Luz Valle
Luz Valle (1899-1981) was a prominent Guatemalan writer, journalist, and educator, known for her significant contributions to literature and women's issues in her country. Born in Guatemala City, she was raised in an educated family that encouraged her literary ambitions. Valle gained early recognition with her play "La revancha," although it was never produced or published. She began her journalism career in 1922 as a women's editor for El Impartial, often writing under pseudonyms to navigate societal norms of the time.
In 1933, she founded "Nosotras," a magazine dedicated to women's voices, which she edited for about a decade, supporting many emerging writers. Valle also taught literature for thirty years at the Belén Normal School for Women and was a popular radio personality with her program "La voz del hogar." Despite her prolific output, including poetry and plays focused on themes of women's concerns, death, and national identity, much of her work remained underappreciated during her lifetime. Notably, she is credited with establishing Mother's Day in Guatemala and was honored posthumously with a school named after her. Valle's legacy is marked by her dedication to empowering women through literature and journalism.
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Luz Valle
Playwright
- Born: October 19, 1899
- Birthplace: Guatemala City, Guatemala
- Died: May 3, 1971
- Place of death: Guatemala City, Guatemala
Biography
Luz Valle was born on October 19, 1899, to Amalia Hernández de Valle and Manuel Valle in Guatemala City, Guatemala. One of five children, Valle grew up in an educated family; her parents supported the literary aspirations of all their children.
In 1919, Valle won a much-esteemed literary award for her play La revancha (the revenge). Despite the honor, no productions of the play ever took place, nor was it ever published. She began working as a journalist in 1922 when she joined the staff of El Impartial as women’s editor. Much of her work, however, appeared under a variety of pseudonyms rather than under her own name.
Valle eventually left the newspaper and in 1933 created Nosotras, a magazine for women. This periodical lasted for about ten years. As the editor of Nosotras, she encouraged and published many young Guatemalan writers. During the 1930’s and 1940’s, Valle also worked as editor for a series of journals and periodicals. She also taught literature at the Instituto Normal para Señoritas Belén (the Belén normal school for women) for about thirty years. In addition, Valle was a radio personality and producer; her program La voz del hogar was broadcast to a largely female audience on Guatemalan radio.
Valle’s work as a poet is also notable; because much of her work appeared in newspapers rather than in published books, however, it has been largely overlooked. Just as much of her journalistic writing focused on the concerns of women, so too did her poetry. She also wrote about death and grief. The loss of her mother affected her deeply, as did the death of one of her brothers in the devastating 1917 earthquake that destroyed much of Guatemala.
Valle’s only published book is her one-act play El milagro de septièmbre (the miracle of September), performed at the Belén Normal School for Women in 1953. The play is the story of the Guatemalan struggle for independence. Valle wrote at least three other plays performed at the school.
Although Valle worked as a writer for most of her life, and although her words were familiar to many Guatemalan women, her work was largely overlooked by critics and reviewers during her lifetime. She is often remembered as the person responsible for the institution of Mother’s Day in her country. The Guatemalan government honored her by naming a school after her in 1956, however.
Valle’s achievements as a writer include her many poems, newspaper articles, radio scripts, and plays. In addition, she was instrumental in promoting the careers of many other Guatemalan writers. Her greatest achievement was in her devotion to her female audience. Ironically, this devotion may have cost her the critical acclaim given to writers who targeted a more academic audience.