María Olimpia de Obaldía

María Olimpia Miranda de Obaldía (Dolega, Province of Chiriquí, September 9, 1891 - Panama, April 14, 1985), was a Panamanian poet, known as "the Chirican lark."

Biography

From a very young age she demonstrated her poetic inclination: the first surviving verses of hers were written at the age of twenty, on the occasion of Christmas.

He did his first studies in Dolega and finished primary school in the City of David, which is the capital of Chiriquí. She then moved to Panama City to enter the Escuela Normal de Institutoras where she received the diploma of Primary School Teacher in 1913. She taught until January 1918 when she married José de Obaldía. Jované, with whom he had seven children.

He published his first book, Orquídeas, in 1926. In November 1929, at the initiative of the National Institute of Panama and its Rector at the time, Dr. José Dolores Moscote, a tremendous tribute was paid to him national that culminated with her coronation with golden laurels in a solemn ceremony held at the National Theater of Panama, and in which she received the title of María Olimpia de Panama.

He was a full member of the Panamanian Academy of Language from 1951 until his death.

María Olimpia de Obaldía stated on many occasions that her poems are pure manifestations of her spirit, expressed naturally and without adhering to any school. In a talk she gave at the Justo Arosemena Institute in 1960 she noted: «The best biography of a poet is his own verses; In them the soul is clearly portrayed, because in each one the feeling that animated its conception is imprinted. Likewise, after commenting on his poem Ñatore May through which he captures the suffering of The Ngöbe woman said: «I will not be critical of my own work, but I do want to tell you that these verses faithfully express my feelings as a Christian woman and my solidarity with the humble, with the most helpless in life. I consider that the Guaimí woman, as an Indian and as a woman, is the being most worthy of compassion on the isthmus of Panama. For her and for her my word will always be on the surface of my lips, like a prayer.

The basic themes of María Olimpia's poems are related to home and nature. Some of her poems appear in anthologies of Latin American poetry; Some of her poetry has been translated into various languages, many have been published repeatedly in newspapers and magazines throughout Latin America.

He received, in addition to the medals that were awarded to him by popular subscription at his apotheosis in 1929, the decoration of the Eloy Alfaro International Foundation; the Medal from the Lions Club of Panama as “poetess of motherhood”; the commemorative medals of the Congresses of Language Academies held in Mexico (1951) and Colombia (1969); the Medal of Merit from the National Liberal Party of Panama; the decoration of Vasco Núñez de Balboa, in the rank of Commander, of the Republic of Panama, on the occasion of the publication, by the Kiwanis Club, with the collaboration of the National Institute of Culture, of her complete Poetic Works. In 1983 she received the decoration of the Belisario Porras Order, in the rank of Grand Officer, and the Augusta Cruz Insigne Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice awarded by Pope John Paul II. In 1975, the Student Association of the Santa María La Antigua Catholic University awarded him the Golden Frog award.

He died in Panama City on August 14, 1985.

Works

• Orchids (1926)
• Liric Breviary (1929)
• Children ' s Parnast (1948)
• Eternal Visions (1961)
• Complete work (1976)