(July 29, 1883 – January 14, 1942), better known by his pseudonym, Porfirio Barba-Jacob, was a Colombian poet and writer.
Born in Santa Rosa de Osos, Antioquia, to parents Antonio María Osorio and Pastora Benítez, he was raised up by his grandparents
in Angostura. In 1895 he started a journey, first through Colombia, and after 1907 to Central America and the US, which ended
in 1930 when he settled down in Mexico City.
Towards 1902 he founded, in Bogotá, the literary magazine "El cancionero antioqueño" (The Antioquian songbook), which he managed
under the pseudonym Marín Jiménez. Short after this foundation, he wrote the novel "Virginia", which was never published because
the original manuscript was confiscated by the mayor of Santa Rosa for alleged immorality.
In 1906 he moved to Barranquilla where he adopted the pseudonym Ricardo Arenales. This pseudonym would last until 1922, when
in Guatemala he changed it to the pseudonym which he would use for the rest of his life: Porfirio Barba-Jacob. Towards 1907,
still in Barranquilla, he wrote his first poems, such as "Árbol viejo", "Campiña florida", and his most famous work - "Parábola
de la vida profunda" (Parable of the deep life).
In his journey through Central America, Mexico and the US, he contributed to many magazines and journals. He befriended Porfirio
Díaz, so he had to flee to Guatemala, from where he fled again, this time to Cuba, for disagreeing with Manuel Estrada.
In 1918 he returned to Mexico, where it is said that he wrote a biography of Pancho Villa. In 1922 he was expelled by Álvaro
Obregón and fled again to Guatemala, from where he was again expelled in 1924 by Jorge Ubico. Barba-Jacob then went to El
Salvador, and after being deported by Alfonso Quiñones, he had to travel to Honduras, New Orleans and Cuba. In 1927 he went
back to Colombia; after some recitals and contributions to the Colombian journal El Espectador, he left Colombia on what would
be his last trip.
He died in 1942 of tuberculosis in Mexico City. Four years after his death, on January 11, 1946, his ashes were claimed by
the Colombian government, and were given back in the Rotonda de los Hombres Ilustres.
Ismael Camacho Arango
Doctor Ismael camacho Arango was born in Lebrija, Colombia in 1926. He got his degree of medicine in the universidad nacional
de Bogota in 1952.
His literary career started when he won a short story competition in 1967. He wrote his book siete minutos in 1971.
The novel is a future vision of our industrialist society and of the citizens who only think of having money. The day will
come when people will only worry about themselves.
Laugh and cry with the characters and adventures the author describes in this book full of morbid humour, where he was the
master.
Dr. Ismael Camacho died in Palmira, Colombia in 1995.
======================================
Gustavo Bolivar
Gustavo Bolivar Moreno is a Colombian author, screenwriter and journalist. He is best known for the best-seller Sin Tetas
No Hay Paraiso, which means in Spanish: Without Breasts There Is No Paradise becoming a hit TV series in some parts of South
America, with English and Spanish versions in development for United States audiences.
Spinoffs
* Without Breasts There Is No Paradise (NBC Series)
* Sin Tetas No Hay Paraíso (Colombian series)
* Sin Tetas No Hay Paraíso (Telemundo series)
Andrés Caicedo
Luis Andrés Caicedo Estela (September 29, 1951 – March 4, 1977) was a Colombian writer born in Cali, the city in which
he spent most of his short life.
In 1964, when he entered third grade, he wrote his first story - "El Silencio" (The Silence). From this moment on, Caicedo
wrote several short stories and theatre plays, and started his first novel.
In 1973 Caicedo travelled to the US, and started what is often taken to be his best novel - ¡Que viva la música!. In 1974,
he wrote the short story Maternidad, which he himself considered his masterpiece. In the same year, Caicedo published the
first edition of the magazine "Ojo al cine" (Eye on cinema). In 1975 the final version of ¡Que viva la música! was ready,
and Caicedo gave it out to Colcultura to publish it.
In 1976, the publishing house Crisis, of Buenos Aires, bought the printing rights of ¡Que viva la música!. In this same year
Caicedo attempted suicide for the first time. Finally, at the age of 25, Andrés Caicedo died of a deliberate drug overdose;
he said "life is not worthwhile after 25 years". Closer to his death he was trying to finish his most ambitious project, Noche
sin fortuna, this teen-angst ridden novel with gothic overtunes itended to be an unifying tale for most of his previous characters.
