Francisco Antonio de Fuentes y Guzmán (1643–1700) was a Guatemala

Guatemala

Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...

n historian

Historian

A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...

 and poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

. His only surviving work is La Recordación Florida.

Biography

Fuentes y Guzmán was born in Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala

Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala

Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala was the name given to the Spanish colonial capital of Guatemala in Central America. The name was first associated with the Kaqchikel Maya capital Iximche, adopted as the Spanish capital soon after the Spanish conquest of Guatemala began, in July 1524...

 in 1643. He was the descendant of the conquistador

Conquistador

Conquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...

 Bernal Díaz del Castillo

Bernal Díaz del Castillo

Bernal Díaz del Castillo was a conquistador, who wrote an eyewitness account of the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards for Hernán Cortés, himself serving as a rodelero under Cortés.-Early life:...

, historian of the Indies. In 1661 he held the position of Regidor

Regidor

A Regidor is a member of a council of municipalities in Spain and Latin America. Portugal also used to have the same office of Regedor.-Mexico:...

 Perpetuo de Guatemala (Perpetual Regidor of Guatemala). He was also the mayor of Totonicapán

Totonicapán

Totonicapán is a city in Guatemala. It serves as the capital of the department of Totonicapán and as the administrative seat for the surrounding municipality of Totonicapán.- External links :# #...

 and Sonsonate. He worked many years as the Cronista del Ayuntamiento (Chronicler of the Municipal Government). He is thought to have died in Totonicapán

Totonicapán

Totonicapán is a city in Guatemala. It serves as the capital of the department of Totonicapán and as the administrative seat for the surrounding municipality of Totonicapán.- External links :# #...

 in 1700.

La Recordación Florida

La Recordación Florida, also called Historia de Guatemala (History of Guatemala), is Fuentes y Guzmán's only surviving work. It was the first Guatemalan history book written by a colonial Guatemalan author of Spanish descent. The book was written in 1690 and is regarded as one of the most important works of Guatemalan history. In the book, he describes the customs and rites of indigenous people, the Conquista, and notable facts in the history of Guatemala until the 16th century. His goal in this work was to be considered el Cronista de la Corona (the Crown's Chronicler).

Other works

• El Milagro de América, describing the inauguration of the Catedral de Guatemala
• La Vida de Santa Teresa de Jesús, describing the festivities in Guatemala when King Carlos II of Spain turned 13
• La Cinosura Política o Ceremonial de Guatemala.
• El Norte Político.