Ernesto Noboa y Caamaño

Ernesto Noboa y Caamaño (August 2, 1889 – December 7, 1927) was an Ecuadorian poet and a member of the "Generación decapitada" (The Decapitated Generation).

Noboa y Caamaño came from a wealthy family in Guayaquil, and was always plagued by a neuroses that only morphine could temporarily cure. He sought to ameliorate his mental condition by traveling to Europe, but no matter what he tried, he felt hopelessly lost, and without spirit to overcome the loneliness of this world. His poetry, coated with unmatched delicacy and perfection, shows the influence of Samain, Verlaine and Baudelaire. Almost all of his work, marked by anxiety and loathing, was collected in a book titled "Romanza de las Horas" (Romance of the Hours), published in 1922. For some, his poem "Emoción vesperal" (Vesperal Emotion) marked a new era of poetry in Ecuador. He is one of the most read poets in Ecuador, and many of his poems are recited and sung by the people. He also wrote some works of criticism.