Rafael Pombo

Hello! My name is Rafael Pombo, and I want to share my story with you. I was born on a chilly November 7th, 1833, in Bogotá, the capital of my beautiful country, Colombia. My world was shaped by words and ideas from the very beginning. My father, Lino de Pombo, was a respected soldier and diplomat, and my mother, Ana María Rebolledo, came from a family of poets. With such influences, it’s no surprise that I fell in love with reading and writing. I was so eager to create that I wrote my very first poem when I was just ten years old. While stories were my great love, I also had a mind for numbers and was very good at math. My family encouraged me to study a wide range of subjects, and I was excited to learn about everything the world had to offer.

As a young man, I pursued a practical path. In 1848, at the age of fifteen, I earned a degree in mathematics and engineering from a military college. I put my skills to use as an engineer, helping to build new roads across the stunning mountains of Colombia. It was important work that helped my country grow, but my heart kept pulling me back to poetry. In my free time, I filled pages with verses about love, the incredible beauty of nature, and my deepest feelings. This style of writing was part of a movement called Romanticism, which focused on emotion and the individual. I soon realized that I had to follow my passion for words, even if it meant taking a different path than the one I had studied for.

My life took a fascinating turn in 1855 when I moved to the United States to work as a diplomat in New York City. I ended up living there for seventeen years. The city was a bustling, energetic place, a world away from my home in Bogotá. While there, a new opportunity sparked my imagination. I began translating classic English nursery rhymes into Spanish for the children of my friends. I had so much fun with it that I thought to myself, 'Why not write my own stories?'. That is when some of my most famous characters were born. I created a walking tadpole named Rinrín Renacuajo, a silly but lovable boy named Simón el Bobito, and a funny old lady in 'La Pobre Viejecita.' My books, like 'Cuentos pintados para niños,' which was published around 1867, were filled with rhymes, humor, and gentle lessons, and were meant to be read aloud and enjoyed by the whole family.

When I returned to Colombia in 1872, I was amazed to find that my stories had become incredibly popular. Children all across the country knew my characters by heart! Back in my beloved Bogotá, I continued my work as a writer, journalist, and translator, eager to share stories and ideas with my fellow Colombians. My greatest honor arrived on August 20th, 1905. In a grand ceremony at the beautiful Teatro Colón, I was crowned the National Poet of Colombia. It was a moment of immense pride to know that my words meant so much to my country. Though I had written many serious poems for adults throughout my life, it was my fables for children that had truly captured the nation's imagination.

I lived a long, happy life filled with words and imagination, reaching the age of 78. My life came to a peaceful end on May 5th, 1912, in my beloved hometown of Bogotá. Even though my time on Earth ended, my stories have lived on. Today, I am remembered as the father of children's literature in Colombia. My fables and poems are still read in schools and homes, where my silly, adventurous characters continue to make new generations of children laugh and dream. Knowing that my words still bring joy to so many is the greatest legacy I could ever hope for.