Garibay Kintana, Ángel María (1892–1967)

Ángel María Garibay Kintana (b. 18 June 1892; d. 19 October 1967), Mexican scholar and priest who pioneered in the study and translation of the literary traditions of the ancient Mexicans. Garibay was born in Toluca. While at the Seminario Conciliar de México (1906–1917), he learned Latin and Greek (and later published works on Greek philosophers) and became interested in Nahuatl language and culture. In subsequent years Garibay added Hebrew, French, Italian, German, English, and Otomí, as well as Nahuatl, to his language repertoire. He was ordained in 1917; later (especially 1924–1941) he served as a missionary and became more and more focused on his Nahua and Otomí studies. In 1941 Garibay was named prebendary canon of the Basilica of Guadalupe. From 1956 he served as director of the Seminario de Cultura Nahuatl at the Universidad Nacional. In 1952 he was named extraordinary professor at the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters at the Universidad Nacional. Although he began publishing articles in 1913, his major works appeared from 1940 through 1965; they included Poesía indígena de la altiplanicie, Llave del Nahuatl (1940), Historia de la literatura Nahuatl (2 vols, 1940), and three important volumes on the songs and poetry of the ancient Mexicans. His numerous translations of Nahuatl prose, historical texts, epic hymns, religious and lyric poetry, pláticas (short lectures), and other texts opened new doors to understanding the pre-Hispanic cultures of Mexico, and stimulated intense scholarly and humanistic interest in these arenas. Garibay died in Mexico City.

See alsoMexico: Since 1910 .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Miguel León-Portilla, "Ángel Ma. Garibay K. (1892–1992), en el centenario de su nacimiento," in Estudios de cultura Nahuatl 22 (1992):167-180.

Additional Bibliography

Herr Solé, Alberto. Angel María Garibay Kintana, o, La confrontación de los orígenes. Zinacantepec: El Colegio Mexiquense: Instituto Mexiquense de Cultura, 1992.

León-Portilla, Miguel, and Patrick Johansson. Angel María Garibay: La rueda y el río. México: Gobierno del Estado de México, Coordinación General de Communicación Social: Espejo de Obsidiana, 1993.

                                      Frances F. Berdan