Biography of Juan José Arreola, the Mexican Author and Publisher

One of the most popular and recognized Mexican writers is Juan José Arreola , who was an outstanding man of letters, known worldwide, and has received many prestigious awards.

Juan José Arreola

Juan José Arreola was a Mexican writer and editor whose works have had a profound impact on society, and his writings are still discussed today. Currently, people are searching for information about Juan José Arreola's birthplace and life, exploring his work and activities to learn about his important roles and the various professions he employed.

He also won many awards, thus gaining prestige in the literary world. He has phrases that are considered famous. Therefore, below we will explain several points and answer questions such as who Juan José Arreola was, highlighting important moments in his life:

Biography of Juan Jose Arreola

Juan José Arreola was born on September 21 in the year 1918
He was born in Mexico, in the state of Jalisco, in Ciudad Guzmán, which is the old Zapotlán el Grande.
The Arreola family consisted of his parents and thirteen siblings.
Where his father was Felipe Arreola, his mother was Victoria Zúñiga and among the fourteen children Juan José Arreola was the fourth.
Economically, his life was very complicated.

What kind of education did Juan José Arreola receive?

The studies started from the age of three.
It began at the Colegio de San Francisco, in the State of Jalisco.
His education was not schooled
He did not receive an education as children and young people normally receive.
The education he received was at the hands of French nuns
It was in those moments that he began his inclination towards literature.
It is known that he spent his childhood under the experience of the Cristero Revolution.
He came to learn through his perseverance, inquiry, his great attachment to tireless reading and the desire to improve.
All this led him to culture himself in different areas
And also to train as a notable and respected writer.
His family was middle class but due to compelling reasons he could not dedicate himself to studies as he always wanted.

Beginning in the labor area

In the year 1930 is the moment that enters the working world
He started working at a very young age to earn the livelihood he needed
Although his desire was to study theater, he saw it impossible every time, the work environment was very demanding
His job was to perform the position of bookbinder.
For this work I do it together with a distant relative named José María Silva
His work was carried out in the Chepo Gutiérrez printing house.
It is in this way that it has the beginning and the contact with the world of an editorial.
For at this point Juan José Arreola understands the operation of a printing press
It also develops the final work that is the fine binding.
When he was at the age of 15, he has done readings of notable authors.
Some that stand out in his readings were with Papini who was an Italian writer, Baudelaire who was a French poet, essayist, critic and translator.
He also did readings by Schwob who was a writer of essays and short stories, a French Jewish translator and literary critic.
With Whitman who was an American poet, journalist, essayist, humanist, and volunteer nurse.

study trips

In the year 1937 he must travel to Mexico City
He does it to continue with his studies in the area of art
He is eighteen years old when he begins to study at the Fine Arts Theater School.
The classes I attended were with Fernando Wagner.
Due to these studies, he was presented with many expenses that he carried out various types of work and trades to cover.
Among the jobs I did was being an actor in XEQ radio soap operas.
It is because of these works that his interest in acting was born.
In 1939 he became an actor.
For this office he had the support of the Mexican Xavier Villaurrutia who was a poetry writer, a playwright and a literary critic.
Later he retired from the Theatrical School of Fine Arts.
It was in those moments that he began to work with Rodolfo Usigli who was a writer, a poet, a playwright and a Mexican diplomat.
He was in the Teatro de Medianoche company.
By this time he has a frustrated tour in Celaya
Then on August 08, 1940, he returned to Zaplotán
He held countless trades from the age of 12.
He was a baker, traveling salesman, counter clerk, bookbinder, typographer, to name a few.
While doing all these works, he writes his first verses and stories.