His works reflect the violence and the huge problems of the teenagers living in a big city like his native Cali, like drugs,
alcohol, and insanity. Despite his early death, he left a lasting legacy to the Colombian literature that can be seen in the
works of authors such as Rafael Chaparro, Efraim Medina Reyes, Manuel Giraldo, Octavio Escobar and Ricardo Abdahllah.
Main Works
* "Angelitos empantanados"
* "¡Que viva la música!"
* "Noche sin fortuna"
* "El atravesado"
* "Los dientes de caperucita"
* "Calibanismo"
* James Cañón
James Cañón (1968 - ) is a Colombian-American novelist.
Born and raised in Ibagué, Colombia, Cañón moved to New York in the mid 1990s to study English. His first novel, Tales from
the Town of Widows (ISBN 0061140384), was originally written in English, Cañón's second language, and published in New York
by Harper Collins in January of 2007. The novel, which narrates the story of a Colombian village where the men have been forcibly
"recruited" by communist guerrillas and taken away to fight for their cause, has been translated into six languages and published
in thirteen countries. His short stories have been anthologized in Bésame Mucho, (NY: Painted Leaf Press, 1999), and Virgins,
Guerrillas & Locas, (SF: Cleis Press, 2000). Cañón holds an MFA in creative writing from Columbia University. He lives in
New York.
Gabriel García Márquez
Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez, also known as Gabo (born March 6, 1927[1] in Aracataca, Colombia) is a Colombian
novelist, journalist, editor, publisher, political activist, and recipient of the 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature.
García Márquez has lived mostly in Mexico and Europe and currently spends much of his time in Mexico City. Widely credited
with introducing the global public to magical realism, he has secured both significant critical acclaim and widespread commercial
success. Many people hold that García Márquez ranks alongside his co-writers of the Latin American Boom, Jorge Luis Borges,
Alejo Carpentier, Miguel Angel Asturias, Carlos Fuentes, Mario Vargas Llosa and Julio Cortázar as one of the world's greatest
20th-century authors.
Gabriel García Márquez is the father of television and film director Rodrigo Garcia.
=====================================================
Jorge Isaacs
Jorge Isaacs Ferrer (1 April 1837–April 17, 1895) was a Colombian writer, politician and soldier. His only novel, María,
became one of the most notable works of the Romantic movement in Spanish literature.
His father was George Henry Isaacs, an English Jew originally from Jamaica. He first settled in Chocó, Colombia, where he
made a fortune from gold mining and trade with Jamaica. He then moved to Cali where he converted to Christianity, obtained
Colombian citizenship and married Manuela Ferrer Scarpetta, daughter of a Spanish Navy officer. He also owned two haciendas
near Cali, called "La Manuelita" and "El Paraíso" the latter would provide the setting for María. "El Paraiso" has been preserved
as a museum, with emphasis upon its relation to the novel.
Jorge Isaacs was born in Cali in 1837. Little is known about his childhood, but in some of his poems Isaacs portrays the Valley
of the Cauca as an idyllic place where he spent his most of it. He was first educated in Cali, then in Popayán and, finally,
in Bogotá between 1848 and 1852.
Isaacs returned to Cali in 1852 without finishing his baccalaureate studies. In 1854 he fought for seven months in the Cauca
Campaign against the dictatorship of General José María Melo. In 1856 Isaacs married Felisa González Umaña, who was fourteen
years-old at the time and with whom he had many children.
During the time of the civil wars his family went through a period of economic hardship. Isaacs tried unsuccessfully to become
a merchant as his father. He then turned to literature and wrote his first poems between 1859 and 1860. During that time he
also wrote several dramas of historical theme. Isaacs took arms again in 1860, this time against General Tomás Cipriano de
Mosquera, and saw action in the Battle of Manizales during the Colombian Civil War (1860-1862). In 1861 Isaacs' father died;
when the war ended Isaacs returned to Cali to take over the administration of his father's businesses, but he found them deeply
in debt. This forced him to sell two of his father's haciendas "La Rita" and "La Manuelita".
Isaacs' economic hardship took him back to Bogotá, where he found that his literary efforts were being well received. The
members of the rea der's club "El Mosaico" offered to publish his poems after Isaacs read them in one of their sessions. This
compilation was published under the name Poesías in 1864. That year Isaacs took a job as the supervisor of the construction
of a horse-path between Buenaventura and Cali and started to write María. Around that time he also fell ill with malaria.
