The Dominican Republic is in mourning. Not only has he lost his greatest writer, but he has also become a key figure in Latin American history and culture. On Saturday, Marcio Veloz Maggiolo died of coronavirus at the age of 84.
His wise and profound articles will cease to appear on the pages of Listín Diario, but will always remain a model of literary quality and vertical thinking, always with the best causes in his country and in the world.
Don Marcio, as he was affectionately known, was born in Villa Francisca, Santo Domingo, in August 1936.
At the time of his death, he was about to publish on the label Loqueleo, from Editorial Santillana, his youth novel “Janumán”, about the funny story of a lion eating sweet potatoes and a monkey named Janumán.
At the time of his death, he was also working on two adult novels. He was a hard worker of the word. He did it without rest and devotion.
Narrator, poet, essayist, literary critic, archaeologist and anthropologist, Marcio Veloz Maggiolo attended primary school at Escuela México and secondary education at Liceo Presidente Trujillo and Escuela Hostos.
He graduated from the Hostos School (1957); He graduated in Philosophy and Letters from the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (1962) and received his doctorate in American History from the University of Madrid (1970). He also studied journalism in Quito, Ecuador.
Throughout his professional career he has held positions as Undersecretary of State for Culture; director of the Research Department of the Dominican Museum of Man; director of the Department of Anthropology and History of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo; founder-director of the Department of Cultural Extension of the same university and director of the Museo de las Casas Reales. In addition, he was ambassador to Mexico, Peru and Italy.
He had a vast literary career. Part of his narrative and essay work has been translated into English, Italian, French and German. “He is one of the most prolific and widespread contemporary Dominican writers nationally and internationally.”
His passive bibliography includes books on the stature of The Good Thief (1960); Creon and Six Stories (1961); Intus (1962); The Fugitive (1962); Judas: The Good Thief (1962); Life has no name (1965); The Angels of Bones (1966); Culture, theater and stories in Santo Domingo (1969); From April onwards (1975); About Dominican Culture (1977); Where did people come from (1978); On Culture and Cultural Policy in the Dominican Republic (1980); Diffuse biography of Sombra Castañeda (1981); Raw material (1990); Cabaret Rituals (1992); The boss was barefoot (1993); Trujillo, Villa Francisca and Other Ghosts (1996).
Among the numerous prizes he received for his creative work, the National Poetry Prize (1961) with Intus stands out; National Novel Award (1962) with The Good Thief; National Novel Prize (1981) with Diffuse Biography of Sombra Castañeda; National Short Story Award (1981) with The Fertile Agony of Love; National Novel Award (1990) with Raw Material; National Novel Award (1992) with Rites of Cabaret; National Literature Prize (1996) and National Book Fair Prize (1997) with Trujillo, Villa Francisca and other ghosts.