Spread of the first work

He has his return with the publication of his first work, which was titled "Christmas Dream"
It was made in the magazine El Vigía.
Thanks to this story I managed to have influences from Leonidas Andreyev who was a Russian writer characterized by making a story and playwright.
He made several trips to Mexico City.
During that time of the dissemination of his work he suffered from food congestion and intestinal infection.
Due to this he had strong nervous breakdowns from which he suffered the rest of his life.
It is known that he was a member of a theatrical company
He had a start in the world of literature when he founded, together with his partner Arturo Rivas, the Eos Magazine in 1943.
He also taught at a secondary school.
He carried out all these trades without stopping to write.
In 1943, he wrote his first recognized text, which was titled "He did good while he lived."
Also in 1943 he moved to Guadalajara.
Thanks to the recommendation he received from his cousin Enrique, he went to interview Jorge Dipp, who was the director of the newspaper El Occidental.

A new opportunity presents itself

Through the interview it was possible to collaborate by writing articles
And as a result he was able to become head of circulation until 1945.
I make a contribution to the publication of the magazine Pan de Guadalajara
He did this together with the Mexican writer Juan Rulfo who was a screenwriter and a photographer.
I also work together with Antonio Alatorre Vergara who was a writer, a philologist, a novelist, a translator and a literary critic.
In 1945, he sought to conduct an interview with Louis Jouvet who was a famous actor, set designer and director of French origin.
Through this contact, he offers you a scholarship from the French Institute of Latin America.
Thanks to this, he had the opportunity to travel to Paris with the actor Louis Jouvet.
Later, together with the philologist Antonio Alatorre, in 1945, he founded the Revista Pan.
This lasted very little, but long enough for his texts to become known.
As time passed, his training as a writer in conjunction with the art of theater allowed him to become publicly known.
His love of cinema and theater was as overwhelming as writing.
Whenever he had the opportunity he delighted in watching movies.

Trip to Paris and return to Mexico

As he made this trip he was able to attend various types of theater shows in Paris, France
When the war was over, this allowed him to have the scholarship.
On the trip he meets the famous Jean-Louis Barrault who was of French origin and was a well-known actor, a mime and a director.
He also met the French Pierre Renoir who was a film and theater actor.
The theatrical bond is solidified when, at the age of 18, he travels to Mexico City to study at the Escuela Teatral de Bellas Artes under the guidance of Fernando Wagner.
It is at that moment when he meets the teachers who marked his beginning, Xavier Villaurrutia and Rodolfo Usigli.
In 1945 he traveled to Paris with the support of Louis Jouvet, the purpose being to dedicate himself to studying dramatic art.
He is introduced to theatrical art, acting in various plays under the permanent guidance of Jean-Louis Barrault.
His life takes directions expanding.
Take a higher degree of political awareness.
However, at that time Juan José Arreola suffered a notable depression.
The weather in France also suffered as it was not bearable in those days.
As a result of all this, an increase in the discomfort of the ulcer he suffered was obtained.
Due to all these problems, he makes the decision to return to Mexico City.

back in translation

In 1946 he had his return in the labor area
I use the position of editor, translator, proofreader and author of flaps
I work in the Technical Department of the Economic Culture Fund.
As soon as he arrives, he begins to work for the Editorial Fund of Economic Culture and carries it out due to the recommendation given by Antonio Alatorre.
There he worked correcting proofs of the press, originals and translations.
Finally it became part of the publisher's catalog of authors, with its publication "Varia Invención" in 1949.
For this work he obtained a recommendation from Antonio Alatorre Vergara, who was a writer, a translator, a philologist and a literary critic.
With this job he was in charge of translating the works "Easter Island" by Alfred Mátraux in 1950.
I also participated in the translation of “Cinema: its history and its technique” by George Sadoul in 1950. “Theatrical art” by Gastón Baty and Chavance in 1951, and “Religious art from the 1952th century to the XNUMXth century by Emile Male in XNUMX.
Later he was able to obtain a scholarship at the Colegio de México, after the mediation of the Mexican Alfonso Reyes who was a poet, an essayist, a diplomat, a narrator and a thinker.

