FÃ lix RubÃ n GarcÃ a Sarmiento ( January 18 , 1867 -- February 6 , 1916 ) was a Nicaraguan journalist , diplomat , and poet who wrote under the pseudonym of RubÃ n DarÃ o and is also known as The Father of Modernism . FÃ lix RubÃ n GarcÃ a Sarmiento ( Metapa , January 18 , 1867 -- Leon February 6 , 1916 ) , known as RubÃ n DarÃ o , was a Nicaraguan poet who initiated Spanish-American literary movement known as modernismo ( modernism ) that flourished at the end of the 19th century .