René Marqués

René Marqués
Born	October 4, 1919(1919-10-04)
Died	March 22, 1979(1979-03-22) (aged 59)
Occupation	Writer Playwright
Nationality	Puerto Rican
Genres	Theatre Novels
Literary movement	Generación de los 40
Notable work(s)	La Carreta
Influenced Luis Rafael Sanchez and Giannina Braschi

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René Marqués (October 4, 1919 - March 22, 1979) was a renowned Puerto Rican short story writer and playwright.

Early years

Marqués was born, raised and educated in the city of Arecibo. He developed an interest in writing at a young age and was politically keen to support independence for the non-sovereign nation of Puerto Rico.

In the 1940s, Marqués wrote what is considered to be his best play, La Carreta (The Oxcart). In 1951, it opened in San Juan and helped secure his reputation as a leading literary figure in Puerto Rico. The drama traces a rural Puerto Rican family as it moved to the slums of San Juan and then to New York in search for a better life, only to be disillusioned and to long for their island.

The Generation of the 40's

René Marqués was a member of what was known in Puerto Rico as "The Generation of the 40's". This was a group of intellectuals headed by Lorenzo Homar. In 1950, together with the other members of the group, Marqués worked for the Division of Community Education of Puerto Rico. Marqués however, did often come into conflict with Luis Muñoz Marín. He believed in complete Puerto Rican sovereignty and he often criticized Muñoz Marín, when he became governor, because of his acceptance of U.S. sovereignty over Puerto Rico.

In 1954, Puerto Rican director, Roberto Rodríguez, produced La Carreta, the play opened at the Church of San Sebastian, located in Manhattan, New York. The success of the play motivated Míriam Colón and Rodríguez to form the first Hispanic theater group with its own 60 seat theater, called "El Círculo Dramatico" (The Drama Circuit).

In 1959, Marqués published three plays together in the collection Teatro (Theater). These were La Muerte no entrará el Palacio (Death will not enter the Palace), Un Niño Azul para una Sombra (A Blue Boy for a Shadow) and Los Soles Truncos. In an essay (1960), which the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party published as a pamphlet, Marqués addressed the problem of the language of instruction in Puerto Rico's colonial situation. He concluded that only the enjoyment of complete national sovereignty will cleanse the pedagogical problem of all extra-pedagogical baggage.

Later years

In 1965, George Edgar and Stella Holt produced the English version of Marqués' "The Oxcart" Off-Broadway, with Míriam Colón in the lead role.

René Marqués died in San Juan on March 22, 1979. Puerto Rico has named a school in his honor and in the Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center in San Juan, there is a 760 seat René Marqués Theater.

Noted Works

External audio
	You may view and listen to Acto 1 - Part 1 of René Marqués' ""La Carreta"" here

Plays

La Carreta (The Oxcart)
El Hombre y Sus Sueños (Published in 1948)
Palm Sunday
El Sol y Los Mac Donald (Premiered 1950)
Los Soles Truncos (Premiered 1958) (Based on his short story "Purificación en la Calle del Cristo")
Un Niño Azul para esa Sombra
La Muerte No Entrará en Palacio
La Casa Sin Reloj
El Apartamiento
Mariana o el Alba
Sacrificio en el Monte Moriah
David y Jonatán, Tito y Berenice
Carnaval Afuera, Carnaval Adentro
Juan Bobo y la Dama de Occidente (Pantomime written for Ballet)

Novels

La Víspera del Hombre
La Mirada (1975)

Essays

El Puertorriqueño Dócil
Ensayos 1956-1969

Short Stories

Otro Día Nuestro
En Una Ciudad Llamada San Juan
Purificación en la Calle del Cristo
Cuentos Puertorriqueños de Hoy

Screenplays

Juan Sin Seso (Brainless Juan) (Short Film; Dir. Luis A. Maisonet)
Modesta (Short Film; Dir. Benji Doniger, Music by Héctor Campos Parsi)

See also

• List of famous Puerto Ricans
• French immigration to Puerto Rico
• List of Puerto Rican writers
• Puerto Rican literature
• Puerto Rican Nationalist Party

External links

• An Analysis of “the Oxcart” by René Marqués, Puerto Rican Playwright