Recognition and prestige in his works

Then he meets the Mexican Daniel Cosío Villegas who was known for being a historian, an essayist, a sociologist, an economist and a political scientist.
In 1949, thanks to this historian, he had the help and the opportunity to make the first publication of his book of stories, which had the title "Varia Invención"
He had the edition of his book by the Tezontle collection
The cover of his book is designed by the Mexican plastic artist Juan Soriano.
It also gave the opportunity through a contest to name a collection of the publisher, all when the work of the book was done.
With this contest Juan José Arreola was the lucky winner, after suggesting the name “Breviarios”.
Then he receives a scholarship in 1950 from the Rockefeller Foundation.
In 1952, he published his remarkable work "Confabulario", by the Joaquín Mortiz publishing house.
With this work he receives the great tribute of masterpiece or Magnum opus.
This work "Confabulario" also allowed him to win the Jalisco Prize for Literature and the Playwright Festival Prize of the National Institute of Fine Arts.
Another of these prizes obtained was the Xavier Villaurrutia Prize, which was the award given annually to the best book published in the country.
In the 50s, he founded the Los Presentes collection.
In it, he presents the reader with works by writers, both Mexican and from other Latin American nations.
Later he founded the next company dedicated to culture, with Cuadernos del Unicornio.
Then he was framed with the Mester magazine, which is heading with another approach
Sadly, he never fulfilled his dream of being a professional playwright.
His extraordinary works have been little taken to the theatrical world.

Increase in achievements over time

In 1956, he received a proposal with the possibility of directing a theater company.
By accepting this possibility, he was also under the patronage of the Cultural Diffusion of the UNAM.
After obtaining this achievement, he gave it the name of "Poetry out loud"
It is in charge of representing primarily the works of the notables García Lorca, Ionesco and Paz, mainly.
Receive the invitation by the well-known Mexican engineer, Nabor Carrillo Flores who was a rector of the UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico)
Due to the invitation, he acquires the request to use the position of La Casa del Lago.
So when I accept it was inaugurated on September 15 in 1959.
It presented a goal to achieve in becoming a prestigious cultural center.
The idea was that poetry readings be carried out, music should also be made as choral groups.
Another of his goals was to have film functions.
It offers education mainly to young university students and to anyone who is interested.
However, he only used the position until the moment his rector died, since he was dismissed from the direction and from his office.
After this, he dedicated himself to teaching at the INBA Theater School.
He also worked teaching classes at the Mexican Center for Writers.
Another important point is that he receives the invitation to attend the Casa de las Américas cultural institution in Cuba.
He is considered a teacher for his extensive experience and knowledge.
He also had the pleasant experience of entering the field of television, covering a large area of communication.
During his career, he obtained important, well-deserved and outstanding awards that praised the literary figure he represents.
These awards will never cease to represent because their heritage will live on in literature.

Start another work area, your academic career

In 1964 he took over the position of professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
At the same time, he directed the collection “The Unicorn”.
In the same way, he continued his career with the publication of the edition of “Bestiario” in 1972.
In 1958, with this edition, the achievement complements the succession that began with “Punta de Plata”.
From this moment his fame reaches greater notoriety
Thanks to this, in 1979 he managed to be honored with the prestigious National Prize for Letters in Mexico City.
In 1992 he received the Juan Rulfo Prize.
And in the same way he continued to receive different awards such as the Alfonso Reyes and the Ramón López Velarde Award.
In 1992, he made the commentator's job for the Mexican communication network Televisa, where he again obtained great recognition.
He was a commentator for the Barcelona Olympic Games, this moment being one of the great opportunities that Juan José Arreola obtained
When he reached the age of 80, he received a great honor from the Guadalajara City Council where he named Juan José Arreola as Favorite Son of Guadalajara during a very emotional ceremony.

Death of Juan Jose Arreola

At the age of 83, he died at his home in Jalisco.
This event occurred on December 03, 2001.
The cause of death was hydrocephalus that he suffered during his last years of life.
However, it is known that in the course of his great life he married Sara Sánchez.
As a result of the union they procreated their three children: Claudia, Orso and Fuensanta Arreola Sánchez.

