León Hi-Fong (February 20, 1941 – Unknown) was an Ecuadorian writer and poet born in Guayaquil. In 1967, he co-founded a cultural group called CIMA along with linguist Carlos Rojas González, painters Juan Villafuerte and José Carreño, and narrators Alvarado, Salas, and Agustín Vulgarín. This group hosted a weekly hour-long radio program featuring Eduardo Salas Rodas and Hipólito Alvarado. León Hi-Fong also established the Buhardilla theatre group and co-founded the magazine “El pez que fuma” (The Smoking Fish) with poet Agustín Vulgarín. In 1975, he published a book of poems titled “El funeral de los pájaros” (The Funeral of the Birds) through the Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana. During the same year, he was reported to be living in the United States. In 1986, he published “Maleficio,” a collection of short stories. Later, in 1996, he published his poetry collection “Vuelo del pez que fuma: poemas.”
Works
- El funeral de los pájaros: poemas (Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana, Núcleo del Guayas, 1975)
- Maleficio: cuentos (Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana, Núcleo del Guayas, 1982)
- Vuelo del pez que fuma: poemas (Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana, Núcleo del Guayas, 1996)
His poetry was also published in the following anthology
- Espirales Poéticas: Joven Poesía Ecuatoriana (1960) by Rodrigo Pesántez Rodas.
In 1975, it was mentioned that León Hi-Fong was in the process of preparing his first novel titled “The Wellfare,” and he had two unpublished books of short stories. However, no information regarding the publication of these books could be found.