971. Founder of the literary magazine El papagayo de cristal, he has directed the literary journal Verso libre(1989) and is the recipient of such literary awards as the Premio Nacional de Poesía in 1981 from the Universidad de Antioquia for Los escritos de don Sancho Jimeno. Alvaro Miranda has written one of the most in-depth analyses of the poetic works of Alvaro Figueredo: “Alvaro Figueredo: caminos abiertos a golpes de luz” (http://letras-uruguay.espaciolatino.com/miranda_alvaro/alvaro_figueredo.htm) (http://www.poetamiranda.com/index.html#four)