Gregorio Gómez Centurión, Guarani literature and agrarian rights figure, dies at 88

Paraguay mourns the loss of Gregorio Gómez Centurión, a celebrated poet, essayist, and educator who championed the rights of rural and indigenous communities. Centurión passed away Tuesday at the age of 88 in his hometown of Villeta.

Born in 1938, Gómez Centurión was an active member of the Christian Agrarian Leagues. His commitment to community organizing positioned him as a symbol of social resistance against Alfredo Stroessner's authoritarian regime. He notably used poetry in the Guarani language as a tool for raising consciousness and fostering dignity.

Centurión's activism led to state persecution, including the violent dismantling of the San Isidro del Jejuí community in 1975. Despite repression and censorship, he continued to share his writings anonymously through church publications.

Despite only completing basic primary education, Centurión became a self-taught social researcher, specializing in indigenous culture and language. He lived with the Paĩ Tavyterã indigenous group for nearly a decade, learning their dialect to support their territorial restitution efforts. He later led the indigenous rights organization Tierraviva and remained a respected voice on ethnographic and social matters.

His literary contributions include poetry collections and essays such as "Ñe’ẽ" (2007) and "Temiandu rory" (2010). His work "Tetãygua Pyambu" received a literary award in 2018. The Academy of the Guarani Language honored him, and he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the National University of Pilar.