Salvador Novo
Encyclopedia
Salvador Novo López was a Mexican
writer
, poet
, playwright
, translator
, television presenter, entrepreneur
, and the official chronicle
r of Mexico City
, his birthplace and home. As a noted intellectual, he influenced popular perceptions of politics
, media, the arts, and Mexican society in general. He was a member of Los Contemporáneos
, a group of Mexican writers, as well as of the Mexican Academy of the Language
.
and conservative Catholicism
prevalent in 20th century Mexican culture by making almost no efforts to conceal his sexuality
. He was, however, accepted by the Mexican government. He held official posts related to culture, was elected to the Mexican Language Academy
, and had a television program
on Mexico City's history. Towards the end of his life, he dyed his hair a bright carrot color
and wore many ostentatious rings and colored suits. He has been compared to Oscar Wilde
, but unlike Wilde, Novo never suffered the setback of scandal or persecution and remained an accepted and respected member of society and governmental circles until his death. In fact, some sectors resented the fact that a gay writer would align himself so closely with the government and media after the repression of social movements in the 1960s and 1970s.
He was well known for his wit. When a party, where young soldiers had been invited by homosexual
intellectual friends of his, had degenerated into a fight and a scandal, Salvador Novo brushed off the whole matter with a factual: "This is what happens when members of the intellectual elite try to enter military circles".
In accordance with tradition, the street on which he lived was renamed after him when he assumed the role of Mexico City's official chronicler, a post held for life.
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
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....
, poet
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, translator
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
, television presenter, entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
, and the official chronicle
Chronicle
Generally a chronicle is a historical account of facts and events ranged in chronological order, as in a time line. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events, the purpose being the recording of events that occurred, seen from the perspective of the...
r of Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, his birthplace and home. As a noted intellectual, he influenced popular perceptions of politics
Politics of Mexico
The politics of Mexico take place in a framework of a federal presidential representative democratic republic whose government is based on a congressional system, whereby the president of Mexico is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system...
, media, the arts, and Mexican society in general. He was a member of Los Contemporáneos
Los Contemporáneos
Los Contemporáneos can refer to a Mexican modernist group, active in the late twenties and early thirties, as well as to the literary magazine which served as the group's mouthpiece and artistic vehicle from 1928 to 1931...
, a group of Mexican writers, as well as of the Mexican Academy of the Language
Academia Mexicana de la Lengua
The Academia Mexicana de la Lengua is the correspondent academy in Mexico of the Royal Spanish Academy...
.
Main characteristics
Novo defied the machismoMachismo
Machismo, or machoism, is a word of Spanish and Portuguese origin that describes prominently exhibited or excessive masculinity. As an attitude, machismo ranges from a personal sense of virility to a more extreme male chauvinism...
and conservative Catholicism
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
prevalent in 20th century Mexican culture by making almost no efforts to conceal his sexuality
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
. He was, however, accepted by the Mexican government. He held official posts related to culture, was elected to the Mexican Language Academy
Academia Mexicana de la Lengua
The Academia Mexicana de la Lengua is the correspondent academy in Mexico of the Royal Spanish Academy...
, and had a television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
on Mexico City's history. Towards the end of his life, he dyed his hair a bright carrot color
Orange (colour)
The colour orange occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum at a wavelength of about 585–620 nm, and has a hue of 30° in HSV colour space. It is numerically halfway between red and yellow in a gamma-compressed RGB colour space, the expression of which is the RGB colour wheel. The...
and wore many ostentatious rings and colored suits. He has been compared to Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
, but unlike Wilde, Novo never suffered the setback of scandal or persecution and remained an accepted and respected member of society and governmental circles until his death. In fact, some sectors resented the fact that a gay writer would align himself so closely with the government and media after the repression of social movements in the 1960s and 1970s.
He was well known for his wit. When a party, where young soldiers had been invited by homosexual
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
intellectual friends of his, had degenerated into a fight and a scandal, Salvador Novo brushed off the whole matter with a factual: "This is what happens when members of the intellectual elite try to enter military circles".
In accordance with tradition, the street on which he lived was renamed after him when he assumed the role of Mexico City's official chronicler, a post held for life.
Works
- 1925 – XX Poemas (XX Poems)
- 1933 – Nuevo amor (New Love)
- 1933 – Espejo (Mirror)
- 1934 – Seamen Rhymes
- 1934 – Romance de Angelillo y Adela (Romance of Angelillo and Adela)
- 1934 – Poemas proletarios (Proletarian Poems)
- 1934 – Never ever
- 1937 – Un poema (A Poem)
- 1938 – Poesías escogidas (Chosen Poems)
- 1944 – Nuestra tierra (Our Land)
- 1945 – Florido laude
- 1945 – La estatua de sal (The Salt Statue, published in May 2008)
- 1955 – Dieciocho sonetos (Eighteen Sonets)
- 1955 – Sátira, el libro ca... (Satyre, the F*** Book)
- 1961 – Poesía (Poetry)
- 1962 – Breve historia de Coyoacán (Short History of Coyoacán)
- 1967 – Historia gastronómica de la Ciudad de México (Gastronomic History of Mexico City)
- 1967 – Imagen de una ciudad (Image of a City) illustrated with photographs by Pedro Bayona
- 1968 – La Ciudad de México en 1867 (Mexico City in 1867)
- 1971 – Historia y leyenda de Coyoacán (History and Legend of Coyoacán)
Theatre
Within a 1,000-sq.m.-land purchased in 1950, Salvador Novo decided to build, with the aid of architect Alejandro Prieto, the cultural project "La Capilla", for which purpose he adapted an old chapel as a theatre, which was inaugurated on January 22, 1953. Currently, this set also includes a small restaurant, "El Refectorio", as well as a theatre-bar "El Hábito".- Don Quijote (1947)
- Astucia (Witness) (1948)
- La culta dama (1948) (The Wise Lady; it was used to write the script of a homonym Mexican film, directed in 1957 by Rogelio A. González, Jr.
- A ocho columnas (Eight Columns) (from 1953 on)
- Diálogos (Dialogues)
- Yocasta o casi (Yocasta or Almost)
- Cuauhtémoc (Cuauhtémoc)
- La guerra de las gordas (The War of the Fat Ones)
- Ha vuelto Ulises (Ulises is back)
- El sofá (The Sofa)
- El espejo encantado (The Enchanted Mirror)