Rocío Durán-Barba (Quito, 1956) is a Franco-Ecuadorian writer, poet, novelist, essayist, journalist, and painter. With over seventy published works across multiple genres, her literary contributions span both Spanish and French, often exploring themes of identity, culture, and revolution. Durán-Barba’s debut novel, París sueño eterno (1997), earned critical acclaim and was translated into French by Claude Couffon. In addition to her literary career, she has been an influential figure in academia, cultural diplomacy, and the arts, having worked with UNESCO and exhibiting her artwork internationally. Durán-Barba currently resides between Paris and Geneva.
Early Life and Education
Durán-Barba was born in Quito, Ecuador, where she completed her early education. She obtained a doctoral degree in Law from the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador and later pursued post-doctoral studies in International Sciences and Diplomacy. These advanced studies were conducted at prestigious institutions such as the University of Vienna, the Diplomatic School of Vienna, and the Sorbonne in Paris. Her academic background also includes studying art at the Colorado Women’s College in Denver, USA, which fostered her parallel career as a visual artist.
Literary Career
Rocío Durán-Barba made her literary debut with the novel “París sueño eterno” (1997), a work praised by prominent critic and translator Claude Couffon, who described it as a “masterpiece.” Couffon himself translated the novel into French under the title “Ici ou nulle part” in 2003. The novel explores Paris through the lens of a Latin American expatriate, offering a lyrical and insightful narrative that defies conventional genre boundaries.
Throughout her career, Durán-Barba has authored numerous novels, poetry collections, essays, and anthologies. Her writing often grapples with themes of identity, revolution, and the intersection of different cultures. Some of her most notable works include the novel “Ecuador, el velo se levanta” (2007), which Claude Couffon heralded as “the great Ecuadorian novel,” and the bilingual poetry collections “París, poema azul” (2005) and “Ecos de la eterna primavera” (2010).
Her poetry, known for its profound lyricism and evocative imagery, has been widely translated into French and published in bilingual editions. Durán-Barba has collaborated with renowned translators like Nathalie Lalisse-Delcourt and Claude Couffon, ensuring her work’s accessibility to both Spanish and French-speaking audiences.
Durán-Barba’s essays reflect her intellectual engagement with history, culture, and politics, as seen in works like “Mayo de 1968 y el año 2000” (1998), which examines global revolts, and “Encore des flammes” (2018), a reflection on the socio-political unrest of the 20th century, particularly in connection with the events of May 1968 in France.
Visual Arts
Alongside her literary achievements, Durán-Barba is an accomplished visual artist. Her artwork has been exhibited in Ecuador, the United States, and France. Many of her visual pieces serve as illustrations for her literary works, creating a deep interconnection between her written and artistic expressions. This synthesis of art and literature is especially evident in books such as “Pachamama” (2019), a trilingual publication in Spanish, French, and Quechua, blending poetry and visual art.
Academic and Professional Engagement
Rocío Durán-Barba has been involved in academia as a professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, where she taught in both the Law and Languages faculties. In Paris, she worked as a consultant for UNESCO and served as an advisor to the Ecuadorian Embassy. Her extensive involvement in international cultural and literary circles has earned her a significant role in promoting Latin American literature in Europe.
Durán-Barba has also contributed over 700 articles to publications such as El Comercio (Quito), Diarios de América, and Correos del Arte (Madrid), among others. She has interviewed notable figures, including French President François Mitterrand in 1991, further establishing her reputation in journalism.
Recognition and Awards
Rocío Durán-Barba’s contributions to literature and the arts have garnered numerous awards. In 2013, she received the Manuela Sáenz Award, Libertadora del Libertador, the highest distinction awarded by the Bolivarian Academy of America, which also named her an academic member. In France, she was honored with the Médaille de la Haute Assemblée by the French Senate in 2014 and the Médaille de Vermeil by the Académie Arts-Sciences-Lettres in Paris.
Her work “Une voix me le dit” was awarded the Prix des Arts Littéraires and the Prix de la Ville de Saint-Orens in 2017. She was also the recipient of the Ovidio Literary Prize in the same year, granted by the European Cenacle of Francophonie. More recently, she was honored with the 2020 Ibero-American Foundation Award from Chile and the Order of the Virtual Apple from the Network of Poets in Buenos Aires in both 2020 and 2021.
