José Joaquín de Olmedo

José Joaquín de Olmedo
President of Ecuador
In office March 6, 1845 – December 8, 1845
Vice President	Pablo Merino
Preceded by	Juan José Flores
Succeeded by	Vicente Ramón Roca
Vice President of Ecuador
In office 1830–1831
President	Juan José Flores
Preceded by	Position created
Succeeded by	José Modesto Larrea
Personal details
Born	March 20, 1780 Guayaquil, Ecuador
Died	February 19, 1847(1847-02-19) (aged 66) Guayaquil, Ecuador
Spouse(s)	María Rosa Icaza y Silva
Alma mater	Universidad Mayor de San Marcos
Signature

José Joaquín de Olmedo y Maruri (March 20, 1780 – February 19, 1847) was President of Ecuador from March 6, 1845 to December 8, 1845. A patriot and poet, he was the son of the Spanish Captain Don Miguel de Olmedo y Troyano and the Guayaquilean Ana Francisca de Maruri y Salavarría.

On October 9, 1820, Olmedo and others declared the city of Guayaquil independent from Spain. He was President of the Free Province of Guayaquil until it was united to Gran Colombia by Simón Bolívar against Olmedo's will. He was also twice mayor of Guayaquil.

He was Vice President of Ecuador from 1830 to 1831, and became President of Ecuador from March 6, 1845, to December 8, 1845, surviving an attempted coup on June 18 of that year.

He was also a noted poet who emphasized patriotic themes. His best-known work is La victoria de Junin, which pictures the Latin American fighters for independence from Spain as the legitimate heirs of the Incas.

Olmedo devoted his life to Guayaquil, he created the Guayaquilean flag and shield, and in 1821 he composed the Song to the October Ninth, which would become the Guayaquil Anthem.

He is quoted as saying “He who does not hope to win has already lost.”^[1]

The José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport in Guayaquil is named after him.

Works

During his life, he dedicated part of his time to the creation of novels, songs, poems, and other kinds of literary works. Among his most well known works are: Canto a Bolívar; Al General Flores, vencedor en Miñarica; and Alfabeto para un niño. He designed the flag and crest of Guayaquil and wrote the lyrics of its anthem.

In 1808 he was inspired to compose the prologue to the tragedy El Duque de Viseo de Quintana and his poem El Árbol, which he finished in 1809. El Árbol contains two parts: one that is philosophical and has great aesthetic sense, and one that is less carefully constructed which ends the poem. This makes it seem as if there were two distinct verses brought together.

In January of 1811 he was still in Mexico and read his poem Improntu.

In the beginning of 1817 he traveled to Lima and wrote A un amigo, don Gaspar Rico....

In 1821 he wrote Canción al 9 de octubre, considered to be the first anthem of the Ecuadorian territory.

In 1823 in Lima he edited his 45 page translation from English of Essay on Man by Alexander Pope.

In 1825 he composed Marcha and the poem La Libertad.

In 1837 he wrote Canción del 10 de agosto, which served as a precursor to the current national anthem as demonstrated by Espinosa Pólit.

In 1840 he wrote En la muerte de mi hermana. In 1843 he edited Ocios poéticos del General Flores y una oda en su obsequio in 52 pages.

From them on his poems began to be published with great success. In 1848 a volume of Obras Poéticas, a collection revised and corrected by Olmedo, was released in Valparaiso months before his death. The second edition was issued in Paris in 1853, with 214 pages. There are later publications as well.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to José Joaquín de Olmedo.

• Official Website of the Ecuadorian Government about the country President's History
• Works by or about José Joaquín de Olmedo at Internet Archive
• Works by José Joaquín de Olmedo at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)

Presidents of Ecuador
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