Pedro Balmaceda

Pedro Balmaceda Toro was a Chilean writer and journalist, considered the promotor of the Modernismo school in Latin America. Pedro Balmaceda was of Basque descent.

He was born in Santiago, the son of Jos Manuel Balmaceda Fernndez and of Emilia de Toro Herrera. Since a very early age he suffered from a severe spinal deformation when his nanny accidentally dropped him while he was just a few months old. This deformity was compounded with a heart ailment that eventually caused his death. His physical infirmities permeated his vision of the world and gave him a high regard for physical beauty that was to shape his writings.

Source: Wikipedia