When María was published in 1867 it became an immediate success both in Colombia and in other Latin American countries. As
a consequence Isaacs became a well-known personality in Colombia and his newly-found fame allowed him to start a career as
journalist and politician. As a journalist he directed the newspaper La República, of moderate conservative tendencies, in
which he also published some articles. As a politician he first joined the Conservative Party, but later switched to the Radical
Party. In 1870 he was sent to Chile as consul general.
On his return to Colombia he was actively involved in the politics of Valle del Cauca, which he represented in the Colombian
Congress, and in 1876 he fought in yet another civil war. However his political career ended in 1879 after an incident where
he proclaimed himself political and military leader of Antioquia in response to a conservative revolt.
After his retirement from politics Isaacs published in 1881 the first canto of the poem Saulo, although he was never able
to complete it. He also explored the Magdalena Department, in the north of Colombia, where he found important coal and oil
deposits. Isaacs spent the last years of his life in the city of Ibagué in Tolima where was planning to write a historical
novel. He died of malaria on April 17, 1895.
Laura Restrepo
Laura Restrepo is a Colombian writer. She was born in Bogotá in 1950. She graduated from the University of the Andes with
a degree in Philosophy and Literature and afterwards completed postgraduate work in Political science.
In the 1960s Restrepo gave up her teaching post at the National University to focus on left wing politics, and spent time
in Spain and Argentina where she was part of the underground resistance.
In 1983, she served as a member of the commission that neogiated for peace with the guerrilla movement M-19. Her first book,
Historia de un entusiasmo (1986), relates the inability of the government and rebels to come to terms. This led to her self-imposed
exile to Spain and Mexico until 1989 when the M-19 agreed to disarm. She treats themes of exile in her first novel, Isla de
pasión, which is based on historical events at Clipperton Island.
Her third novel Dulce compañía (translated into English as The Angel of Galilea) won the Mexican Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz
Prize
In 2004 she was named the director of the Institute of Culture and Tourism in Bogotá, but resigned soon afterwards after receiving
the Alfaguara Prize for her novel Delirium.
* Story of a Fascination (1986)
* Isle of Passion (1989)
* Las vacas comen espaguetis (1989) (for children)
* Leopard in the Sun (1993)
* The Angel of Galilea (1995)
* The Dark Bride (1999)
* A Tale of the Dispossessed (2001)
* Olor a rosas invisibles (2002)
* Delirium (2004)
Álvaro Cepeda Samudio
Escritor, periodista, cuentista y novelista costeño, nacido en Ciénaga, Magdalena, el 30 de marzo de 1923 y fallecido en Nueva
York el 12 de octubre de 1972. Realizó sus estudios de secundaria en el colegio Americano de Barranquilla y en 1949 viajó
a los Estados Unidos a estudiar periodismo en la Universidad de Columbia, en Nueva York. En 1951 regresó a Barranquilla y
trabajó como corresponsal de The Sporting News. En 1955 se casó con Teresita Manotas, en 1951 tuvo una columna en la página
editorial de El Heraldo, titulada la "Brújula de la cultura", y fue director del Diario El Caribe. Participó como guionista
y actor en el cortometraje La Langosta Azul, al igual que en otras películas cortas y en un noticiero de cine, y organiz&oacutE;
el cine Club de Barranquilla.
Hablar de Cepeda periodista equivale a hablar de él como intelectual y artista. Quería estar al tanto de todo y lo quería
dar a conocer a todos. Precozmente había visto la necesidad de buscar, acoger y aclimatar valores nuevos y universales, tanto
en las formas como en los temas, y de ello da fe su narrativa de ficción de esa primera &eacue;poca. Para Cepeda, en materia
de arte y cultura, lo primordial era que circulara la información libremente.
En la producción de la primera etapa periodística de Cepeda, se advierte como va definiendo los rasgos de los que sería su
periodismo. Sus dos primeros textos conocidos son: Una Calle, descripci&oacutE;n-relato y El periodismo como función educacional,
ensayo-polémica-manifiesto, aparecidos en El Nacional de Barranquilla. Su primera columna publicada en El Nacional fue la
titulada En el márgen de la ruta.
Cepeda Samudio perteneció al Grupo de Barranquilla, tertulia de intelectuales de la que formaban parte Gabriel García Márquez,
Alfonso Fuenmayor, Germán Vargas, Ramón Vynes y José Félix Fuenmayor, entre otros; y publicó varios cuentos en la revista
del grupo llamada Crónica.
