López Velarde, Ramón

López Velarde, Ramón (rämōn` lō`pās vālär`thā), 1888–1921, Mexican poet. One of the major poets of Mexico, he deeply influenced the work of later poets, notably Xavier Villaurrutia. Although his poetry sometimes shows the influence of modernismo, he was one of the first poets to rebel against its labored aestheticism. His excesses are the result of a passionate quest for originality. It was his masterful treatment of the Mexican landscape, the contrast between the traditions of the countryside and the turbulence of the city, and his own anguished struggle between ascetic leanings and pagan sensuality that give his lyrics their peculiar tension, expressiveness, and drama. His first work, La sangre devota [the devout blood] (1916), was followed by Zozobra (1919). El son del corazón [the sound of the heart] and Poemas escogidos [selected poems] (1935) were published posthumously.

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López Velarde, Ramón 

Born June 15, 1888, in Jerez, in the state of Zacatecas; died June 19, 1921, in Mexico City. Mexican poet. Son of folklore specialist A. Machado Alvarez.

López Velarde graduated from law school in San Luis Potosi. His first poems, inspired by impressions of provincial life (the collection Pious Blood, 1916), were imbued with a passionate love of his native land. López Velarde’s later lyric poetry was more subjective and dramatic but still retained its ties with real life. His most important poetic work, Beloved Fatherland (1921; Russian translation of excerpts, 1970), extolled Mexico and its people.

WORKS

Obras completas. Mexico City, 1944.

REFERENCES

Obregon Morales, R. “Chelovek vykhodit na pervyi plan.” Inostrannaia literatura, 1970, no. 6.
Guillén, N. “López Velarde, el poeta de la suave patria.” Bohemia, 1960, no. 51.
Mexicó en la cultura, June 20, 1971, no. 1, 160 (the issue is devoted to López Velarde).