With his death, Mexican letters lose the main mentor of the indigenous language and culture of Oaxaca, while the world loses one of its most illustrious citizens.
A proud representative of Mexican culture, as well as one of the most respected speakers and writers of the 20th century, Andrés Henestrosa Morales was born in the city of Ixhuatán, Oaxaca, on November 30, 1906.
His childhood was spent in his native state, until the age of 15, when he moved to Mexico City, to enter the Normal School of Teachers, despite the fact that linguistically he only developed in the Zapotec language.
In 1924, he entered the National Preparatory School, graduating as a Bachelor of Science and Arts. He had a brief stay as a law student, a career that did not end when he preferred to enter the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters.
It was in 1927 when he began to develop the main idea of what would be his most emblematic work: "The men who dispersed the dance", inspired by the myths and legends of the ancient Zapotecs, whose advisor was the eminent anthropologist, Dr. Antonio Caso .
The publication of this book in 1929 and his lucid interpretation of Oaxacan oral traditions led him to participate in the presidential campaign of José Vasconcelos, in which he toured much of the country, dedicating most of the time to describing the stories he knew about the towns that they encountered.
Henestrosa's path when breaking into the political scene did not depart from his eagerness to eloquently express the richness of his cultural heritage, which he transmitted to his relatives, instilling in them values of respect and pride for their origins, which are exalted through of books such as "Portrait of my mother" (1940), "Paths of the heart" and "The remote and close yesterday", a volume that brings together four autobiographical letters.
The neatness of his writings, his fidelity to the political spirit and the sensitivity of his poetry were the travel expenses that took him around the world, to countries such as France, Spain and the United States, where he spent brief periods in cities such as New York, Berkeley and New Orleans, where most of the time he pursued his favorite passions: reading and studying.
An illustrious citizen of the world, host of first-class trips to the heart of cultures, Andrés Henestrosa worked for and for the people, inviting them to cultivate the habit of reading from the classroom, or from his columns that appeared in various national newspapers and magazines , which were published throughout the second half of the last century.
During his lifetime, the teacher Henestrosa received innumerable tributes and recognitions, one of the most recent being the accreditation as Doctor Honoris Causa that was granted by the Metropolitan Autonomous University, within the framework of the celebration for his 101 years of fruitful career.
