Carrión, Manuel Benjamín (1897–1979)

Manuel Benjamín Carrión (b. 20 April 1897; d. 8 March 1979), Ecuadorian essayist. Originally from Loja, Benjamín Carrión spent his life writing about the major social, political, and cultural problems of both his native Ecuador and the rest of Latin America. During his youth, he was one of the early founders of Ecuador's Socialist Party (1925). His contributions to the continent's many democratic causes were formally recognized when the Mexican government awarded him in 1968 the prestigious Benito Juárez Prize. In 1944, Carrión founded Ecuador's Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana (House of Ecuadorian Culture), which through the years has become one of the country's principal institutions charged with developing among all Ecuadorians the many forms of cultural and intellectual expression. In Ecuador, Carrión is revered for his efforts to stimulate and guide others in their creative endeavors. His most celebrated works are Atahuallpa (1934) and Cartas al Ecuador (1943). In 1975 he received the Eugenio Espejo Prize, Ecuador's highest literary and cultural honor.

See alsoJournalism .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Handelsman, Michael H. El ideario de Benjamín Carrión: Selección y Análisis Crítico. Quito: Planeta, 1992.

Orero de Julián, José, and Liliana del Castillo Rojas. El pensamiento vivo de Benjamín Carrión. Guayaquil: Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana, Núcleo del Guayas, 1998.

                                   Michael Handelsman