Domingo Rivero

Domingo Rivero (23 March 1852 – 8 September 1929) was a Spanish poet from the Canary Islands.

Domingo Rivero
Domingo Rivero.
Born	23 March 1852
Died	8 September 1929
Occupation	Poet
Period	1899-1928
Subject	Poetry
Notable works	Yo, a mi cuerpo

Family

He was born in Arucas on 23 March 1852, son of Juan Rivero Bolaños and Rafaela María de San Félix.

Marriage and children

Rivero married Doña María de las Nieves del Castillo Olivares y Fierro in 1885. They would have seven children:

• Fernando (died with 17 months)
• Dolores
• Nieves
• María del Pino
• María Teresa
• Fernando
• Juan (died in 1928)

Biography

Childhood

In his childhood, he lived in Guía, the town where his father was born.

Studies

He studied at the Colegio San Agustín de La Palmas de Gran Canaria. In 1869, he was elected to the committee of the Young Republicans. After a brief period in Paris he moved to London in 1870, where he met Fermín Salvochea.

From 1873 to 1881 he studied law in Madrid and Seville.

Statue in Arucas

Work life

After his studies he returned to Las Palmas in 1881, and remained in the Canary Islands for the rest of his life. He gained the place of Relator of the National Audience of Las Palmas, and in 1904 became Secretary of the Government of Las Palmas until his retirement on 29 July 1921.

Poetry

In 1899, Domingo Rivero wrote his first poem.

Notable works

"De la ermita perdida..." (1909) was the first poem of Domingo Rivero that caused a sensation in people.

Various sources point out that "Yo, a mi cuerpo", his most famous work written in 1922, represented the top of Canary Islands literature at the time.

Due to an meningeal epithelioma, his son Juan died in 1928, which made Rivero give up in poetry.

Death

He died in Las Palmas the 8 of September 1929, reportedly passing away in the "early hours".