Augusto Céspedes | |
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![]() Augusto Céspedes with aCapuchin monkey | |
Secretary-General of the Junta | |
In office 20 December 1943 – 11 February 1944 | |
President | Gualberto Villarroel |
Preceded by | Office established |
Succeeded by | Wálter Guevara |
Deputy of theNational Convention | |
In office 23 May 1938 – 24 April 1939 | |
Constituency | Cochabamba |
Personal details | |
Born | Augusto Céspedes Patzi (1904-02-06)6 February 1904 Cochabamba,Bolivia |
Died | 11 May 1997(1997-05-11) (aged 93) La Paz,Bolivia |
Political party | Revolutionary Nationalist Movement |
Spouse | Matilde Garvía |
Parent(s) | Pablo Céspedes Adriana Patzi Iturri |
Alma mater | Higher University of San Andrés |
Augusto Céspedes Patzi (6 February 1904,Cochabamba – 9 May 1997,La Paz) was aBolivian writer, politician, diplomat, and journalist. He was the brother-in-law of writerCarlos Montenegro.
Céspedes studied law and received his degree in La Paz.
In 1927, he was a founder of the Nationalist Party. He was a leader in theRevolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNR).
He worked as a journalist on the front in theChaco War, writing for the newspaperEl Universal. He made use of his experiences on the front lines to write the stories in his 1936 collection,Sangre de Mestizos, which included his frequently anthologized short story,El Bozo. His non-fiction reports were compiled and published in the bookCrónicas heroicas de una guerra estúpida, published in 1975. He also founded the MNR dailyLa Calle, directed the newspaperLa Nación in La Paz and had an important role in Bolivian literature; he wrote various biographies of presidents such asDaniel Salamanca,Germán Busch Becerra, andGualberto Villarroel. Among his many other stories and novels,Metal del Diablo, a fictionalized portrait of the tin tycoon,Simón I. Patiño has probably been the most successful.
He was a noted politician, serving as a deputy in Bolivian legislatures (three times:1938, 1944, and 1956), and in diplomatic offices. He served as Bolivia'sAmbassador toParaguay in 1945, and toItaly in 1953, and distinguished himself as Ambassador toUNESCO.