Ernesto Cardenal Biography

Ernesto Cardenal is a Roman Catholic priest who is also a poet, politician, and revolutionary. Considered by many to be Nicaragua’s second greatest poet after Ruben Dario, he has devoted his life to the service of the poor and the cause of justice in his native land. Following his conversion to Christianity, Cardenal spent time in an American monastery and then transferred to Mexico where he was eventually ordained. He set up a Christian primitivist art community in the Solentiname Islands in Lake Nicaragua, but left after it was destroyed by forces loyal to the Somoza regime. He joined the opposition Sandinistas in their successful overthrow of Somoza and subsequently served in the new revolutionary government as its Minister of Culture. He grew disillusioned with the Sandinista movement, however, and in particular the authoritarian rule of Daniel Ortega, and eventually left the party. He retains his political views and continues to advocate on behalf of the poor and powerless, linking these views with a radical understanding of the Christian gospel and the movement known as liberation theology. Over the course of six decades, this prolific poet and author has chronicled his nation’s and his people’s history for a worldwide audience.