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Literary aspects of his important works

Juan José Arreola carried out great projects, great works and novels, but each of his works were inspired by other authors, thus being in its structure and content where its primary aspect is the short length of his writing and sarcasm. He used many literary works of various categories and from different groups giving a mixture with all resources repeatedly.

The mixture of these literary resources maintained its structure and content, resulting in stories, poetry, essays, among others. That is why the authors who characterized the literary aspects in their works are shown below:

Julius Torri Maynes

That he was a notable member of the Mexican Academy of Language
He was also a writer, an educator, and a lawyer.

Giovanni papini

He was also a writer
It was Italian origin

Marcel Schwob

That he was a writer, an author of stories and essays
He was also a translator and a literary critic
He was French-Jewish.

George Francis Isidore

Known for being a short story writer
He was also a poet, an essayist and a translator
He was Argentine

Franz Kafka

He was a bohemian writer
Known for being very carefree
Which was characterized by writing in German.

Charles-Pierre Baudelaire

He was an essayist, poet, translator and art critic.
He was of French origin

If you'd like to learn more about the life of José Emilio Pacheco, we recommend visiting the Biography of José Emilio Pacheco . There you'll find details about his life, his books, and his career as a Mexican writer who dedicated his life to the art of writing in all its genres.

General characteristics of the works

Each of Juan José Arreola's works are known for their characteristics and details in their writing and messages. Being completely visible and relevant the extensive knowledge that he has, as well as his quality in the way of expressing himself and demonstrating with words and phrases, since he always sought that among his works each one of the thoughts and wishes of him.

Its objective is to demonstrate and highlight the correct play on words and the approach in the writing of his works, with this he was able to document whatever was necessary without worrying about the criticism of his works. That is why the following shows a series of points where some of the characteristics of the great works of this great author are highlighted:

It is characterized by being in a successful and explicit way in each of his works
It maintains the natural and spontaneous essence of the human being.
It is specified for making the works with qualities and defects, even less their experiences and anecdotes.
Creativity was in every line, in every word and perception.
It does not keep on showing everything it can, at a given moment, managing to wrap up the life of a human being.
He is also responsible for covering everything related to nostalgia, isolation, relationship, understanding or the difficulty of loving in his works.
His thought is that the human being must experience, above all things, freedom to express himself, he must be creative, bold.
In his narrations he did not stop expressing himself so that the reader had to stop to analyze what the author focused on
Another of the aspects of his works and projects with a more punctual and severe point of view towards the female sex, so much so, that it shares its singularity with Julio Torri.
It is also where a marked mistrust is exposed, shown with anger, fear or pain.
Self-improvement is of great importance and he reflects it in his narrations
At the same time, it shows his constant restlessness towards the main and essential characteristics of the world in which the human being lives and develops.
Work with constant linguistic perfection and it is important when looking for the difference in the guild.
He is original, daring and courageous in his writings.
He mixed reality with fantasy, feelings with situations, behaviors with responses.
His greatest concern is humanity in all its perspectives.
The play on words that the author uses in his works is notorious and that humor makes him unique and irreplaceable.
Irony is a way of showing boldness and he practiced it repeatedly in his works.
Knows how to use melancholy, sarcasm, anger, joy, satire, parody
Sometimes his works were focused in a playful way so that the reader understands his analysis without affecting the reality he pursues.
The use of irony became predominant, when presenting what human relationships are, mainly those of a couple.
He considered that human beings often do not limit themselves when they hurt each other sentimentally, deceive themselves and make fun of those who accompany them along the long path of life.
Irony allowed him to delve into the intimacy of people and show them as they are.
Likewise, through it, he manages to teach readers the consequences of their actions and behaviors throughout their lives, where some could be remedied while others are not.
In his works he always wanted to teach the reader the richness that surrounds life in its correct actions.

Synthesis of the most popular stories

Juan José Arreola always showed with each of his works that what a human being requires or needs is to keep ethics intensely from every area and approach. That is why each of the words in his works transmitted those values and messages to the reader through writing and literature.

