Background
Carlos Monsiváis Aceves was born on May 4, 1938, in Mexico City, Mexico, to a middle-class family.
University City, Койоакан, 04510 Mexico City, Mexico
Carlos Monsiváis studied at the faculties of economics and arts and letters at the National Autonomous University of Mexico from 1955 to 1960.
Photograph by Saul Lopez.
critic journalist Political activist writer
Carlos Monsiváis Aceves was born on May 4, 1938, in Mexico City, Mexico, to a middle-class family.
Carlos Monsiváis studied at the faculties of economics and arts and letters at the National Autonomous University of Mexico from 1955 to 1960. As a student, Monsiváis was involved in protests that reestablished Mexican democracy.
Carlos Monsiváis worked as editor at Medio Siglo ("Half Century") magazine from 1956 to 1958 and at "Estaciones" ("Seasons") from 1957 to 1959.
In his longest-running column, entitled For My Mother Bohemians, he relentlessly exposed the shortcomings of the political elite to the full force of his sarcasm by quoting their words back at them. The column was published first between 1972 and 1987 in the cultural section of the magazine Siempre, which he edited. It was printed in La Jornada from 1989 to 2001, and resurfaced in Proceso in 2006.
In 1969, Monsiváis published his first two essays "Principados y potestades" (lit. "Princedoms and powers") and "Características de la cultura nacional" (lit. "Characteristics of the national culture"). They were characterized as being filled with a universal curiosity and the ability to distill the core essence of Mexican political and cultural life. In 1971, he penned a chronicle called Días de guardar, which was compiled into a book with his first essays. In 1976, Monsiváis composed Amor perdido, which detailed mythical film characters based upon popular song, left-wing politics, and the bourgeoisie.
His writings, some of which are written with an ironic undertone, show a deep understanding of the origin and development of Mexican popular culture.
During the 1980s, Monsiváis prolifically wrote the bulk of many works that shaped and destined his career. Those works include 1984's De qué se ríe el licenciado, Entrada libre, crónicas de la sociedad que se organiza in 1987, and 1988's Escenas de pudor y liviandad. In 1982, he also wrote a book called Nuevo catecismo para indios remisos, which narrated an understanding or cathecism about Mexico's indigenous people.
In 1992, Monsiváis created a biography on Frida Kahlo entitled Frida Kahlo: Una vida, una obra. In addition to these books, Monsiváis wrote several anthologies including La poesía mexicana del siglo X in 1966, Los narradores ante el público in 1969, and in 1986 an autobiography about Jorge Cuesta.
Moreover, Monsiváis remained creative into his latter years and in 2002 wrote an essay called Yo te bendigo, vida, about Amado Nervo.
Roman Catholic
Monsiváis was known as an activist for leftist causes. In 1968, the Tlatelolco massacre left a distinct mark on Monsiváis. His critics maintained that Monsiváis' life was filled with social movements interweaved with real life politics and entertainment figures as he wrote about that "1968 army massacre" whose death toll varied from 25 to 350 depending on the sources. Monsiváis became an early defender of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation. In 1994, he supported the Zapatistas' Chiapas revolt on behalf of Mexico's indigenous peoples. Monsiváis along with Portuguese writer Jose Saramago visited rebel camps in Chiapas.
In 2002, he spoke critically against Subcomandante Marcos's letter which supported a Basque terrorist group and criticized Baltasar Garzón. In 2006, Monsiváis signed a petition in support of the independence of Puerto Rico from the United States of America.
In 1975, Monsiváis collaborated with gay rights activist and writer Nancy Cárdenas on the Manifesto in Defense of Homosexuals in Mexico, published in Siempre! magazine. He had also directed the drama The Boys in the Band at Teatro de los Insurgentes in 1974, the first openly gay drama to stage on at a major theatre.
From 1962 to 1963 and 1967 to 1968, Monsiváis was a fellow at the "Centro Mexicano de Escritores" ("Mexican Writers's Center"). Monsiváis was also a founding member of "Gatos Olvidados" ("Forgotten Cats"), an animal shelter.
In his book "El clóset de cristal" ("The Glass Closet"), Mexican author Braulio Peralta argues that Monsivaís was, one of the founders of Mexico's LGBT movement, having supported Mexico's sexual minorities since the 1960s. Monsiváis chose to be buried with a gay pride flag on his coffin, indicating that he was a gay man.
Monsiváis never married and had no children. Monsiváis owned a small two-story house in Mexico City’s Colonia Portales. In lieu of children, he owned 13 small cats and gave interviews with them in his lap.