Germán Espinosa
Germán Espinosa (April 30, 1938 – October 17, 2007) was a Colombian novelist, poet and author born and based in Cartagena,
Colombia.[1] He wrote over forty works over the course of his career. He often used his native Cartagena for the backdrop
or inspiration for his writings.[1] His historical fiction writings featured such diverse topics as witches, pirates and the
Spanish Inquisition.[1]
Espinosa was often called "Gabo sin Nobel," or "Garcia Marquez without the prize" in English.[1] The quote referred to fellow
Colombian writer, Garcia Marquez, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982.[1]
Espinosa was best know for his 1982 novel "La Tejedora de Coronas" (The Weaver of Crowns).[1] which focuses on the main character,
Genoveva Alcocer, and is set in 17th Century Cartagena.[1]
Espinosa once called the city of Cartagena a "city of legends."[1] "Perhaps the legends that arose in my city were the product
of the inactivity of the people, since, for so long, almost the entire 19th century . . . there was nothing much to do other
than invent, speak, read and remember."[1]
Germán Espinosa died of cancer on October 17, 2007, in Cartagena at the age of 69.
José Manuel Marroquín
Jose Manuel Marroquin (Bogotá, August 6, 1827 - September 19, 1908), Colombian political figure and writer.
He started studying literature and philosophy at the age of five. He went on to study jurisprudence at the College of San
Bartolomé. Co-founder of Academia Colombiana de la Lengua with Miguel Antonio Caro and José María Vergara, he was first vice-president
of the Republic of Colombia in 1898 and elected president thereafter by 1900 and re-elected in 1904.
Apart from his political involvement, he was a writer, having published many books and collection of poems in Spanish.
References
* APUNTES AUTOBIOGRÁFICOS, La Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango, el Museo del Oro, accessed October 3, 2006.
Josefa Acevedo Gomez
*Nació en Bogotá el 23 enero de 1803. Se destacó como escritora de costumbres; sus obras tienen fuerte inclinación hacia un
sentido moral. Era hija de José Acevedo y Gómez, prócer de la independencia conocido como el "Tribuno del pueblo". Josefa
Acevedo descendía de familias de fortuna e importancia local, con antepasados conquistadores, encomenderos y funcionarios
del gobierno colonial. Circunstancias relacionadas con las guerras de Independencia y las incertidumbres políticas propias
de esos años afectaron la vida de la escritora y de sus compañeros de generación, circunstancias que usaron como temas para
sus obras.
La educación de su madre, de cultura y conocimientos superiores a los de las mujeres de la época, influyó para que los miembros
de la familia Acevedo Tejada alternaran su participación en la vida política y militar de la República con su interés por
la ciencia y las artes. Ello contribuye a explicar por qué Josefa Acevedo fue la primera mujer escritora de la época republicana;
la que rompió el prolongado silencio femenino que duraba desde el período colonial, durante el cual sólo una voz, la de la
madre Francisca Josefa de Castillo tuvo eco en la literatura nacional. Josefa Acevedo también fue la primera escritora civil
de nuestra historia. Por ello, la temática de su obra, en contraste con el misticismo de la madre Francisca Josefa y de otras
religiosas, está referida, dentro de las tendencias de la época, al amor filial, al amor romántico, a la moral social, la
historia y las costumbres nacionales.
Josefa Acevedo escribió también varias biografías breves: la de su padre, calificada como una de las piezas ejemplares del
género en Colombia; la de su hermano José Acevedo; la del doctor Vicente Azuero; la de su primo hermano, el escritor Luis
Vargas Tejada; y una autobiografía redactada poco antes de su muerte, en la cual se refiere a varios manuscritos inéditos,
entre ellos "muchos romances y un drama" que, según informa su nieto Adolfo León Gómez, no se hallaron dentro de sus papeles.
Finalmente, Cuadros de la vida privada de algunos granadinos copiados al natural para instrucción y divertimento de los curiosos
fue publicado después de su muerte, con un prólogo biográfico de José María Vergara y Vergara, y contiene, según los críticos,
lo mejor de su obra en prosa. Su nombre se sostiene en la calidad de unos pocos textos y en su real vocación de escritora.
Obtuvo un lugar destacado en la historia de las letras colombianas que, según Rafael Pombo, comparte con Silveria Espinosa
de Rendón y con Soledad Acosta de Samper.
Josefa Acevedo de Gómez murió en Pasca, el 19 de enero de 1861.
