Guide to the Rodolfo Usigli Archive: Correspondence

Biography of Rodolfo Usigli

Diplomat, translator, historian, drama critic, but above all playwright Rodolfo Usigli can be described as one of the founders of modern Mexican drama. He was born in Mexico City in 1905, the son of immigrant parents. Forced to leave school to work after his father's death, Usigli was largely self-educated. In 1935 he received a Rockefeller scholarship to study drama direction and composition at Yale University. Returning to Mexico he taught drama at the university level and worked for the Institute of Fine Arts, reviewed plays, translated poetry and drama from both English and French, and wrote his own plays, including his signature piece El Gesticulador (The Impostor). Unable to establish himself as a dramatist and encountering political opposition, Usigli entered the diplomatic corps and served for over two decades in France, Lebanon and Norway. During this diplomatic exile, he continued to write essays and drama, completing his great trilogy of Mexican history, the Corona plays (Corona de Sombra, Corona de Luz and Corona de Fuego). He was interested in the theater from a very early age, working his first acting job at age 11. By the time he was 30, he had published two books about Mexican theater and one three act play, published poems, essays and literary and dramatic criticism, served as director of the Radiophonic Theatre of the Ministry of Education, in charge of the Press Bureau of the Presidency of Mexico and worked in the Radio Office of the Ministry of Education. Usigli was a product of the Mexican Revolution. In common with most members of the artistic and intellectual community who lived through that tumultuous period, Usigli was a reformist. Usigli dedicated his life and considerable talent to a project of cultural and artistic renovation and transformation which concentrated almost exclusively on the dramatic arts. Recognized as the "apostle of Mexican drama" for his unswerving dedication to the establishment of an authentic national theatre company, he acted, directed, and wrote theatre reviews and a manual of dramatic theory and composition. He helped establish Mexico's most representative and best-known drama classics. He worked at the MexicanU embassy in Paris from 1944-1946 during which time he met Octavio Paz. They remained friends until 1968 when they separated due to political views. From 1959-1962 he served as Mexican Ambassador in Lebanon. From there he went to Norway where he served as Mexican Ambassador from 1962-1971. In 1972 he received the "Premio Nacional de Letras de Mexico."

Scope and Contents

Series I contains the bulk of the correspondence which has been arranged in alphabetical order according to the correspondent's surname. Cross references and affiliations have been noted where appropriate. Series II contains greeting cards, invitations, and miscellaneous correspondence. Series III includes correspondence with Andre Breton, Jose Clemente Orozco, Octavio Paz, Diego Rivera, and George Bernard Shaw, along with related materials. Rodolfo Usigli was fluent in several languages. Included in the collection are letters in Spanish, English, French, Arabic, Italian, Norweigan, and Polish. The bulk of the correspondence pertains to Usigli's literary career. He corresponded with several contemporary writers and artists including George Bernard Shaw, T. S. Eliot, and Octavio Paz, to name a few. In France, Usigli worked with Octavio Paz, who was appointed as third secretary in the Mexican Embassy, and helped him to settle down in Paris. Paz, Nobel Prize winner for literature (1990) and prominent writer and poet, was later named Mexican ambassador to India. The two remained friends, corresponding regularly until 1968 when political differences divided them (mainly their opposing viewpoints about the Tlatelolco events). Series III contains correspondence between Octavio Paz and Rodolfo Usigli from 1945 to 1965, including letters and telegrams. While in Europe, Usigli had the opportunity to meet with one of his intellectual idols, George Bernard Shaw. Usigli first wrote Shaw to arrange a meeting when he stopped in London on his way to Paris where he was working as an undersecretary in the Mexican embassy. The two were unable to meet, but in 1945 Usigli returned to London. While there, he visited Shaw unannounced. Despite this, the meeting was friendly and Usigli returned a few days later to discuss, amongst other topics, Corona de sombra and Usigli's work on Corona de luz. Following their meeting, the two continued to exchange letters. Series III contains these letters as well as other mementoes of their meeting including a film and photographs of the meeting, telegrams, and Usigli's drafts of an article documenting their conversations. There is also extensive correspondence with his publishing agents located in New York and France. He corresponded with translators who requested to translate his works. Many university professors, located throughout the world, were interested in producing his plays and or studying his works, so there is much correspondence with them. He taught a course at the University of Cincinnati during the spring quarter of 1973, during which time he also visited Miami University to deliver a lecture, and there are correspondence associated with these activities. Also, doctoral students requesting to use his career and his writings as the subject of their thesis corresponded with him. As he served as an ambassador to Lebanon, ambassador to Norway and also worked in the Mexican embassy in Paris, the collection includes correspondence pertaining to his political career. He corresponded with many political figures and diplomats such as kings, emperors, politicians, diplomats, and the Mexican department of foreign affairs. The collection also includes letters, cards, invitations, and telegrams from personal acquaintances and friends.

Statement of Arrangement

Rodolfo Usigli Archive: Papers

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to provide access to this collection:

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Preferred Citation

Rodolfo Usigli Archive: Correspondence, Walter Havighurst Special Collections, Miami University Libraries, Oxford, Ohio.

Acquisition Information

The knowledge and support of Miami professor Ramon Layera was critical to both the acquisition and promotion of the collection, while Phelps and BEverly Wood made the key donation that enabled Miami to purchase the Usigli Archive.