Concha Méndez
Encyclopedia
Concepción Méndez Cuesta (Madrid, 27 July 1898 - Coyoacán, Mexico, 7 December 1986) was a leading Spanish
poet and dramatist and member of the Generation of '27
who became known in the literary world under the pseudonym Concha Mendez.
school, studying music and art. She was highlighted as a gymnast and became a champion swimmer. In 1919 she decided to travel the world spending time in London
, Buenos Aires
and Montevideo
. When she was nineteen she met Luis Buñuel
while vacationing in San Sebastián
who became her first boyfriend. They were formally engaged for five years until she became tired of his insufferable character. Through this artistic atmosphere she became friends with Rafael Alberti
, Federico García Lorca
, and Luis Cernuda
who encouraged her to join their group which become the Generation of '27
. Concha and Alberti
shared a love for the sea and later in her life she considered him to be her mentor. She published her first collection of poetry, Inquietudes (Concerns) in 1926.
In 1931 Lorca
introduced her to the poet and publisher from Málaga
, Manuel Altolaguirre
They were married the following year and together founded the printing press Verónica which edited the publication, Héroe (for which Juan Ramón Jiménez
contributed lyrical character portraits of Spanish heroes) and 1616. The name 1616 commemorates the year of the deaths of Miguel de Cervantes
and William Shakespeare
and to foster literary relations between England
and Spain
the poems were published in their original language as well as the translation. Federico García Lorca
, Luis Cernuda
, Jorge Guillén
, Pablo Neruda
, Miguel de Unamuno
and Moreno Villa
were collaborators.
where their first child died in infancy and their daughter Paloma was born. During the Spanish Civil War
they lived in England
, France
and Belgium
. At the end of the Civil War they went into exile in Paris
where they met Paul Éluard
. In 1939 they left Paris and traveled to Havana
, Cuba
and reestablished their printing press, Verónica, publishing a poetry collection called El ciervo herido (The Wounded Deer) between 1939 and 1943.
In 1944 they both went to Mexico
and later Manuel
divorced Concha, leaving her for the Cuban actress/producer, María Luisa Gómez Mena. They were both killed in a car accident while returning from the San Sebastián International Film Festival
on 23 July 1959.
From 1944 to 1979 she ceased publication except for a poetry anthology in 1976. Her last book, Vido o río (Life or River), appeared in 1979.
In 1990 Memorias habladas, memorias armadas (Spoken Memories, Memories Armed) was published in Madrid. This was a work drawn from tapes that had been recorded by her granddaughter Paloma Ulacia Altolaguirre.
In Málaga
, Spain
the Calle Poeta Concha Méndez is named after her.
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...
poet and dramatist and member of the Generation of '27
Generation of '27
The Generation of '27 was an influential group of poets that arose in Spanish literary circles between 1923 and 1927, essentially out of a shared desire to experience and work with avant-garde forms of art and poetry. Their first formal meeting took place in Seville in 1927 to mark the 300th...
who became known in the literary world under the pseudonym Concha Mendez.
Early life
Concha was born into a well-to-do family and was educated in a FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
school, studying music and art. She was highlighted as a gymnast and became a champion swimmer. In 1919 she decided to travel the world spending time in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
and Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
. When she was nineteen she met Luis Buñuel
Luis Buñuel
Luis Buñuel Portolés was a Spanish-born filmmaker — later a naturalized citizen of Mexico — who worked in Spain, Mexico, France and the US..-Early years:...
while vacationing in San Sebastián
San Sebastián
Donostia-San Sebastián is a city and municipality located in the north of Spain, in the coast of the Bay of Biscay and 20 km away from the French border. The city is the capital of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. The municipality’s population is 186,122 , and its...
who became her first boyfriend. They were formally engaged for five years until she became tired of his insufferable character. Through this artistic atmosphere she became friends with Rafael Alberti
Rafael Alberti
Rafael Alberti Merello was a Spanish poet, a member of the Generation of '27....
, Federico García Lorca
Federico García Lorca
Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca was a Spanish poet, dramatist and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27. He is believed to be one of thousands who were summarily shot by anti-communist death squads...
, and Luis Cernuda
Luis Cernuda
Luis Cernuda , was a Spanish poet and literary critic.-Life and career:...
who encouraged her to join their group which become the Generation of '27
Generation of '27
The Generation of '27 was an influential group of poets that arose in Spanish literary circles between 1923 and 1927, essentially out of a shared desire to experience and work with avant-garde forms of art and poetry. Their first formal meeting took place in Seville in 1927 to mark the 300th...
. Concha and Alberti
Rafael Alberti
Rafael Alberti Merello was a Spanish poet, a member of the Generation of '27....
shared a love for the sea and later in her life she considered him to be her mentor. She published her first collection of poetry, Inquietudes (Concerns) in 1926.
