Pedro Bonifacio Palacios

Pedro Bonifacio Palacios, "Almafuerte" (San Justo, Argentina, May 13, 1854 - La Plata, Argentina, February 28, 1917), Argentine poet.

Biography

Palacios was born in San Justo, Buenos Aires, in the province of Buenos Aires, into a humble family. As a boy he lost his mother and was abandoned by his father, and because of this was raised by his relatives.

His first career was as a painter, but, because the government denied him a grant to travel to Europe, he change direction and dedicated himself to writing and teaching. At 16 years of age he directed a school in Chacabuco; where, in 1884, he met the future Argentine president Domingo Faustino Sarmiento. Some time later he became unemployed because he did not possess a teaching degree, but many argue that in reality it was because his poems were highly critical of the government.

After leaving teaching, he obtained a post within the Chamber of Deputies in Buenos Aires, and later worked as a librarian and translator. In 1887, he moved to La Plata and was taken in as a journalist at the newspaper "El Pueblo".

In 1894 he renewed his teaching activities at a school near Trenque Lauquen, but two years later was once again withdrawn for political reasons.

At the start of the 20th century, he began participating briefly in active politics, but because of his unstable economic situation and his refusal to accept a political position, he did not do it with much enthusiasm.

At the end of his life, the National Argentine Congress granted him a pension so he could dedicate himself in full to his poetry. However he was not able to enjoy it; he died on the 28th of February, 1917, in La Plata, in the province of Buenos Aires, at the age of 63 years.

Literary Work

Palacios published some works under various pseudonyms, the most well known of which was "Almafuerte".

*"Evangélicas" (1915)
*"Lamentaciones" (1906)
*"Poesías" (1917)
*"Nuevas Poesías" (1918)
*"Milongas clásicas, sonetos medicinales y Dios te salve. Discursos" (1919).
*"La inmortal"
*"El misionero"
*"Trémolo"
*"Cantar de los cantares"
*"La sombra de la patria"

ee also

A 1949 Argentine film, "Almafuerte", describes the life of Palacios.
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7700456 Almafuerte] at Find-A-Grave