Juan Montalvo
Juan María Montalvo Fiallos was an influential Ecuadorian writer and political activist born on April 13, 1832, in Ambato, Ecuador. He grew up during a tumultuous time in Ecuador's history, marked by political instability following the country's independence from Gran Colombia. Montalvo initially pursued studies in philosophy and law but shifted his focus to literature and became a prominent critic of the dictatorial regimes of his time, particularly that of Gabriel García Moreno. His writings, which included the periodical *El cosmopolita* and the humorous sequel *Capítulos que se le olvidaron a Cervantes*, showcased his sharp wit and elegant prose, establishing him as a key figure in 19th-century Latin American literature.
Exiled multiple times due to his outspoken views, Montalvo lived in various countries, including Colombia and France, where he published his notable work *Siete tratados*. His writings often emphasized liberal ideals and critiques of authoritarianism, leading to censorship in his home country. Montalvo's legacy is commemorated in Ecuador, where his birthday is celebrated as the Day of the Teacher, and his remains are housed in a mausoleum in Ambato, reflecting his lasting impact on Ecuadorian culture and politics. He passed away in Paris on January 17, 1889, due to tuberculosis.
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Juan Montalvo
Author
- Born: April 13, 1832
- Birthplace: Ambato, Ecuador
- Died: January 17, 1889
- Place of death: Paris, France
Biography
Juan María Montalvo Fiallos was born on April 13, 1832, in Ambato, Ecuador, the tenth of fourteen children born to Marcos Montalvo Oviedo and Josefa Fiallos Villacrés. Montalvo grew up in a period of great turmoil in his country’s history. Ecuador had formally achieved independence from Gran Colombia in 1830, and for decades afterward was wracked by revolution, assassinations, and clashes with neighboring counties.
Montalvo began his primary education in local schools, and at age sixteen he entered the Seminary of San Luis to study philosophy, graduating with honors in 1851. He then enrolled at the Central University in Quito to study law but left before earning a law degree. Montalvo, who by now had become liberal and anti-Catholic, returned to his hometown to study literature, particularly the French Romantics, and philosophy, especially the work of Michel Eyquem de Montaigne.
In 1857, thanks to the auspices of his politically well-placed older brother, Francisco, Montalvo was appointed secretary of the Ecuador legation to Paris. For two years he traveled throughout France, Italy, and Spain before resigning his position and returning home. He arrived in Ecuador just as dictator Gabriel García Moreno began his first term as president. Though a strong advocate of higher education, Moreno also was a champion of the Jesuits, passing laws declaring Catholicism the exclusive religion and making citizenship dependent upon adherence to the faith. This infuriated the country’s liberals, including Montalvo, who became the ruthless dictator’s most outspoken critic.
In 1865, Montalvo married María Adelaida Guzmán and the couple had two children, Alfonso, who died at the age of ten, and María del Carmen. In 1866, he began publishing El cosmopolita, essentially an anti-Moreno periodical tract. In 1869, Moreno exiled Montalvo from Ecuador. Montalvo moved to Ipiales, Colombia, and traveled to Panama, France, Germany and Peru. During his exile he wrote Capítulos que se le olvidaron a Cervantes, a humorous sequel to Don Quixote (1605-1615) that blended narrative and essay. He also wrote such lengthy political essays as “Judas” and “La dictadura perpetua” (the perpetual dictatorship), which focused on morality and liberal beliefs, reinforcing his reputation as one of the most elegant prose stylists of nineteenth century Latin America, known for pithy expressions and sharp imagery.
After Moreno was hacked to death by assassins in 1875, an event Montalvo claimed to have inspired through his writings, Montalvo returned home the following year and began publishing another political journal, El regenerador. However, an equally despotic dictator, Ignacio de Veintimilla, had come into power, and Montalvo was again forced into exile. He moved to Panama, where he published the political newspaper Las catalinarias. Though elected in absentia as a government representative, Montalvo, fearing for his safety, did not take office.
Montalvo eventually moved to Paris, where he published his best-known work, Siete tratados, which was placed on the Catholic prohibited book index and banned in Ecuador. In 1884, he published another book, La mercurial eclesiástica, and two years later began publishing another political newspaper, El espectador.
Montalvo died in Paris of tuberculosis on January 17, 1889. Another of his works, Geometría moral, was published posthumously in 1902. In 1920, Montalvo’s birthday, April 13, was declared the Day of the Teacher in Ecuador. In 1932, his mummified body was placed into a mausoleum erected in his honor in Ambato, Ecuador, where it remained on exhibit in the twenty-first century.