Alfredo González Prada

Alfredo González Prada (1891–1943) combined diplomacy with poetry and the preservation of his father’s writings. Born in Paris to Manuel González Prada and Adriana de Verneuil, he studied law at San Marcos. He belonged to the Colónida literary circle and contributed to the collective poetry volume Las voces múltiples in 1916. His father’s death in 1918 turned the recovery and publication of unpublished manuscripts into a major part of his life. ²

His diplomatic career took him to Buenos Aires and then Washington, where he became first secretary in 1920 and repeatedly served as chargé d’affaires. In February 1929 he represented Peru at the Pan American Trade Mark Conference and signed the convention on trademark and commercial protection. The agreement extended protection across national borders and addressed unfair competition and false indications of origin. ^{1, 3}

His Washington service ended in a dispute over consular protection. In Luis Alberto Sánchez’s account, which reproduces diplomatic telegrams, a Peruvian worker named Cornelio sought the embassy’s help over his employment in the household of former American ambassador Miles Poindexter. González Prada advised him and employed him himself. When Lima ordered him to satisfy Mrs. Poindexter and return the worker, he refused and resigned in August 1929, arguing that protecting a Peruvian citizen was his duty. ¹

He briefly returned to diplomacy as minister in London and a League of Nations delegate in 1930–1931. His later work included editing his father’s Grafitos, Figuras y figurones, and Baladas, tracking down scattered articles, and consulting other writers about difficult passages. His own writings were collected after his death, including El tonel de Diógenes and Redes para captar la nube. ^{1, 2}