González Padrón delves into the influence that Juan Ramón Jiménez had on the Canarian poets

Chronicle of the talk

by Jesús Ruiz

The official chronicler of Telde, Antonio María González Padrón, on the afternoon of Thursday, December 16, gave a lecture at the Saulo Torón Municipal Library in Arnao Park, a talk that, due to its documentary interest and epistolary testimonial on the influence of the writer, author of Platero and I, Juan Ramón Jiménez and the Canarian poets. Juan Ramón Jiménez was born in Moguer, Huelva, in 1881 and died in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1958, he received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1956. In 1916 he married Zenobia Camprubí, translator of the Indian writer Rabindranath Tagore. When the Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936, he was exiled to the United States, Cuba and Puerto Rico.

At the doors of the Casa de la Cultura Juan Ramón Jiménez de Telde Theater, a bust of the writer from Moguer recalls his figure on a plaque that is exposed: Excmo. Moguer City Council dedicates to the city of Telde this sculpture of the “Universal Andalusian” Juan Ramón Jiménez, the most illustrious of his sons, on the occasion of the twinning between the two cities, Telde-Moguer June 23, 2005.

Antonio González in his exhibition expresses this historical relationship that opens the roads between Moguer and Telde since the times of the conquest with Cristóbal García del Castillo and his contribution to the Catholic Church through the expression of artistic works, altarpieces, chapels, hermitages, etc. And when the Moguero population came to live in Telde, recently conquered Gran Canaria, among them Juan Rodríguez de Rociana from the town of this name, near Moguer, owner of the lands of Rociana, in Telde, Tirajana and Altos de Guía de Gran Canaria.

In this fruitful exchange that took place on the occasion of the twinning, a bronze sculpture of the idol of Tara made in Toledo by the Teldean sculptor Luis Arencibia Betancort was donated. Friendship had already been forging between two people from Moguera who came to Telde, both poets writers, participating in cultural events in Telde, including a Historical Literary Tour, Mr. Diego Ropero, senior archivist in the province of Huelva, and Mr. Antonio Ramírez Almansa, director of the Zenobia Foundation and Juan Ramón Jiménez em Moguer. They looked for links and the chronicler of Telde comments on the existence of some letters from Saulo Torón, which were held by María Isabel Torón, her daughter, letters and drafts that her father had sent to Juan Ramón Jiménez, and the response sent by Juan Ramón Jiménez , key testimonies to rebuild these relationships and ties in those years, through the epistolary key document to determine friendship and other biographical vicissitudes. In Telde, Don Antonio Machado, his brother Manuel Machado, and Juan Ramón Jiménez were read a lot, and there was already knowledge of the literary gatherings of Montiano in Telde that were made known to the writer of Moguer.

Ramírez Almansa informs Antonio González that there were letters from Canarian writers that were easy to identify because Juan Ramón Jiménez, thanks to his wife Zenobia, archivist, secretary, had everything duly classified, of which many documents and letters were taken into exile, and then come back. They were taken to the National Historical Archive and when the Foundation and the House Museum were created they asked the family to provide that documentation with their respective rights.

From our situation in the Canary Islands, and in particular in Gran Canaria, the first to write to Juan Ramón Jiménez is Alonso Quesada, poet, writer, who works as an accountant for an English house. Alonso writes to Juan Ramón in terms of admiration as a great teacher, for his acceptance and taking him into account. After making sacrifices to achieve the dream of his great trip, he expresses his desire to go to Madrid, meet writers, poets, writing that he will return to the island and that sea that separates him prevents him from leaving.

The Teldense poet Fernando González Rodríguez was one of the Canaries who had the most friendship and trust with Juan Ramón Jiménez, they coincide in Madrid and see each other frequently, they exchange ideas because he knows the human, cultural and intellectual quality of Fernando González, professor of French , and rubs shoulders with the best of Madrid, attends a meeting with Valle Inclán, Juan Ramón Jiménez, and Dr. Marañón himself.
In a letter that Fernando González writes to Saulo Torón, he describes the characteristic physical and human profile that marked the personality of the Moguer poet, he talks about his admiration, the quality and quantity of his work, he says that he is the most important living Spanish poet in his time, there are those who should be respected and admired. From the criticism of Alonso Quesada, as well as other writers, it is necessary to highlight his harshness.

In addition to Alonso Quesada pointing out to Félix Delgado, a man from Gran Canaria who writes poetry and was widely read at the time, he wrote to the poet from Huelva in 1924 that his book will reach his hands, being accepted after reading it and having it included in a literary anthology like those of Josefina de la Torre, two values ​​of Spanish literature, which must be removed from possible oblivion from the islands. He is interested in sending his literary works from the island to publish or reproduce in magazines that he produced.

Josefina de la Torre, knowing the appreciation that Juan Ramón had for her, asks me to subscribe it to his magazine and proceed to send it. As well as reiterating your shipment for the missing numbers. Fernando González is more consistent with the poet’s friendship when trying to introduce him to a young Canarian writer recently arrived in Madrid, with the consequent response of not being able to attend everyone because it is due to his work.

Saulo Torón in his exquisite writing, of extraordinary beauty and artistic way of writing, elegance and quality, of which the poet comments that Saulo writes in such a way that just by looking at his writing you know the quality of what he writes, with a certain preciousness in the detail, showing all the confidence the poet of Moguer, demonstrating all the great value of Saulo Torón.

Ramo Feria, from Tenerife, who writes with him asking him to write the foreword to his 1930 book Stadium, with the dedication of his words, and Juan Ramón agrees. But the importance of the influence of Juan Ramón Jiménez, in the Canarian poets, not so much because of his letters, it was because of his work, not only does he write well and a lot, but he has his own publishing house and after his travels and his great successes for his wisdom and the award of the Nobel Prize, it is necessary to have the work of Juan Ramón Jiménez in libraries. From Telde, Montiano himself, among his family and friends attending, spread to the gatherings the reading and study of the work of Juan Ramón Jiménez. Montiano was the librarian of the Casino la Unión de Telde, and as such he ordered the purchase of all his work, and when he appeared as a councilor he had the works of the Moguer poet be acquired in the existing schools. Thank you.