Rómulo Cúneo Vidal

Juan Rómulo Cúneo y Vidal (Arica; — Callao; ) was a Peruvian intellectual, historian, writer and diplomat. As Juan Pagador, he wrote books about Peruvian history, literature, biography, toponymy and heraldry. In addition to his native Spanish, he was also fluent in Quechua, Aymara, French, Greek, Italian, and English.

He served as Peru's consul to the Chilean city of Antofagasta from 1903 to 1908. During the Chilean–Peruvian territorial dispute, he campaigned for the return of the provinces of Tacna and Arica to Peru through commercial and diplomatic means.

Biography Cúneo was born in Arica, where he was baptised at the Parish of Saint Mark by priest Felipe Mazuelos. His parents were Luis Cúneo and Rosario Vidal, while his godfather was Juan Vaccaro. His early studies took place at both Arica and Tacna. In 1864, he travelled to Europe, where he studied at Milan's Istituto Tecnico Superiore and at the École pratique des hautes études in Paris.

He returned to Peru in 1881, by which point his birthplace was under military occupation by Chile following a land campaign during the ongoing War of the Pacific. He nevertheless moved to the city, where he edited in 1882 the pro-Peruvian newspaper Los Andes, among other publications. He married Elisa Harrison. In 1893, Tacna was the site of Constancia y Concordia, a Masonic lodge presided over by Cúneo that worked to preserve Peruvian values in the then disputed territories. In 1904, the lodge integrated the members of Fraternidad Universal and Morro de Arica, two other lodges from Arica.

He served as consul of Peru in Antofagasta, also representing Bolivia, from 1903 to 1908.

Works Unpublished works by Cúneo include El monstruo e Hijas de virreyes (novel), Atahualpa (a historical drama in two parts), Víctor G. Mantilla, un poeta de los días del cautiverio and En pleno azur, libro de los diálogos del almo Perú.

Literary works Pagadorianas. La mujer en la literatura (1892) España. Impresiones de un sudamericano (1911) Cristóbal Colón, genovés (1921) Tierra Santa (1925)

Historiographic works Historia de las insurrecciones de Tacna por la independencia del Perú (1921, 1977) Vida del conquistador Francisco Pizarro y de sus hermanos (1931, 1977) Historia de la fundación de la ciudad de San Marcos de Arica (1977) Historia de los antiguos cacicazgos hereditarios del Perú (1977) Tradiciones y leyendas de Arica, Tarapacá y Atacama (1977) Precursores y mártires de la Independencia del Perú (1977) Enciclopedia incana (1977) Diccionario histórico-biográfico del sur del Perú (1977)