10 Facts About Rosario Castellanos

Rosario Castellanos was one of Mexico's most important literary voices in the last century.

Rosario Castellanos studied philosophy and literature at UNAM, where she would later teach, and joined the National Indigenous Institute, writing scripts for puppet shows that were staged in impoverished regions to promote literacy.

Rosario Castellanos wrote a weekly column for the newspaper Excelsior.

Rosario Castellanos married Ricardo Guerra Tejada, a professor of philosophy, in 1958.

The birth in 1961 of their son Gabriel Guerra Rosario Castellanos was an important moment in Rosario Castellanos' life; prior to his birth, she suffered from depression after several miscarriages.

In recognition for her contribution to Mexican literature, Rosario Castellanos was appointed ambassador to Israel in 1971.

On 7 August 1974, Rosario Castellanos died in Tel Aviv from an electrical accident.

In "Cartas a Ricardo" there are some 28 letters Rosario Castellanos wrote from Spain where she travelled with her friend, the poet Dolores Castro.

Rosario Castellanos' main focus in these short stories are the differences between distinct groups, namely, the whites and the indigenous people, but she addresses the differences between men and women.

Rosario Castellanos admired writers such as Gabriela Mistral, Emily Dickinson, Simone de Beauvoir, Virginia Woolf, and Simone Weil.