Correa, Julio Myzkowsky (1890–1953)

Julio Myzkowsky Correa (b. 1890; d. 14 July 1953), Paraguayan dramatist, poet, and short-story writer. Son of a Brazilian who fought against Paraguay in the War of the Triple Alliance and grandson of a Polish immigrant who fought for Paraguay in the same war, Correa was raised in the Guaraní-speaking countryside. He became known as the creator of the Guaraní theater as it is known today. At the time of the Chaco War, he began to write down his plays, and to perform them with the help of his actress wife. He also did the staging, costuming, and training of the actors. Although Correa did not have a formal education in the theater and his works are crude and lacking in technique, his powerful characterizations of national types and his ability to dramatize the political feelings of his countrymen in Guaraní guaranteed his success. A prevalent theme in his works is the injustice of the latifundia and the deprivation of land and opportunity for the Paraguayan peasant. His bold and poignant satire landed him in jail more than once. He also defended the poor Guaraní-speaking peasant in his poetry and short stories.

See alsoGuaraní (language) .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Julio Correa, ñame mba' era' în. sainete en tres actos (1964), and Sombrero Ka'a y cuentos (1969).

Hugo Rodríguez-Alcalá, Historia de la literatura paraguaya (1971), pp. 113-116.

Additional Bibliography

Delgado, Susy. 25 nombres capitales de la literatura paraguaya. Asunción: Servilibro, 2005.

                                Catalina Segovia-Case