César Moro
César Moro, born Alfredo Quízpez Asín in Lima, Peru, on August 19, 1903, was a significant poet and artist associated with the Surrealist movement. After adopting the name César Moro in 1921, he found success in Paris, particularly after meeting André Breton. His artistic contributions included painting exhibitions and poetry, much of which he wrote in French, marking a shift from his Spanish roots. In addition to his creative pursuits, Moro was politically active, publishing underground support for the Republican cause during the Spanish Civil War. He returned to Peru in 1933 and collaborated with poet Emilio Adolfo Westphalen to establish a Surrealist group. His works, often characterized by themes of alienation, were not widely published until years later, leading to a posthumous rediscovery of his contributions. Moro's legacy continues to garner interest, particularly following new publications in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. He passed away on January 10, 1956, in Lima, leaving behind a complex but influential body of work within South American literature.
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César Moro
Poet
- Born: August 19, 1903
- Birthplace: Lima, Peru
- Died: January 10, 1956
- Place of death: Lima, Peru
Biography
The Peruvian poet and artist César Moro was born as Alfredo Quízpez Asín on August 19, 1903, in Lima, Peru. His father was Jesús Quípez Asín, a doctor, and his mother was María Elvira Más. He attend the Jesuit School of the Immaculate in Lima, and in 1921, used the name César Moro for the first time.
Although Moro wrote poetry and painted in Peru, it was not until 1925 when he went to Paris that he met with success in either endeavor. He met André Breton in Paris and became a member of the Surrealist movement. He mounted painting exhibitions in Brussels in 1925 and Paris in 1927. Around the same time, he began writing poetry in French rather than Spanish. Indeed, all but one of Moro’s books of poetry was written in his adopted language. He published in Le Surréalisme au service de la révolution, a journal edited by fellow South American Luis Cardoza y Aragón, André Breton, and Paul Eluard.
Moro returned to Peru in 1933, bringing his Surrealist ideas about painting and poetry with him. After forming a close friendship with poet Emilio Adolfo Westphalen, the two writers founded a Surrealist group in Peru and mounted the first Peruvian exhibition of Surrealist art. In 1936, Moro published an underground paper in support of the Republic cause in the Spanish Civil War; in 1937, police broke into his home and confiscated all copies of the paper. In 1938, Moro left for Mexico where he lived until 1946.
During the 1930’s, Moro composed many poems, including those collected in Ces poemes. . . /Estos poemas (1930- 1936) and Couleur de bas—Rêves tête de nègre (1933-1934). He also wrote his only major work in Spanish, La tortuga ecuestre, y otros poemas in 1938 and 1939. None of these works, however, were published until many years after they were written; only a few of his works were published before Moro’s death. Critics have commented on the alienation apparent in Moro’s work; some have suggested that the poet’s homosexuality was one factor in this alienation. Others suggest that his choice to write in French rather than in Spanish also isolated him from his country and his culture.
While he was in Mexico, he became involved with a group of poets known as Los Contemporáneos that included Carlos Pellicer. He also continued his work with Breton’s group of Surrealists while in Mexico, although in 1944 he broke with the Surrealists. Moro returned to Peru in 1948, and became friends with the French poet and critic André Coyné. He published Trafalgar Square in 1954, and wrote his last poem, Amour à mort in 1955. On January 10, 1956, Moro died in Lima of an unknown illness.
Moro’s decision to write in French limited the audience for his poetry in Peru. Moro’s friend Coyné, however, worked diligently to publish Moro’s manuscripts, and thus preserved an important voice in South American literature. New publications of his work in the 1990’s and the 2000’s point to an increasing critical interest in this early disciple of Surrealism.