Rafael Pombo

Hello! My name is Rafael Pombo, and I want to share my story with you. I was born on November 7th, 1833, in a beautiful city called Bogotá, in the country of Colombia. Even as a young boy, I was in love with words. I wrote my very first poems when I was only ten years old! My family was very supportive and encouraged my love for reading and creating stories. Our home was filled with books, and I spent hours getting lost in tales of adventure and wonder, dreaming of the day I could write my own.

When it was time for me to go to college, you might be surprised to learn what I studied. It wasn't writing—it was mathematics and engineering! I attended the Military College and learned all about numbers and building things. But even while I was studying to be an engineer, my heart was still with poetry. I kept writing in my spare time, filling notebooks with verses and rhymes. It was my secret passion, a world of imagination I carried with me everywhere.

In 1855, I traveled far from home to work as a diplomat for my country in the United States. I lived in a bustling, exciting place called New York City. While I was there, I discovered something wonderful: English nursery rhymes! I was fascinated by these short, funny, and memorable poems for children. They gave me a brilliant idea. What if the children in my own country had stories and rhymes like these, but in our own language, Spanish?

Inspired, I began to write. I translated some English rhymes, but soon I was creating my own magical world filled with unforgettable characters. I wrote about a tadpole who went on an adventure, called 'El Renacuajo paseador.' I imagined a silly boy named 'Simón el Bobito' and a funny little old lady in 'La Pobre Viejecita.' I collected these stories in books like 'Cuentos pintados para niños' (Painted Stories for Children). My goal was to make children laugh and wonder, and maybe learn a little something about kindness and curiosity along the way.

After many years, I returned to my beloved Colombia in 1872 and continued writing. My stories for children became very popular, and I wrote poems for adults, too. Then, on a very special day, August 20th, 1905, my country gave me the greatest honor I could imagine. I was crowned the National Poet of Colombia. It was a celebration of all the words, rhymes, and stories I had shared throughout my life.

I lived a long and happy life filled with imagination, and I was 78 years old when my story on Earth came to an end in 1912. But my characters, like the little tadpole and Simple Simon, live on. For over a hundred years, children all over Colombia and Latin America have grown up reading my fables and poems. I am so happy that my words continue to fill homes with laughter and wonder, reminding everyone that a little bit of imagination can make the world a more magical place.