ABOUT JUAN LEóN MERA
Author and painter who is best known for his 1879 novel, Cumanda, and for his lyrics to the Ecuadorian National Hymn, "Salve, Oh Patria." His other literary works include La virgen del sol and Lira ecuatoriana.
He was educated at home by a great uncle. At the age of twenty, Mera traveled to Quito to study art.
A political figure as well as an artist and writer, he served as Governor of Cotopaxi and as Secretary of the Council of State.
He was born to Pedro Antonio Mera Gomez and Josefa Martinez Vasconez. He died at the age of sixty-two in Ambato, Ecuador.
He and Alfredo Pareja were fellow Ecuadorian authors.