Taken from epigraph:
http://www.epigrafe.com/resena/autresena.asp?aut_id=13
Álvaro Mutis
Álvaro Mutis Jaramillo (born August 25, 1923) is a Colombian poet, novelist, and essayist.[1] Before returning to Colombia
in his adolescence, he lived in Brussels, where his father held a post as a diplomat. He has lived in Mexico City since 1956.
Though critically acclaimed worldwide, his works are most widely read in Latin America and Europe, and have been translated
into many languages. He is best known for his novellas featuring Maqroll el Gaviero (Maqroll the Lookout), a wandering sailor
and adventurer. These have been gathered into a compendium, The Adventures and Misadventures of Maqroll (ISBN 0940322919,
translated into English by Edith Grossman). Typical praise by Mutis' contemporaries includes: "An amazing adventure full
of poetry, a narrative craft and a subtle philosophical content make of the Maqroll saga a major work of the literature written
in Spanish." [2]
His poetry was first published in 1948, his first short stories in 1978, but it was his first novel featuring Maqroll,
La nieve del Almirante (The Snow of the Admiral), published in 1986, that first gained him popular and critical acclaim. He
has received many literary awards, including the Prix Médicis (France, 1989), Premio Príncipe de Asturias de las Letras (Spain,
1997), Premio Miguel de Cervantes (Spain, 2001), and the Neustadt Prize for Literature (United States, 2002).
Mutis has combined his career as a writer of poetry and prose with a diverse set of non-literary occupations. Like his
protagonist Maqroll, Mutis traveled widely in his professional roles including five years as Standard Oil's public relations
director, and over 20 years as sales manager for Twentieth Century Fox and Columbia Pictures in their Latin American television
divisions. Latin Americans first became familiar with his voice when he did the narration for the Spanish-language television
version of The Untouchables.
Mutis is a contemporary of other esteemed Latin American writers, notably Gabriel García Márquez and the late Octavio
Paz, who championed his early poetry. In the 1950s, Mutis spent 15 months in a Mexican prison due to his handling of money
intended for charitable use by Standard Oil. His experience in prison had a lasting influence on his life and work, and is
chronicled in the book Diario de Lecumberri.
José María Vargas Vila
Uno de los personajes más polémicos de principios del siglo XX en América, José María Vargas Vila se caracterizó por sus ideales
liberales radicales y la consecuente crítica contra el clero, las ideas conservadoras y la política imperialista de Estados
Unidos. Muchas de sus ideas son próximas al existencialismo y se fueron afirmando como libertarias, muy próximas al anarquismo,
a tal punto que él mismo se declarara anarquista. Sin embargo se caracterizó por defender toda causa y personaje que favoreciera
la libertad y la justicia de los pueblos, especialmente los latinoamericanos; sin fijarse tanto en si compartían exactamente
su misma forma de pensar a pesar de ser consciente de ello: mi pasión por la libertad ha devorado mi vida, escribió.
En su juventud alternó el oficio de maestro en Ibagué, Guasca, Anolaima y Bogotá, con su participación en las guerras civiles
como soldado de las tropas liberales radicales de Santos Acosta y Daniel Hernández. Tras la derrota liberal en 1885, se refugió
en Los Llanos y luego marchó al exilio a Venezuela. Por su actitud crítica el Presidente de Colombia Rafael Núñez puso precio
a su cabeza. En 1887, en Caracas, fundó y dirigió la revista Eco Andino y en 1888, con Diógenes Arrieta y Juan de Dios Uribe,
fundó la revista Los Refractarios.
Conminado por el gobierno de Raimundo Andueza Palacio a dejar Venezuela, viajó a Nueva York en 1891y trabajó en la redacción
del periódico El Progreso. En esta ciudad trabó amistad con el escritor e independentista cubano José Martí. Luego fundó la
Revista Ilustrada Hispano América, en la que publicó varios cuentos. En 1898 fue nombrado por Eloy Alfaro, como ministro plenipotenciario
de Ecuador en Roma y es recordada su negativa de arrodillarse ante el papa León XIII: "no doblo la rodilla ante ningún mortal"
. A causa de su novela Ibis, publicada en 1900, fue excomulgado por el Vaticano y recibió la noticia con regocijo.
En 1902 fundó en Nueva York la revista Némesis, desde la cual se criticaba al gobierno colombiano de Rafael Reyes y a otras
dictaduras latinoamericanas, así como a las imposiciones del gobierno estadounidense, como la usurpación del canal de Panamá,
la Enmienda Platt. En 1903 publicó en esa revista Ante los Bárbaros tras lo cual el gobierno de Washington lo obligó a dejar
Estados Unidos.
