Margot Arce de Vázquez
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Dr. Margot Arce de Vazquez (March 10, 1904-November 14, 1990) born in Caguas, Puerto Rico, was a writer, essayist and educator who founded the Puerto Rican Academy of the Spanish Language.
Vazguez was born and raised in the city of Caguas where she received her primary and secondary education. In 1922, she graduated from that city's Central High School and following her graduation enrolled in the University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras, San Juan.
As a university student she sympathized with the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party and became involved in the independence movement of the island. She was also the editor of the university's newspaper where she often expressed her views. She majored and earned her bachelors degree in mathematics and Spanish. She then went to Spain and enrolled in the Central University of Madrid. Amongst her teachers were the essayist Americo Castro and the poet Damaso Alonso. Their teachings were to influence Vazquez for the rest of her life. In 1930, she earned her doctorate in philosophy and letters. Her thesis was about Garcilaso de la Vega, a work which she would publish later in her life.
When Vazquez returned to Puerto Rico, she was hired by her alma mater. She founded the Department of Hispanic Studies and was its director from 1943 to 1965. Among the distinguished Puerto Ricans she influenced were Luis de Arrigoitia, Mariano Feliciano, Jose Ferrer Canales and Rosario Ferré.
In 1953, she helped organize and presided over the committee in charge of transferring the body of renowned Puerto Rican poet Julia de Burgos from New York City to the island. In 1955, Vazquez founded the Puerto Rican Academy of the Spanish Language . During her spare time she wrote essays expressing her pro-independence views, which were published in many of the island's magazines and newspapers.
Vazquez edited the works of Puerto Rican poet Luis Pales Matos. Two of her most important works were: "Notas Puertorriqueñas" (1950) ("Puerto Rican Notes") and "Gabriela Mistral, persona y poesia" (1958) ("Gabriela Mistral, the person and her poem"). These works were highly acclaimed and received awards from the Puerto Rican Institute of Literature. The Puerto Rican Academy of the Spanish Language bestowed upon Vazquez the title of "Profesora Emeritus" upon her retirement in 1970.
Dr. Margot Arce de Vazquez died on November 14, 1990 in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico from Alzheimer's disease.
In 1996, the Rio Piedras Rotary Club dedicated the 50th anniversary issue of their magazine "Asomante" to the memory of Vazquez and to Nilita Vientos Gaston. Also in 1996, the Central University of Bayamon honored her memory by renaming their library after her.
[edit] Publications
- Literatura puertorriqueña
- Obras Completas De Margot Arce De Vazquez
- Gabriela Mistral: The Poet and Her Work
- Lecturas Puertorriquenas: Prosa (Puerto Rico: Realidad y Anhelo, Numero 2), by Mariana Robles de Cardona, Margot Arce de Vazquez (Editor)