The stories were made based on ethical writing, in such a way that the feelings of repudiation of the modern world were demonstrated since it lacks contact and emotions, which encourages people to maintain the social area and communication. That is why the following shows some of the stories that have stood out through the ages until today:

gunther stapenhorst

It was released in the year 1946
This tale is cataloged plaquette
Because it was a small publication used to publish literary works such as poems or short stories.
It corresponds to the Monday Collection that was chaired by Pablo and Enrique González Casanova.
This is the first story in which he organizes a script that will be told fifty years later.
His story refers to the creativity of a German architect in the Hitler years.
The final work is a clear metaphor of an obsession.
It was later published in 2002, one year after the author's death.
This time made up of a testimonial, a story, two novel starts and a couple of interviews by Antonio Alatorre and Eduardo Lizalde
The prologue was made by José Emilio Pacheco.
What was presented in 1946 offers continuity to the work presented.

Varies Invention

It was published in the year 1949
This story brings together the books published between the years 1941 to 1949.
It is composed of eighteen stories.
Thanks to this publication he was allowed to be recognized for the characteristic of his prose.
The author begins his work by discerning between what is good and evil and everything that can lead to human behavior.
It was the author's first work in which its title originates from a sonnet by Luis de Góngora y Argote who was a Spanish poet and playwright of the Golden Age.
Therefore, each sonnet had fourteen lines, made up of two quatrains and two triplets.
In this work, the inclination towards Spanish literature of the so-called Golden Age is notable.
It occurred simultaneously at the best military political moment of the Spanish empire and the Spanish Habsburg dynasty.
This work has been reissued four times.
Where in each one the order was changed, their stories were reformed and refined.
Just as he came to displace some of his books from other texts.

Confabular

It was published in the year 1952
This is considered to be his most famous work.
You can see his best-known stories.
The author deepens the satirical, ironic and parodic side.
At the same time, he moves away from the criticism of human behavior.
In this work he managed to summarize texts between ten and twenty pages at one and three.
Obtaining his goal, he felt completely happy.
It gives us a summary, an elimination of what is unnecessary and useless, thus punishing its content by being blunt.
It has a mixture of very short stories and other long ones.
Includes Parturient mounts, Truly I tell you, The Rhinoceros, La Migala, The Ranger, The disciple, Eva, Village girl, Sinesio de Rodas, Monologue of the insumiso, The Prodigious Milligram, Nabonides, The Lighthouse, In Memoriam
He also owns Baltasar Gérard, Baby HP Announcement, Ballistics, A Performing Woman, Pablo, Parabola del Barter, A Pact with the Devil, El Converso, The Silence of God, Earthly Foods, A Reputation, Corrido

palindrome

It was published in the year 1971
This work presents a text that attracts by pretending, by manifesting what it is not and by having an apparent meaninglessness.
Describe what humanity has accomplished throughout its life
It shows how you can find an excellent way to do it.
Through everyday personal and couple problems, which, being everyday and normal, will never cease to be important.
With his story he manages to surprise the reader with the aim of experiencing a profound reflection on what relationships between people and the Christian religion are.
In the same way, the remarkable importance of trust that neither deceives nor betrays is presented.
His story is shown indirectly and with total humor.
This work includes: Palindroma, Three days and an ashtray, Starring all people, Happy homes, To enter the garden, Klein's bottle, The hymen in Mexico, Syntactic variations: Duermevela, Prophylaxis, Homemade recipe, From a traveler, The dilemma, Cycling, Astronomy, History of the two, what did they dream of?, Ballad, Doxographies.

