Roque Dalton

Roque Antonio Dalton García (Known as "Roque")

Revolutionary Poet, Essayist, Winner of Premio Casa de las Américas

Born May 14, 1935

San Salvador, El Salvador

Passed Away May 10, 1975 Quezaltepeque, El Salvador

Lifespan 39 years old

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"Poetry, like bread, is for everyone."

Archival Overview

Internationally celebrated revolutionary poet and razor-sharp satirist whose groundbreaking works 'Taberna y otros lugares' and 'Poema de amor' reinvented Latin American political poetry with irony, wit, and tenderness.

Biographical Record

Roque Dalton was born in San Salvador on May 14, 1935. A brilliant student at the Jesuit Colegio Externado de San José and the University of Chile, Dalton joined the Communist Party, repeatedly escaping military execution through earthquakes and prison collapses.

Living in exile in Prague and Havana, his 1969 collection Taberna y otros lugares won the prestigious Casa de las Américas Prize. Returning clandestinely to El Salvador in 1973 to join the People's Revolutionary Army (ERP), he was tragically executed by ultra-left militarists four days before his fortieth birthday, his iconic 'Poema de amor' remaining El Salvador's unofficial anthem of national identity.

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Rest in Peace Forever remembered and cherished Your legacy lives on in all of us With deep gratitude for your life and light

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial

Cerro de Guazapa Memorial Grounds / Unknown clandestine burial site
Quezaltepeque, El Salvador

                         GPS: 13.8330, -89.2730                    

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