Writers from Latacunga - Ecuadorian Literature

Mónica Varea Maldonado

Mónica Varea Maldonado (Latacunga, 1958) is an accomplished Ecuadorian author, best known for her contributions to children’s literature. Hailing from the picturesque city of Latacunga, her literary journey has touched the hearts of young readers, bringing forth enchanting tales such as “Margarita Peripecias” (2008), which earned her the prestigious Honorable Mention in the Darío Guevara Mayorga National Prize in 2008, bestowed by the Metropolitan District Municipality of Quito). Her dedication to crafting captivating narratives is further evident in works like “Estás Frita, Margarita” (2010) and “Navidad de Perro” (2013), which continue to delight and inspire young imaginations. Through her writing, Mónica Varea Maldonado has not only won awards but also hearts, making her a cherished figure in Ecuador’s literary scene.

Victoria Vásconez Cuvi

Victoria Vásconez Cuvi (Latacunga, September 7, 1891 – Quito, May 29, 1939) was an Ecuadorian writer and feminist. She was part of a literary circle that included Zoila Ugarte de Landívar and Morayma Ofyr Carvajal. Vásconez Cuvi was an influential figure in her time, having served as a member of various organizations such as the Bolivarian Society and the International Commission of the Second Pan American Congress. Her works include “Ensayos Literarios,” “Problemas Educativos,” “Vida de Mariana de Jesús,” and “Actividades Sociales y Domésticas de la Mujer.” A school in Latacunga, Unidad Educativa Victoria Vasconez Cuvi, bears her name.

Freddy Ayala Plazarte

Freddy Ayala Plazarte (Aláquez, Latacunga, Ecuador, 1983) is an Ecuadorian poet, essayist, and university professor. In 2015, his poetry book “Rebeliones al filo de una sinfonía” won the prestigious Jorge Carrera Andrade National Poetry Prize. His latest poetry book, “Un siglo en el vientre de las vasijas” (2021) was a finalist of the 2nd edition of the Vicente Huidobro International Poetry Award, Valparaíso. He has written several literary studies, including “Vientos paralelos: acotaciones sobre cultura y literatura latinoamericana” (2015) and two studies on poet Hugo Mayo. He was a member of the literary workshops at the House of Ecuadorian Culture during 2005-2007. He was a member of the literary group la.kbzuhela of Quito. He is a professor at the Central University of Ecuador.

José Rumazo González

José Rumazo González (Latacunga, August 28, 1904 – February 26, 1995) was an Ecuadorian writer, philosopher, historian, and poet. He is the author of the celebrated poem “Parusia,” an epic poem that he began writing in 1956 that spans 5,600 pages in 7 volumes. It is one of the longest epic poems in recorded history, with nearly 220,000 verses. It is longer than the Mahabharata by Vyasa, the Ramayana by Valmiki, the Iliad and Odyssey by Homer, and the Aeneid by Virgil. He served as Ecuador’s ambassador to Honduras, Argentina, Uruguay, and Panama, in addition to serving as consul in Seville, Cadiz, Lisbon, and Barcelona. He taught History and Castilian at the Eloy Alfaro Military School, and History and Superior Grammar at the Catholic University of Quito. He was a member of the Ecuadorian Academy of Language, the Ecuadorian Academy of History, the Academies of History of Bogota and Madrid, the Ecuadorian House of Culture, the Bolivarian Society, and other organizations and institutions. From 1975 to 1984, he was the director of the Ecuadorian Academy of Language.

Vladimiro Rivas

Vladimiro Rivas Iturralde (Latacunga, June 5, 1944) is an Ecuadorian novelist, short story writer, biographer, opera critic, essayist, editor, translator, and award-winning university professor. He has been a resident of Mexico since 1973 and also holds Mexican citizenship. Since its establishment in 1974, he has been a professor at the Azcapotzalco Metropolitan Autonomous University in Mexico City. He has produced eight collections of short stories, two novels, and five nonfiction books. Some of his work has been translated to English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Bulgarian. He has also been the editor of anthologies of Ecuadorian writers, such as the acclaimed “Cuento ecuatoriano contemporáneo,” which was released in Mexico in 2001 and promptly translated into English as “Contemporary Ecuadorian Short Stories” in 2002.

Felix Valencia

Felix Valencia Vizuete (Latacunga, August 31, 1886 – Quito, January 3, 1919) was an Ecuadorian poet often called the “Poet of Sorrow.” During his lifetime he published the books “Cantos de vida y muerte” [Songs of Life and Death] (1911) and “La epopeya de San Mateo” [The Epic of Saint Matthew] (1914). In 1934, his friend, writer and journalist Alejandro Andrade Coello, published “Los poemas del dolor” (Poems of Sorrow), a posthumous collection of his poems. Valencia’s life and work were marked by loneliness, misanthropy and melancholy.

Atanasio Viteri

Atanasio Viteri Karolys (Latacunga, October 29, 1908-1965) was an essayist, novelist, poet, journalist and university professor. He wrote for the newspapers El Día, La Tierra and El Telégrafo. He was four times the director of the School of Journalism of the Central University of Ecuador, vice president of the National Union of Journalists, president of the Press Freedom Commission of the IV Inter-American Press Congress (Bogotá, 1946) and press secretary of the National Assembly of 1945. He is one of the “poets of Elan,” a group of Ecuadorian poets born between 1905 and 1920 representing the neosymbolism or lyrical vanguard movement.

Alfonso Rumazo González

Alfonso Rumazo González (Latacunga, Ecuador, 1903 — Caracas, Venezuela, 2002) was an Ecuadorian writer, historian, essayist and literary critic. He authored over 30 books in various fields (poetry, fiction, biography, literary criticism). Among his notable works is the biography Manuela saenz, la libertadora del libertador (Quito, 1984), about Doña Manuela Sáenz de Vergara y Aizpuru (1797-1856) who was an Ecuadorian revolutionary heroine of South America who had an intimate relationship with Simon Bolivar around 1822–1830. Rumazo González was nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1999.