Bestiario

It was published in the year 1972
This work was published in 1958 under the title "Punta de Plata".
Later in 1972 with the name "Bestiario".
It is differentiated by the way in which it details the degeneration, depravity, vices, eccentricity, disgusts and manias of man.
Manifesting them through animals.
He says that the animal is a reflection of what man is and that it is a kind of caricature of it.
In the work, each animal describes its features
He mixes them with other beings and finally with the human being.
Thus, he comes to combine the legendary, the fantastic and the scientific with love, until he reaches the goal of reflection.
It presents its characteristic perception of the world, of the beings that have the privilege of inhabiting it and of the behavior they show.
Includes the rhinoceros, the toad, the bison, birds of prey, the ostrich, insects, the carabao, felines, the owl, the bear, the elephant, moles, camelids, the boa, the zebra, the giraffe, the hyena, the Hippopotamus, Cervids, The Seals, Waterfowl, The Axolotl, The Monkeys.

Essays by Juan José Arreola

It is possible to highlight various types of essays that stand out among his works, being considered as very prestigious works, where he is concerned because every action generates a reaction and is what is least taken into account in relationships.

That is why some of his essays are presented below with their main characteristics and aspects, so that it can be better understood why they are considered prestigious literary works and essays and why these great projects are still talked about today:

The Word Education

It was published in the year 1973
This essay objectively shows the way of thinking of Juan José Arreola
Everything was related to the problem of teaching, culture and the improvement of the human being.
The great concern that Juan José Arreola had about life and morality is recounted.
In the same way, the meaning of the word is discussed in the young apprentice and in the teacher who is the one who imparts knowledge.
Jorge Arturo Ojeda manages in this essay to gather pieces of the oral prose of Juan José Arreola
All through the interviews and talks he came to offer.

And now the woman

It was published in the year 1975
In this work, the author deals with what is the participation of the female figure in the current world in which it develops in society.
All this because he considered that they were desolate and there was an indisputable inequality.
For this story I commented on the salvation of the world in the appearance of women in all areas of life
There was talk of how she is moderating and limits again to a life of nature
All this after the failure of technology, of science, of culture itself
He also commented on how some egregious souls were not found to compensate for the vast mass of misery and horror

Inventory

It was published in the year 1976
It is a collection of free texts that the author Juan José Arreola
All this was done with the writings he wrote day after day for the Mexican newspaper El Sol de México.
These shorts were made between 1975 and 1976.
The column of the publication bore the name “From Sun to Sun”.
It is about the orderly correspondence of the patrimony and all the other things that a person or entity has.
It also refers to the document that consists of all those things that the person possesses.
"Inventory", has in its content 150 texts
It has been only a third of what was published in the Mexican newspaper.
The matter of each is completely varied and diverse
For this reason it is due to the extensive culture of the author.
This work came to be published after he finished his work as a writer for the newspaper.

The collection of gifts

The Presents were made to commemorate Ignacio Cumplido, they were created in Mexico City which was made through 2 series, the first was between 1959 and 1953, samples that the second was between 1954 and 1957, and as It was in memory of the renowned printer, writer, journalist and politician Ignacio Cumplido. He was very popular among society.

It maintained an impeccable presentation to the reader, which is why it was characterized by its writing, it had approximately one hundred titles which were delivered weekly, it published fifty titles in less than two years, Los Presentes came to an end with the suspension in 1956.

The first series had 9 notebooks; something that stands out in these presents is that in the second series it was a cultural development in the country, since it edited works by consecrated young people, for which it was the pioneer of the vision of a literature in movement. That is why some of these works are shown below.

Endgame by the writer Julio Cortázar
The younger brother of Jaime García Terrés
Carlos Pellicer's flight practice
Tales: One in three
The centenary of Augusto Monterroso
Brief Diary of a Lost Love by Francisco Tario
Poetics of Rubén Bonifaz Nuño
Lilus Kikus by Elena Poniatowaska
The Return of the writer Ernesto Mejía Sánchez
I of loves what knew of Francisco Tario
Sonnets of Carlos Pellicer
Short stories by Juan José Arreola
Homage to Sor Juana by Juan Soriano
The portrait of my mother by Andrés Henestrosa

Juan José Arreola

Juan José Arreola is known for his culture in his works, as he transmitted great messages to an entire society through his words and prose. Below is a video so that the great knowledge of this author can be demonstrated, such as his writing and everything this great man who revolutionized the literary world