Otilio Vigil Díaz

Otilio Vigil Díaz, commonly known as Virgil Díaz (1880–1961) was a Dominican poet and writer.

Diaz created the literary movement known as vendrinismo. He was the first poet to introduce free verse in Dominican letters with his poem, "Arabesco."

Diaz was born in Santo Domingo on April 6, 1880, the son of Francisco Vigil and Isabel Díaz. He studied in primary and secondary school in Santo Domingo, but did not continue to university.

In the beginning of his literary career, Diaz was bound to the postumismo literary movement. However, the esthetic differences with postumismo poets forced him to distance himself from this group. During the first decades of the twentieth century, Diaz's visits to New York City and Cuba as well as his stay in Paris, marked his literary production. Daiz was greatly influence by the French literature of that era.

Returning to the Dominican Republic from France, Diaz established vedrinismo. This was a literary movement for the introduction of free verse to his country's poetry. Despite the fact that he was the only representative of vendrinismo, Díaz was able to get Dominican poetry to take its first steps towards modernity with the publication of the poem "Arabesco" in 1917.

Diaz's opinionated poems and essays were published in Cromos, Letras, La Cuna de América, Renacimiento, Cosmopolita, Bahoruco, El día ético and Blanco y Negro. For many year, he wrote the "Fatamorgana" column, which first appeared in the Listín Diario, later in La opinión and finally in La Nación.

Diaz died in Santo Domingo on January 20, 1962.