Darío Herrera
Darío Herrera was a prominent Panamanian poet, diplomat, and literary critic, born in Panama City in 1870 when Panama was still part of Colombia. Displaying a strong inclination towards literature from an early age, he was largely self-taught. Throughout his life, he held various diplomatic roles, serving as consul in France and Lima, and later in Valparaiso, Chile. Herrera's literary contributions include poetry, critical essays, and translations, with his early works reflecting the Romantic style and later embracing Modernismo—a movement that sought to innovate and break from traditional forms.
His notable works include "Horas lejanas" and a posthumously published poetry collection titled "Lejanías," curated by his son. Despite his literary achievements, Herrera faced significant personal challenges, including struggles with mental illness that led to a breakdown in Cuba. He passed away in Chile in 1914 at the age of forty-four. Today, he is recognized as Panama's first Modernist poet, celebrated for his extensive body of work that has made a lasting impact on Latin American literature.
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Subject Terms
Darío Herrera
Writer
- Born: July 18, 1870
- Birthplace: Panama City, Columbia (now Panama)
- Died: June 14, 1914
- Place of death: Valparaiso, Chile
Biography
Darío Herrera was born in Panama City, Panama, in 1870. At the time, Panama was part of Columbia. His father was Lino Clemente Herrera and his mother was Juana de la Rosa. Herrera showed an early aptitude for letters and it is believed he was self-taught. Herrera married Elvira Paulsen in Lima, Peru, in or after 1908. They had one son, Darío Herrera Paulsen.
Herrera traveled the world as the Panamanian diplomat to Latin America and France. He served as director of his country’s military high school until the government offered him a prestigious post as a confidential agent in Argentina. In November, 1904, he was appointed a consul in France, and in 1908 a consul in Lima. He eventually rose to the position of general consul. In 1913, Herrera returned to Valparaiso, Chile, where he served in a diplomatic post.
Herrera’s literary output spans poetry, critical essays, book reviews, travelogues, newspaper writing, prose, and translations. His early poetry, composed in the Romantic style, first appeared in 1892 in literary journals such as El cronista, El cosmos, and El Heraldo de Istmo. His critical essays and book reviews demonstrated his extensive knowledge of the Modernismo movement and established his reputation as a literary critic. An inveterate traveler, Herrera chronicled his time in Ecuador in a book called En las Guayas (In the Guayas) in 1898. That same year, Herrera began writing for such esteemed newspapers as La Nación and El Mercurio Americano. He later worked as a journalist in Mexico. Herrera’s oeuvre includes translations of works by Oscar Wilde and the poet Paul Verlaine. In 1903, Herrera penned Horas lejanas. Herrera’s son published Lejanías, a posthumous collection of his father’s poetry, in 1971.
Herrera never enjoyed good health and battled with mental illness. He spent some time in a sanitarium after a nervous breakdown in Cuba in 1905. He suffered paranoia near the end of his life, and died in Chile in 1914, at the age of forty-four. Dario Herrera’s major achievement is the vast amount of writing he produced in the Modernismo style. Modern scholars now recognize him as Panama’s first Modernist poet.