Ignacio Ramírez
Encyclopedia
Juan Ignacio Paulino Ramírez Calzada (22 June 1818 - 15 June 1879) was a Mexican
writer, poet, journalist, lawyer, atheist, and political libertarian from San Miguel de Allende
who used the pen name, El Nigromante (The Necromancer). He defended the rights of Indians. He was known as, “The Voltaire of Mexico” and worked with Guillermo Prieto
to start the satirical periodical, Don Simplicio.
He began his studies in Querétaro, birth city of his father, and in 1835 was taken to the Colegio de San Gregorio in Mexico City, where he studied arts. In 1841 he began studies and in 1845 obtained a law degree at the Pontifical University of Mexico. He was admitted at age 19 in the Literary Academy of St. John Lateran, composed of the most enlightened men of the time. Ramirez is famous in Mexico's literary annals for his reading a speech at the Academy on a topic so controversial that had the effect of a dynamite explosion: he opined that there is no God - the creatures of nature are sustained by themselves ("No hay Dios; los seres de la naturaleza se sostienen por sí mismos" (There is no God: Natural Beings Support Themselves"). He was accepted despite protests that petrified the assembly. He would be exalted as the first orator and later as the best writer of his time.
According to the web site of the Mexican government, “He was persecuted and imprisoned for his ideas, but managed to promote various changes to the law, such as that guaranteeing the autonomy of the municipality. He was named Minister for Instruction and Promotion, instituting important educational and economic reforms. During the reign of the Emperor Maximilian, he was banished to California
, but on his return to the Republic, he was elected to the Supreme Court of Justice as a magistrate. He died on June 15, 1879, in Mexico City.
Ramírez founded the Instituto Literario de Toluca, where he mentored the famous novelist Ignacio Manuel Altamirano
. The Mexican Government named a town in the Northern State of Durango
after Ignacio Ramírez.
His atheism
was the subject of a scandal in 1948 when the muralist Diego Rivera
painted a mural at the Del Prado Hotel with Ramírez holding a sign reading, "Dios no existe" ("God does not exist"). Rivera would not remove the inscription, so the mural was not shown for 9 years – after Rivera agreed to remove the offending words. He stated: "To affirm "God does not exist", I do not have to hide behind Don Ignacio Ramírez; I am an atheist and I consider religions to be a form of collective neurosis
. I am not an enemy of the Catholic
s, as I am not an enemy of the tuberculars, the myopic or the paralytics; you cannot be an enemy of the sick, only their good friend in order to help them cure themselves."
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...
writer, poet, journalist, lawyer, atheist, and political libertarian from San Miguel de Allende
San Miguel de Allende
San Miguel de Allende is a city and municipality located in the far eastern part of the state of Guanajuato in central Mexico. It is 274 km from Mexico City and 97 km from the state capital of Guanajuato...
who used the pen name, El Nigromante (The Necromancer). He defended the rights of Indians. He was known as, “The Voltaire of Mexico” and worked with Guillermo Prieto
Guillermo Prieto
Guillermo Prieto Pradillo was a Mexican novelist, short-story writer, poet, chronicler, journalist, essayist, patriot and Liberal politician...
to start the satirical periodical, Don Simplicio.
He began his studies in Querétaro, birth city of his father, and in 1835 was taken to the Colegio de San Gregorio in Mexico City, where he studied arts. In 1841 he began studies and in 1845 obtained a law degree at the Pontifical University of Mexico. He was admitted at age 19 in the Literary Academy of St. John Lateran, composed of the most enlightened men of the time. Ramirez is famous in Mexico's literary annals for his reading a speech at the Academy on a topic so controversial that had the effect of a dynamite explosion: he opined that there is no God - the creatures of nature are sustained by themselves ("No hay Dios; los seres de la naturaleza se sostienen por sí mismos" (There is no God: Natural Beings Support Themselves"). He was accepted despite protests that petrified the assembly. He would be exalted as the first orator and later as the best writer of his time.
According to the web site of the Mexican government, “He was persecuted and imprisoned for his ideas, but managed to promote various changes to the law, such as that guaranteeing the autonomy of the municipality. He was named Minister for Instruction and Promotion, instituting important educational and economic reforms. During the reign of the Emperor Maximilian, he was banished to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, but on his return to the Republic, he was elected to the Supreme Court of Justice as a magistrate. He died on June 15, 1879, in Mexico City.
Ramírez founded the Instituto Literario de Toluca, where he mentored the famous novelist Ignacio Manuel Altamirano
Ignacio Manuel Altamirano
Ignacio Manuel Altamirano Basilio was a Mexican writer, journalist, teacher and politician.Altamirano was born in Tixtla, Guerrero, of pure indigenous Nahua heritage. His father was the mayor of Tixtla, this allowed Ignacio to attend school there...
. The Mexican Government named a town in the Northern State of Durango
Durango
Durango officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is located in Northwest Mexico. With a population of 1,632,934, it has Mexico's second-lowest population density, after Baja...
after Ignacio Ramírez.
His atheism
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
was the subject of a scandal in 1948 when the muralist Diego Rivera
Diego Rivera
Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez was a prominent Mexican painter born in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, an active communist, and husband of Frida Kahlo . His large wall works in fresco helped establish the Mexican Mural Movement in...
painted a mural at the Del Prado Hotel with Ramírez holding a sign reading, "Dios no existe" ("God does not exist"). Rivera would not remove the inscription, so the mural was not shown for 9 years – after Rivera agreed to remove the offending words. He stated: "To affirm "God does not exist", I do not have to hide behind Don Ignacio Ramírez; I am an atheist and I consider religions to be a form of collective neurosis
Neurosis
Neurosis is a class of functional mental disorders involving distress but neither delusions nor hallucinations, whereby behavior is not outside socially acceptable norms. It is also known as psychoneurosis or neurotic disorder, and thus those suffering from it are said to be neurotic...
. I am not an enemy of the Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
s, as I am not an enemy of the tuberculars, the myopic or the paralytics; you cannot be an enemy of the sick, only their good friend in order to help them cure themselves."