Juan Antonio Mateos: conocimiento mínimo de un autor famoso

Abstract

Even though some critics deny any literary or esthetic value to his work, Juan A. Mateos (1831-1913) was a prolific journalist, orator, playwright and, mainly, novelist. His most valuable production is made up by the historical novels he began publishing after the fall of Maximillian’s Empire (El cerro de las campanas). Despite the fact that his work is considered “popular”, it should not be denied literary or esthetic value, it should only be considered literature meant for the people. His novels were written in deliveries, also known as “pamphlet” novels, in which the author wrote “against the clock”, which is why his works could not be considered artistic but rather popular, and could be shortened or lengthened according to the novel’s demand, a novel that most commonly narrated adventures. The author concludes by stating that despite being a writer who has almost been forgotten in the 21st Century, rescuing the works of a character present in editions of several mainstream diaries and journals of the time constitutes an attraction for contem-porary investigators, interested in his literary production. Aunque algunos críticos le niegan cualquier valor literario o estético a su obra, Juan A. Mateos (1831-1913) se significó por ser un prolífico periodista, orador, dramaturgo y, principalmente, nove-lista. Su producción más valiosa la constituyen sus novelas históricas, que empezó a publicar a la caída del Imperio de Maximiliano (El cerro de las campanas). Sin embargo, al considerarse su obra como “popular” no se le debe negar valor literario o estético, sino que simplemente era una literatura dirigida al pueblo. Sus novelas eran escritas por entregas o novelas de “folletín”, en que el autor trabajaba escribiendo “contra reloj”, por lo cual sus obras no podían ser consideradas artísticas sino populares, susceptibles de alargarse o abre-viarse de acuerdo con la demanda de la novela, que casi siempre era de aventuras. La autora concluye diciendo que, a pesar de ser casi un escritor olvidado en este siglo xxi, el rescate de la obra de un personaje que transitó a lo largo del siglo XIX y principios del XX por las redacciones de los principales diarios y revistas de la época constituye un atractivo para los investigadores contemporáneos, interesados en su producción literaria.