List of Awards
- 2013: Received the Manuela Sáenz Award, Libertadora del Libertador from the Bolivarian Academy of America.
- 2014: Awarded the Médaille de la Haute Assemblée by the French Senate and the Médaille de Vermeil by the Académie Arts-Sciences-Lettres de Paris.
- 2017: Won the Prix des Arts Littéraires and the Prix de la Ville de Saint-Orens for her poetry collection Une voix me le dit.
- 2017: Honored with the Ovidio Literary Prize by the European Cenacle of Francophonie.
- 2020: Awarded the Ibero-American Foundation Award by Chile.
- 2020 and 2021: Received the Order of the Virtual Apple by the Network of Poets of Buenos Aires.
Legacy and Influence
Rocío Durán-Barba’s impact on Latin American and French literature is profound. She serves as a Universal Ambassador of Culture, honorary president of the Latin American Literature Encounter in Paris, and a key member of the PEN Club France, where she oversees the Latin American section. In Ecuador, she directs the Rocío Durán-Barba Cultural Foundation, which supports the dissemination of Latin American art and literature through initiatives like the Allpamanda Press.
Durán-Barba’s ability to navigate and fuse multiple cultures, languages, and artistic disciplines has made her one of the most respected voices in contemporary Latin American literature. As Claude Couffon once remarked, she possesses “one of the most remarkable pens” in this literary sphere, and her work continues to inspire and influence readers worldwide.
This version of the biography includes accurate dates and details from the provided sources, with a structured presentation that highlights the key aspects of Rocío Durán-Barba’s life and career.
Videos
Artwork
Literary work
Novel
- París sueño eterno (Eskeletra, 1997), considerada por Claude Couffon* como « obra maestra » traducida al francés por él mismo.
- Ici ou nulle part (Indigo, 2003)
- El loco o todos enloquecimos (Báez-Oquendo, 2000)
- Ecuador, el velo se levanta (El Conejo, 2007)
- Équateur (Allpamanda, 2016)
Poetry
Translated into French by Claude Couffon:
- París, poema azul (bilingüe, Porte des poètes, 2005)
- Sólo un viaje (bilingüe, El Conejo, 2006)
- Nací en un cráter (bilingüe, El Conejo, 2007)
- Qué es lo Sagrado? (trilingüe: español, francés, inglés. Allpamanda, 2008)
Translated into French by Nathalie Lalisse-Delcourt:
- Ecos de la eterna primavera (bilingüe, Caractères, 2010)
- El verbo del desierto (bilingüe, Allpamanda, 2011)
- Delirios de verano (bilingüe, Allpamanda, 2013)
Written in French and Spanish by the author
- Qué es la revolución ? (bilingüe, ed. numerada, París, 2012)
- Entre el Sahara y los Andes (bilingüe, Allpamanda, 2013)
- Ailleurs (Allpamanda, 2014)
- Amo del destino (trilingüe: español, francés, inglés. Allpamanda, 2014)
- Nelson Mandela, Ubuntu (bilingüe, Allpamanda, 2014)
- Les légends de Cantuña (Allpamanda, 2016)
- Une voix me le dit (La feuille de thé, 2016) Premio de las artes literarias 2017, Premio de la ciudad de Saint-Orens, Francia.
