Altamirano, Ignacio Manuel

Altamirano, Ignacio Manuel (ēgnä`syō mänwĕl` ältämērä`nō), 1834–93, Mexican novelist and poet. Altamirano came from a poor family of indigenous descent, and after gaining his formal education he joined Benito Juárez in the struggle against Maximilian. Afterward he was a key figure in the reconstruction of the republic. He edited the newspaper Correo de México. As a poet Altamirano interpreted the Mexican landscape. He is best known for two novels—Clemencia and La Navidad en las montañas [christmas in the mountains], a story sketching Mexican customs.

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Altamirano, Ignacio Manuel 

Born Dec. 12, 1834, in Tixtla; died Feb. 13, 1893, in San Remo (Italy). Mexican writer and public figure.

Altamirano, the son of an Indian peasant, was one of the ideologists of the liberal party of Juárez. His romantic writings expressed ideas of patriotism. The novel Clemencia (1869) is a love story that takes place during the liberation struggle against the French intervention. In his articles on literature, Altamirano formulated a program for the development of a national literature.

WORKS

Obras literarias completas. Mexico, 1959.

REFERENCES

Martinez, J. L. La expresión nacional. Mexico, 1955.
Warner, R. E. Bibliografia de Ignacio Manuel Altamirano. Mexico, 1955.

V. N. KUTEISHCHIKOVA