Emilio Carballido
Emilio Carballido was a prominent Mexican playwright and author, born on May 22, 1925, in Cordoba, Veracruz. His early life was marked by a move to Mexico City with his mother, followed by a return to Cordoba, which profoundly influenced his perspective and artistic development. By the age of fourteen, Carballido began experimenting with various forms of writing, ultimately gravitating towards drama. His breakthrough came in 1950, a pivotal year when he became a father and had two plays produced concurrently in Mexico City. Carballido is celebrated for his realistic style, often infused with elements of expressionism, and he frequently employed the rose as a significant symbol in his works. His notable plays include "Yo también hablo de la rosa" and "Rosa de dos aromas," both of which received acclaim, including international recognition in France. Throughout his career, Carballido's contributions to theater earned him various honors and fellowships, including a Rockefeller fellowship for studies in New York. He held academic positions at the University of Veracruz and the National University in Mexico City, impacting generations of students and theater practitioners.
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Emilio Carballido
Writer
- Born: May 22, 1925
- Birthplace: Córdoba, Veracruz, Mexico
- Died: February 11, 2008
- Place of death: Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
Biography
Emilio Carballido was born in Cordoba, Veracruz, Mexico, on May 22, 1925, and was taken to Mexico City by his mother, Blanca Rosa Fenantes, the following year. The two remained there until 1939, when Carballido returned to Cordoba to live with his father, Francisco Carballido, a railroad employee. This move considerably affected the impressionable fourteen-year-old. In Cordoba, Carballido lived comfortably in a large house. He frequently joined his father on business trips, living in luxurious railroad passenger cars as they rolled through the jungle toward the sea. Carballido had never before experienced either jungle or sea. This year proved to be a broadening and exhilarating experience for him. When he returned to Mexico City in 1940, he was much different from the young boy who had gone to Cordoba a year earlier.
Carballido had dabbled in writing, experimenting with poetry, short stories, and short plays. By 1946, he knew that drama was the medium through which he could express himself most effectively. Fortunately, during his student days in secondary school, two of his teachers who had national reputations as writers greatly encouraged and influenced him.
Clearly the banner year in Carballido’s life was 1950. In that year, his only son, Juan de Dios Carballido Olalde, was born in Cordoba. In the same year, his first two commercial productions La zona intermedia and Escribir, por ejemplo, were produced on the same day but in different theaters in Mexico City. These plays pleased audiences, but before the year was out a play still considered among his finest, Rosalba y los llaveros, was the inaugural offering at the international season of the Institute of Fine Arts and the International Institute of Theater. Carballido won a Rockefeller fellowship, enabling him to study in New York.
In 1955, Carballido became assistant director of the School of Theater at the University of Veracruz in Xalapa. He wrote feverishly, producing a novella, three major plays, and a collection of short stories. After occupying various administrative posts at the University of Veracruz, he became a professor at the National University in Mexico City. His works were widely translated. The governments of Cuba, Japan, and West Germany honored him.
Although Carballido is basically a realistic writer, he experimented frequently with expressionism. He uses the rose as a pervasive symbol in his writing. Perhaps his most renowned play is Yo también hablo de la rosa, which was especially well received in France, where Carballido journeyed for the opening. Another play in which he uses the rose as a controlling symbol is Rosa de dos aromas. Between 1950 and 1965, three of his novels and a collection of his short stories were published. Carballido, however, is most renowned for his plays.