Died 11 May 2001 | ||
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Arturo Agüero Chaves (March 28, 1907 – May 11, 2001), was a Costa Rican writer, poet, philologist, lexicographer and educator. Along with Aquileo J. Echeverría, he is one of the greatest exponents of Costa Rican costumbrismo. He is also considered the father of modern linguistics in Costa Rica.
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Life and career
Born Pedro Piedades Chaves in San José, Costa Rica, on March 28, 1907, he was the illegitimate son of Engracia Chaves Umaña and José María Agüero Barboza, a military commander. After losing his mother to tuberculosis at the age of 15, Pedro Chaves moved in with his father and changed his name to Arturo Agüero. By the time he was 21 years old, Agüero was already publishing his poetry in local newspapers. He studied at Escuela Normal de Heredia and began his career as a Latin and Spanish Literature professor in 1929. While teaching at Liceo de Costa Rica and Instituto de Alajuela, Agüero made a name for himself as a prominent educator. He went on to serve as principal at various Costa Rican public schools and as a Spanish language teacher in Florida in the late 1940s. When the first Costa Rican college of humanities was founded at the University of Costa Rica, Agüero was among its first-ever faculty members. At University of Costa Rica, he engaged in extensive research on philology and became one of the University's most distinguished professors. Agüero published most of his literary work during his 15 years as Chair of the Department of Philology, Linguistics and Literature at University of Costa Rica.
In 1955, having achieved national renown as a poet and philologist, he was elected to the Academia Costarricense de la Lengua (English: Costa Rican Academy of the Language), which he would later preside from 1981 until his death in 2001. As an academician, Agüero's linguistic research would extend beyond Costa Rica, earning him membership in numerous language academies, including the Real Academia Española (English: Royal Spanish Academy) and the North American Academy of the Spanish Language. Furthermore, Agüero's role as Director of the Costa Rican Academy of the Language would get him acquainted with Spanish writers Dámaso Alonso and Camilo José Cela, who would later become his personal friends.
Besides his poetry and academic work, Arturo Agüero also gained recognition for his columns in Costa Rican newspapers La Nación and La Prensa Libre. Agüero died at age 94 on May 11, 2001. Upon news of his demise, Costa Rican journalists were not able to list the extensive amount of awards that Agüero had received throughout his career.