- Parole émancipée (Signum, 2017)
- Palabra emancipada (Signum, 2018)
- Au chevet de ma plume (Allpamanda, 2018)
- Pachamama (trilingüe: español, francés, quichua. Allpamanda, 2019)
Poetic trilogy
- Mi vida entre el sueño y la realidad (Allpamanda, 2018)
- Retornaré al adiós (Allpamanda, 2019)
- Distancias (Allpamanda, 2019)
Books of art and poetry
- El verbo del desierto (edición numerada, París, 2011)
- L’univers de l’art équatorien (edición numerada, París, 2012)
- Ailleurs (edición numerada, París, 2014)
- Pachamama (edición numerada, París, 2015)
- Divinités et chamanes (edición numerada, París, 2016)
- Ubuntu (con tintas de Danielle Loisel, Ed. Signum, 2016)
- Ombres-lumières (Ed. Les lieux dits, colección Bandes d’artistes, 2017)
- Ta voix (con tintas de Danielle Loisel, Ed. Signum, 2018)
- Pachamama s’éveille (edición numerada, París, 2018)
- El aire se fue (libro de artista, 2020)
- Fronteras (serie, libros de artista, 2020)
- Suspiros del mar (libro de artista, 2020)
- Páginas impares (serie, libros de artista, 2021)
- Mujer (serie, libros de artista, 2021)
- Point Zéro (libro de artista, 2021)
Anthologies
- Miradas cruzadas, pintores ecuatorianos y poetas franceses (bilingüe, Allpamanda, 2016)
- Regards croisés en France (Allpamanda, 2018)
- Resistir, antología de poesía latinoamericana 2020 (Écrits des Forges, Allpamanda, 2019)
Essay
- Crónicas desde París (Corporación editora nacional, 1998)
- Mayo de 1968 y el año 2000 (El Conejo, 1998)
- El fin de la Revolución Francesa (Corporación editora nacional, 1999)
- Ecos de la escritura (Corporación editora nacional, 2003)
- Tres voces y un fantasma (Báez-Oquendo, 2004)
- El otro Pablo Neruda (bilingüe, Báez-Oquendo, 2004)
- Literatura ecuatoriana: ¿Y el indigenismo? (Ed. Casa de la cultura ecuatoriana, 2006)
- Tengo algo que decir, 1968-2008 (Allpamanda, 2008)
- París, revuelta y fiesta (Allpamanda, 2008)
- Panorámica actual de la cultura ecuatoriana(Allpamanda, 2011)
- El universo del arte ecuatoriano (bilingüe, Allpamanda, 2012)
- Microcuentos de escritores de Ecuador (bilingüe, Allpamanda, 2014)
- Poesía ante los abismos del mundo (Allpamanda, 2015)
- Encore des flammes (Ed. Unicité, 2018)
Books she has co-written
- El París Latinoamericano (bilingüe, Indigo, 1999)
- Escritores de América Latina en París (bilingüe, Indigo, 2000)
- Mini-contes d’écrivains de l’Équateur y otras publicaciones (MIPE, 2010… Dir. Rocío Durán-Barba)
- 60 Poèmes contre la haine (coordinado y editado por Nicole Barrière, 2015)
- Vientos migradores (Ed. Caza de libros, Bogotá, 2016)
- Voces contra la infamia (Ed. Caza de libros, Bogotá, 2016)
- Oír ese Río, Antología de los cinco continentes, (Ed. Echarper, Colombia 2017, Dir. Esteban Charpentier y Robert Max)
- Anthologie L’eau entre nos doigts (Ed. Henry, 2018, Dir. Claudine Bertrand)
- Liberté d’expression y otras publicaciones (PEN Club français, 2016…)
- Anthologie des écrivaines francophones (Regain de lecture, 2019)
- Lettres depuis le confinement (PEN Suisse romand, 2020)
- Letras desde el encierro (PEN Puerto Rico, 2021, Dir. Sandra Santana)
- Aquí alguien que tiembla (Ed. sin nombre, 2021, Dir. Sandra Lorenzano)
- Anthologie Alexandrine (Unicité, 2021, Dir. Mona Gamal)
Translated from French to Spanish
- Intimidades (bilingüe, Allpamanda, 2008)
- El alfabeto de un poeta (bilingüe, Allpamanda, 2010)
Her poetry has also been published in magazines, newspapers and some anthologies.
References
- Editorial El Conejo, “Rocío Durán-Barba – Nota Biográfica.” Retrieved on October 19, 2024. Click to view.
- El Comercio, “Rocío Durán-Barba escribe a la primavera.” Retrieved on October 19, 2024. Click to view.
- Rocío Durán-Barba Official Website, “Biografía.” Retrieved on October 19, 2024. Click to view.
- Rocío Durán-Barba Official Website, “Obra.” Retrieved on October 19, 2024. Click to view.
- Rocío Durán-Barba Official Website, “Paris Sueño Eterno.” Retrieved on October 19, 2024. Click to view.
- Souffle Inédit, “Rocío Durán-Barba… Résister c’est aimer.” Retrieved on October 19, 2024. Click to view.
- World Literature Today, “Rocío Durán-Barba.” Retrieved on October 19, 2024. Click to view.
- Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana, “Durán Barba, Rocío, 1956-.” Retrieved on October 19, 2024. Click to view.