En 1904 gobierno de José Santos Zelaya designó a Vargas Vila como representante diplomático en España, junto con Rubén Darío.
Los dos fueron integrantes de la Comisión de Límites con Honduras ante el rey de España, quien era entonces mediador en el
contencioso. Pero esto fue por poco tiempo pues el colombiano pronto regresó a la edición de sus libros y luego de breves
estancias en París y Madrid se asentó en Barcelona, donde inició, por acuerdo con la Editorial Sopena, la publicación de sus
obras completas. Rubén Darío le dedicó un par de poemas: "Cleopompo y Heliodemo" y "Propósito primaveral". Durante su estancia
en España realizó varias giras por varios países de América latina, donde alcanzó gran popularidad.
Mariela del Nilo, cuyo nombre es Alicia Emma Arce de Saavedra, nació en Buga, Valle el 25 de Febrero de 1917, donde vivió
hasta que terminó los estudios de educación secundaria. Recién casada se trasladó a Palmira, ciudad donde nacieron sus cuatro
hijos. Fue docente en distintos colegios de la ciudad y cuando se separó del magisterio dirigió la Biblioteca Pública Municipal
durante veinte años. Durante este tiempo realizó certámenes culturales de carácter nacional.
Fue condecorada periodista con la Cruz al Mérito “Ricardo Nieto” y en 1996 es recibida en la Academia Colombiana
de la Lengua. Actualmente reside en Cali.
La poetisa uruguaya Dora Isella Rusell dice sobre la poesía de Manda: «El desánimo, la angustia, la amargura, suelen ser patrimonio
de los espíritus finos, más capacitados para lastimarse al mínimo roce. Cunde una neblina entristecedora que opaca su luminoso
cielo —ese cielo colombiano tan propio a la poesía—, neblina que la luz atraviesa, sin embargo, porque no llega
nunca al tono amargo y desabrido de los que tienen resentimientos vitales; neblina impalpable, tejida de recuerdos...».
Igualmente Oscar Echeverri, en el prólogo de Secreta Soledad, afirma: “(…) ella nació con el don del canto, al
igual que el ruiseñor, a quien nadie le enseña el trino pues lo trae consigo al nacer. La poesía se lleva en la sangre y aflora
en la yema de los dedos al momento de escribir, sin partitura ni cartabón: se es o no se es poeta, y Mariela recibió la poesía
al nacer. Desde entonces ha vertido su alma en poemas, publicados en sus tres libros anteriores y en periódicos y revistas
del país y del exterior”. (…) Mariela ha ido puliendo su obra por sí misma, hasta lograr una nombradía que sólo
debe a sus propios méritos, a su amor al arte y a la entrega total a la poesía. Su roce y amistad con eminentes figuras literarias
del país han producido –gracias a su fina sensibilidad- un estilo propio que la destaca en la actual poesía colombiana”
.
Fernando Vallejo
Fernando Vallejo Rendón (born 1942 in Medellín, Colombia) is a biologist, filmmaker and writer, born in Colombia. He obtained
Mexican nationality in 2007.
He was born and raised in Medellín, though he abandoned his hometown early in life. He started studies in Philosophy at the
National University of Colombia in Bogotá, but after one year he abandoned the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters. Soon after
he began new studies on iology at the Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, which he finished. Then he spent one year in Italy
at the film academy Cinecittá, where he obtained basic notions on cinema.
He then returned to Colombia with the project of filmmaking. Yet after difficulties with the Colombian Government in producing
and, after he produced it, in presenting his first film (it was censored), he decided to leave his country.[citation needed]
In Mexico he produced and distributed three films about the violence in Colombia. He has been living in Mexico since 1971,
where he not only produced his cinematographic pieces, but also the whole of his literary work. Despite time spent in other
locales, mainly Europe and the United States, all of his novels take place in Colombia. Some of his themes are grammar, biology,
philosophy, physics, violence, pederasty, adolescence, drugs, death and politics, mostly related to places such as Antioquia
and Medellín; yet his main theme is his life. His books are written in first person, in an autobiographical style.
Vallejo is also a great lover of dogs and other animals. He has made public his desire that upon his death his wealth and
royalties be used to rescue stray dogs from the streets of Colombia.