In 1931 Lorca
Federico García Lorca
Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca was a Spanish poet, dramatist and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27. He is believed to be one of thousands who were summarily shot by anti-communist death squads...
introduced her to the poet and publisher from Málaga
Málaga
Málaga is a city and a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 568,507 in 2010, it is the second most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth largest in Spain. This is the southernmost large city in Europe...
, Manuel Altolaguirre
Manuel Altolaguirre
Manuel Altolaguirre was a Spanish poet, an editor, publisher, and printer of poetry, and a member of the Generation of '27.-Biography:...
They were married the following year and together founded the printing press Verónica which edited the publication, Héroe (for which Juan Ramón Jiménez
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...
contributed lyrical character portraits of Spanish heroes) and 1616. The name 1616 commemorates the year of the deaths of Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. His magnum opus, Don Quixote, considered the first modern novel, is a classic of Western literature, and is regarded amongst the best works of fiction ever written...
and William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
and to foster literary relations between England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
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...
the poems were published in their original language as well as the translation. Federico García Lorca
Federico García Lorca
Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca was a Spanish poet, dramatist and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27. He is believed to be one of thousands who were summarily shot by anti-communist death squads...
, Luis Cernuda
Luis Cernuda
Luis Cernuda , was a Spanish poet and literary critic.-Life and career:...
, Jorge Guillén
Jorge Guillén
Jorge Guillén y Álvarez was a Spanish poet, a member of the Generation of '27.-Biography:Jorge Guillén was born in Valladolid. His life paralleled that of his friend Pedro Salinas, whom he succeeded as a Spanish teaching assistant at the Collège de Sorbonne in the University of Paris from 1917 to...
, Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He chose his pen name after Czech poet Jan Neruda....
, Miguel de Unamuno
Miguel de Unamuno
Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo was a Spanish essayist, novelist, poet, playwright and philosopher.-Biography:...
and Moreno Villa
José Moreno Villa
José Moreno Villa was a Spanish poet and member of the Generation of '27. Was a rich man who excelled in facets: narrator, essayist, literary critic, artist, painter, columnist, researcher, archivist, librarian and archaeologist...
were collaborators.
Spanish Civil War and Exile
From 1933 to 1935 Concha and Manuel lived in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
where their first child died in infancy and their daughter Paloma was born. 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...
they lived in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and 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...
. At the end of the Civil War they went into exile in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
where they met Paul Éluard
Paul Éluard
Paul Éluard, born Eugène Émile Paul Grindel , was a French poet who was one of the founders of the surrealist movement.-Biography:...
. In 1939 they left Paris and traveled to Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
and reestablished their printing press, Verónica, publishing a poetry collection called El ciervo herido (The Wounded Deer) between 1939 and 1943.
In 1944 they both went to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and later Manuel
Manuel Altolaguirre
Manuel Altolaguirre was a Spanish poet, an editor, publisher, and printer of poetry, and a member of the Generation of '27.-Biography:...
divorced Concha, leaving her for the Cuban actress/producer, María Luisa Gómez Mena. They were both killed in a car accident while returning from the San Sebastián International Film Festival
San Sebastián International Film Festival
The San Sebastián International Film Festival is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of San Sebastián .-History:The festival was founded in 1953...
on 23 July 1959.
From 1944 to 1979 she ceased publication except for a poetry anthology in 1976. Her last book, Vido o río (Life or River), appeared in 1979.
In 1990 Memorias habladas, memorias armadas (Spoken Memories, Memories Armed) was published in Madrid. This was a work drawn from tapes that had been recorded by her granddaughter Paloma Ulacia Altolaguirre.
In Málaga
Málaga
Málaga is a city and a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 568,507 in 2010, it is the second most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth largest in Spain. This is the southernmost large city in Europe...
, 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...
the Calle Poeta Concha Méndez is named after her.
Writings
- Inquietudes (Concerns), 1926
- Surtidor (Source), 1928
- El ángel cartero (The Mailman Angel), 1929
- Canciones de mar y tierra (Songs of Land and Sea), 1930
- Vida a vida (From Life to Life), 1932. Prologue by Juan Ramón JiménezJuan Ramón JiménezJuan 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...
- El pez engañado 1933-1935 (The Deceived Fish), 1935
- El carbón y la rosa (The Coal and the Rose), 1935. Read by Luis CernudaLuis CernudaLuis Cernuda , was a Spanish poet and literary critic.-Life and career:...
at the Lyceum Club of Madrid, 1936 - Niño y sombras (Child and Shadows), 1936
- Prólogo de El solitario (Forward to the Lone Ranger), 1938
- Lluvias enlazadas (Interlocking Rains), 1939
- El solitario (Amor) (The Lone Ranger, Love) 1941
- Sombras y sueños (Shadows and Dreams), 1944
- Villancicos de navidad (Christmas Carols), 1944
- El solitario (Soledad) (The Lone Ranger), 1945
- Vida o río (Life or River), 1979
- Memorias habladas, memorias armadas, (Memories Spoken, Memories Armed), 1990
- Poemas 1926-1986, 1995. Edited by Professor James Valendas, the husband of her granddaughter, Paloma