Carlos Monsiváis

Carlos Monsiváis Aceves was born in Mexico City on May 4, 1938. As a student, Monsiváis was involved with protests that reestablished Mexican democracy. From 1956 to 1958, he worked at Medio Siglo ("Half Century") magazine and "Estaciones" ("Seasons") from 1957 to 1959. From 1956 to 1958, he worked as an editor at Medio Siglo, and at Estaciones from 1957 to 1959. His writings, some of which are written with an ironic undertone, show a deep understanding of the origin and development of Mexican popular culture. As a movie critic during this time period, he is considered one of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema's premiere observers. Monsiváis enjoyed reviewing many different media, to include movies, art and football. ==Literary career==

From 1962 to 1963 and 1967 to 1968, Monsiváis was a fellow at the "Centro Mexicano de Escritores" ("Mexican Writers's Center"). In 1965, he attended Harvard University's Center for International Studies. In 1969, Monsiváis published his first two essays: "Principados y potestades" (lit. "Princedoms and powers") and "Características de la cultura nacional" (lit. "Characteristics of the national culture"). They were characterized as being filled with a universal curiosity and the ability to distill the core essence of Mexican political and cultural life. In 1971, he penned a chronicle called Días de guardar, which was compiled into a book with his first essays. In 1976, Monsiváis composed Amor perdido, which detailed mythical film characters based upon popular song, left-wing politics, and the bourgeoisie. During the 1980s, Monsiváis prolifically wrote the bulk of many works that shaped and destined his career. Those works include 1984's De qué se ríe el licenciado, Entrada libre, crónicas de la sociedad que se organiza in 1987, and 1988's Escenas de pudor y liviandad. In 1982, he also wrote a book called Nuevo catecismo para indios remisos, which narrated an understanding or catechism about Mexico's indigenous people. Días de guarda and Escenas de pudor y liviandad are considered his epic works. In narrative form, Monsiváis recounted the 1985 Mexico City earthquake that killed thousands. He wrote "Historias para temblar: 19 de septiembre de 1985" ("Stories to tremble: September 19, 1985") which documented the earthquake. In 1992, Monsiváis created a biography on Frida Kahlo entitled Frida Kahlo: Una vida, una obra. In addition to these books, Monsiváis wrote several anthologies including La poesía mexicana del siglo X in 1966, Los narradores ante el público in 1969, and in 1986 an autobiography about Jorge Cuesta. Monsiváis remained creative into his latter years and in 2002 wrote an essay called Yo te bendigo, vida, about Amado Nervo. ==Political involvement==

He was known as an activist for leftist causes. In 2002, he spoke critically against Subcomandante Marcos's letter which supported a Basque terrorist group and criticized Baltasar Garzón. In 2006, Monsiváis signed a petition in support of the independence of Puerto Rico from the United States of America. ==Later life and death==

Monsiváis had struggled for years with pulmonary fibrosis and could be seen in his latter years with an oxygen tank. Vargas sat paralyzed because of an affiction he had suffered for the past twenty years. For eight years, he had been attached deeply to "Miss Oginia", (a play on the word misoginia, misogyny) a cat he had saved from being euthanized and a kitten he had adopted. He had entered the hospital on April 2, 2010, and had declined in health. ==Tributes==

EZLN spokesman Subcomandante Marcos regarded Monsiváis as an influence. While some of his critics did not appreciate his omnipresence in all forms of the media, in a country with "low reading levels" this made him more well known amongst the people. Mexican President Felipe Calderón lamented his death with "profound sorrow". Of his own autobiography that he wrote at age 28, Monsiváis once said "acepté esta suerte de autobiografía con el mezquino fin de hacerme ver como una mezcla de Albert Camus y Ringo" ("I accepted this sort of autobiography with the petty purpose of making myself look like a mix of Albert Camus and Ringo"). ==Personal life==

In his book El clóset de cristal [The Glass Closet], Mexican author Braulio Peralta argues that Monsivaís was, along with Nancy Cárdenas and others, the founder of Mexico's LGBT movement, having supported Mexico's sexual minorities since the 1960s. Monsiváis chose to be buried with a gay pride flag on his coffin, indicating that he was a gay man. In lieu of children, he owned several small cats ==Bibliography==

In 1977, Monsiváis won the which recognized his genre of chronicles. Monsiváis was honoured with a Prince Claus Award in 1998 from the Prince Claus Fund, an international culture and development organization based in Amsterdam. In 2000, Monsiváis was awarded the "Premio Anagrama de Ensayo" ("Anagram of Essay Prize"). ==References==