His most well-known novel, La virgen de los sicarios, has been translated into English as Our Lady of the Assassins. It deals
with his fictionalized return to Medellín, and his relationships with two teenagers caught in the local cycle of violence.
The autobiographical/fiction La virgen de los sicarios was made into a full feature film in 2000 and released in the U.S.
as Our Lady of the Assassins.
In April 2007, Vallejo obtained Mexican citizenship and published a letter in which he publicly renounced his Colombian nationality.
The letter presents the reasons for his decision by mentioning several incidents during his career, among them the recent
reelection of president Uribe, that eventually led him to this decision.
Amparo Osorio (Bogotá). Poeta, narradora, ensayista y periodista colombiana. Ha publicado los libros: Huracanes de sueños
(1983-1984), Gota ebria (1987), Territorio de máscaras (1990), la antología La casa leída (1996), Migración de la ceniza (1998),
Omar Rayo Geometría iluminada (entrevista, 2001), Antología esencial (2001), Memoria absuelta (2004).
Es editora general de la revista Común Presencia, y codirectora de la colección Internacional de literatura Los Conjurados,
en la que han aparecido cuarenta títulos en los géneros de poesía, cuento, ensayo y testimonio (donde son de gran importancia
las versiones en español de los Discursos de los Premios Nobel de Literatura, compiladas en tres tomos). Varios de sus poemas
han sido traducidos al inglés, francés, árabe, italiano, portugués, húngaro, alemán, rumano, ruso y sueco. En la actualidad
preside la Fundación Literaria Común Presencia, entidad dedicada a la investigación, recopilación y difusión cultural. Obtuvo
la primera Mención del concurso Plural de México (1989) y la beca nacional de poesía del Ministerio de Cultura (1994). Ha
representado a Colombia en varios encuentros internacionales de literatura en diversos países (Argentina, Venezuela, Brasil,
Perú, Ecuador, Italia, Bélgica, Puerto Rico, México y Estados Unidos...) Sobre su obra han escrito comentarios críticos diversos
escritores de importancia internacional como Jorge Rodríguez Padrón., Fernand Verhesen y Claude Miche Cluny. Tiene en preparación
un libro de entrevistas a grandes creadores universales.
Obras
* Gota ebria (Ediciones Embalaje, Roldanillo, 1987)
* Territorio de máscaras (Hojas Sueltas Editores, Bogotá, 1990)
* Migración de la ceniza (Editorial Magisterio, Bogotá 1998)
* Antología esencial (Colección Los Conjurados, Bogotá, 2001)
* Memoria absuelta (Universidad Nacional de Colombia, 2004)
Daniel Samper Pizano (born in Bogota in 1945) is a Colombian lawyer, journalist, story-teller, columnist and novelist. He
is also known for being brother of former President of Colombia, Ernesto Samper.
Samper studied in the Gimnasio Moderno where he began writing in the alumni newspaper "El Aguilucho" (The Sparrowhawk). At
the age of 19 he worked for the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo as a reporter. After graduating from high school, Samper studied
law in the Pontifical Xavierian University and later attended graduate school for journalism at Kansas University, United
States. He was also awarded the Nieman Fellowship by Harvard University.
Since then he has been an editor, columnist and author of some 25 books, TV and movie screenwriter and winner of numerous
recognitions and awards in Colombia, Spain and other part of the Americas. Among these, the "Maria Moors Cabot prize" given
by Columbia University. He has won three times the Colombian "Simon Bolivar prize for Journalism", the "Premio Rey de Espana"
(King of Spain prize).
In Colombia, Samper is also considered the father of Colombian investigative journalism after his work as a reporter for El
Tiempo newspaper.
Samper resided in Madrid since 1986 and was an editor of the Spanish magazine Cambio 16. He is also member of the Colombian
Language Academy.
He's writings are notable for having a wide and soft sense of humor mixed with some social criticism. He writes a column for
El Tiempo called "Cambalache" (Col.oquialims meaning "Exchange") and the magazine Revista Carrusel with a humor section called
"Postre de notas" (notes dessert) with some articles written for the Colombian magazines like El Malpensante, Revista Semana
and Gatopardo.
As a TV screenwriter he wrote scripts for the Colombian TV series "Dejemonos de vainas" during the 1980s and 1990s.
His last book was released in December, 2006 titled " Viagra, Chats y otras pendejadas del siglo XXI" (Viagra, Chats and other
stupidity of the 21st Century), a compilation of 62 short stories.
