In memory of April 23, 1616, on the same date, we celebrate International Book Day, contrary to tradition, the truth is that Miguel de Cervantes died the day before and that April 23 was his funeral, in turn, William Shakespeare died the day before. April 23, but according to the Julian calendar used in the British Isles at the time, which would correspond to 3 May in our current calendar. However, there was a prominent author who died that day, the Peruvian Inca Garcilaso de la Vega.
The son of a Spanish conqueror of the nobility of Extremadura, an autonomous community in Spain, and an Inca princess of the family of Huayna Capac and Tupac Yupanqui, Garcilaso was christened Gómez Suárez de Figueroa. The name change was also linked to their ancestors.
- He descended not only from leaders and warriors.
- But also from great writers such as Jorge Manrique.
- The Marquis of Santillana and Garcilaso de la Vega.
- From the union of his famous predecessor and his American conscience came to his signature.
- Vega.
Despite his illustrious origins, the time of his birth was against him, his father accompanied illustrious men such as Alvarado, Cortés and the Pizarro brothers and was one of the first Spaniards in America.
At that time, marriages with people of the New World were not yet regulated, condemning Inca Garcilaso to illegitimacy, at least temporarily, however, he received an excellent education in Cusco, along with other illegitimate children from large families. time that his love of lyrics was born.
In 1560, at the age of 21, he made his father’s journey backwards. After his military career, he fought in Italy as captain and helped suppress some Moorish revolts in Granada. His stay in Italy allowed him to meet the neoplatonic philosopher Leon. Hebrew, whose Dialogues of Love he translated.
Perhaps it was his first contact with writing, or his disappointment at the difficulty he faced in scaling his military career as a métis, that led him to start a new life.
After surviving his military adventures, he moved to Montilla, Córdoba, at which time he became one of its most unique Spanish-speaking chroniclers, in terms of his father and his own experience, he learned about many of the events that occurred at the beginning of the conquest of the Inca Empire.
While in Europe, he also learned of the early adventures of Hernando de Soto’s men in Spanish Florida. In relation to these issues, there was nothing to distinguish him from his peers, but he had an added advantage, it was Métis.
With his mother, Inca Garcilaso also knew the glorious history of Peru before his conquest, the same condition that has imposed so many barriers on him is, ironically, the one that reminds us of it.
Few authors were able to cope with the romantic, rayane heroism in madness, led by Spanish explorers. There is no doubt that a good epic must have a good dose of tragedy, and Inca Garcilaso’s vision of pre-Columbian America is tragic. , but no less memorable.
Fate has made Inca Garcilaso a pioneer. He was not the first of the American Métis, but the first to be recognized as cultural métis.
In his historical work, he understands the past of the peoples in conflict as his own past, for he largely was, and is shown not as the son of victors or losers, but as a proud descendant of both.
The contradictory but at the same time compatible soul of his work is the soul of the people who were born in all the territories of Spain, especially in the territory of overseas, is the soul of Hispanity.
Reducing your work to its innovative perspective would be to treat it as a mere curiosity, Inca Garcilaso has cultivated a prose worthy of being compared to the best of the Spanish golden century, but in vain he met personally with Góngora and Cervantes, who undoubtedly increased his love for his peninsular origins, and received excellent training.
The advanced age in which he began his main works also conditioned his conservative and retrospective style, his interest in philosophy giving his writings a transcendental dimension.
His métis being, dramatic throughout his life, was a pride in his old age, as he described it; his life is undoubtedly an excellent metaphor for Spanish America, for he was able to enjoy before his death the majestic recognition he deserved in his own life. Right.