Work
* A mi que me esculquen 1980
* Dejemonos de vainas 1981 (TV series)
* Llevate esos payasos 1983
* Piedad con este pobre huerfano 1985
* Esto no es vida 1989 (This is no life)
* Les Luthiers de la L a la S 1991 (Les Luthiers from L to S)
* No es porque sea mi hijo 1992 (Is not because is my son)
* Lecciones de histeria de Colombia 1994 (Lessons of Colombian Hysteria)
* Nuevas lecciones de histeria de Colombia 1994 (New lessons of Colombian Hysteria)
* Cantando bajo la ducha -Quince lecciones para alcanzar el sueno de ser musico- 1995 (Singing in the shower -Fifteen lessons
to achieve the dream of becoming a musician- ) -featuring Jorge Maronna-
* Confesiones de un espermatozoide (El sexo puesto) (Spermatozoid Confessions (the opposite sex)) 1997 -featuring Jorge Maronna-
* 10 relatos historicos 1999 (10 Historical Stories) - featuring Joaquin Leguina, Angeles de Irisarri, Emilio Ruiz Barrachina
and others-
* De tripas corazon (El tonto emocional) 1999 - featuring Jorge Maronna- (the emmotional silly)
* Aspectos sicologicos del calzoncillo y otros articulos de humor 2000 (Underwear Psychological aspects and other articles
related to humor)
* Si Eva hubiera sido Adan 2000 (If Eva had been Adam)
* Antologia de grandes reportajes colombianos 2001 (Anthology of Great Colombian reports)
* Antologia de grandes entrevistas colombianas 2002 (anthology of Great Colombian interviews)
* Del adulterio considerado como una de las bellas artes 2002 (Of Adultery condered as a Fine Art)
* Antologia de grandes cronicas colombianas 2003 (anthology of great Colombian chronicles)
* El discreto encanto del liguero y otros motivos para sonreir 2003 (
* Impavido coloso 2003 (colosal impavidus)
* Versos chuecos 2005 (crooked verses)
* Viagra, Chats y otras pendejadas del siglo XXI 2006
Manuel Mejia Vallejo, (1923 - 1998) was a Colombian writer and journalist. The specialist Luis Carlos Molina says that Mejia
represents the Andean aspect of the contemporary Colombian narrative, characterized by a world of symbols which are little
by little being lost in the memory of the mountain.
Doctor Honoris Causa of the National University of Colombia. Professor of literature at the National University of Colombia
at Medellin, director of the Departmental Printing Press of Antioquia.
Born in Jerico, he studied at the Bolivarian Pontifical University and studied painting and sculpture at the Fine Arts Institute
of Medellin. He collaborated as a journalist in the newspaper El Sol. He was the creator of Grupo La Tertulia with Gonzalo
Restrepo Jaramillo and Jaime Sanin.
Between 1949 and 1957 he was exiled in Venezuela, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. In 1978 he was named Director of the
Writer's Workshop of the Pilot Public Library of Medellin. Vallejo died in El Retiro.
Works
Novels
* La Tierra eramos nosotros (1945), written at the age of 20, published at the request of Grupo Panidas, coordinated by
Leon de Greiff
* Al pie de la ciudad (1958)
* El dia senalado (1964), Premio Nadal
* Aire de Tango (1973)
* Las muertes ajenas (1979), Special mention in the Premio Casa de las Americas
* Tarde de verano (1981)
* Y el mundo sigue andando (1984)
* La sombra de tu paso (1987)
* La casa de las dos palmas (1988), Premio Romulo Gallegos, Shown on Colombian television.
* Los abuelos de la cara blanca (1991)
Short Stories
* Tiempo de sequia (1957)
* Cielo cerrado (1963)
* Cuentos de zona torrida (1967)
* Las noches de las vigilias (1975)
* Otras historias de Balandu (1990)
* Sombras contra el muro (1993)
* La venganza y otros relatos (1995), Classic Colombian short story.
* La muerte de Pedro Canales.
* Rina de cuatro gallos.
* Que despierten sus suenos.
* El hombre vegetal.
* Aqui yace alguien.
* El milagro.
* Los julianes.
* La guitarra.
* El cielo cerrado.
* Miedo.
* Una canoa bajo el Orinoco.
* Palo caido.
* El sitio del agua.
Books of Poems
* Practicas para el olvido (1977).
* El viento lo dijo (1981)
* Memoria del olvido (1990)
* Soledumbres (1990)
