Posts - Ecuadorian Literature

Yuliana Ortiz Ruano

Yuliana Ortiz Ruano (Limones, Esmeraldas, 1992) is an Ecuadorian poet and writer. She has had several of her poems published in both printed and digital magazines. Among her published poetry books are “Sovoz” (2016), “Canciones desde el fin del mundo” (2018), and “Cuaderno del imposible retorno a Pangea” (2021). In 2017, Yuliana received an honorable mention at the international poetry festival “Poetry in Parallel Zero.” She was also awarded the National Literature Award in 2021 in the poetry category for her remarkable contributions to the field. Currently, she serves as an editor and anthologist for the online poetry magazine Cráneo de Pangea. Yuliana’s debut novel, “Fiebre de carnaval” (Carnival Fever), was published in 2022 and received critical acclaim. In 2023, she won the prestigious IESS First Novel Prize in Italy, which recognizes the best first novel by a Latin American author under the age of 35. As part of this award, her book will be translated into Italian. Her novel was also recognized as one of the recommended books of 2022 by the Spanish edition of Vanity Fair magazine and received high praise from author Mónica Ojeda, who named it her favorite novel of the year. Currently, Yuliana Ortiz Ruano resides in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Julio Tobar Donoso

Julio Tobar Donoso (Quito, January 25, 1894 – Ibidem, March 10, 1981) was an Ecuadorian diplomat, lawyer, writer, and social and political scientist. In 1942, during the presidential term of Carlos Arroyo del Río (1940-1944), Julio Tobar was a signatory of the Protocol of Rio de Janeiro, a treaty settling possession of the disputed Oriente region on the border of Peru and Ecuador. He also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador from 1938-1942. Along with Father Aurelio Espinosa Pólit, Tobar founded the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador. He was a member of the Ecuadorian Academy of Language.

Germán Rodas Chaves

Germán Rodas Chaves is an Ecuadorian historian, writer, university professor, and a leader of the Ecuadorian socialist party. He has authored and co-authored multiple books, research studies, and articles on Ecuadorian and Latin American history, politics, medicine and health. Among his books are: “La izquierda ecuatoriana en el siglo 20” [The Ecuadorian Left in the 20th Century] (2000), “Fidel en el Ecuador: a propósito de la visita de Fidel Castro a Guayaquil en 1971” [Fidel in Ecuador: About Fidel Castro’s Visit to Guayaquil in 1971] (2001), and “Eloy Alfaro y Cuba en el siglo XIX” [Eloy Alfaro and Cuba in the 19th Century] (2013). In 2012, the Quito Municipality honored Rodas with the “Isabel Tobar Guarderas” Award for a book he co-authored and edited entitled “Revolución Juliana y salud colectiva” [The Juliana Revolution and Public Health] in recognition as the best book of the year in the social sciences field. In 2021 he published his latest book “Pandemias y enfermedades en la historia del Ecuador, siglos XVIII-XXI” [Pandemics and Diseases in Ecuador’s History, 19th-20th Centuries]. He is a member of Ecuador’s National Academy of History and of the Association of Historians of Latin America and the Caribbean (ADHILAC).

ben aki

ben aki, pseudonym of Rodrigo Jurado (Ambato, Ecuador, 1967) is an Ecuadorian poet, writer, and university professor. He has published 7 poetry collections, including: “Tesis” (2006), “Telares” (2014), “Cartas desde la cárcel” (2015), “Inicios absolutos” (2016), “Querido señor presidente” (2017), “La piel que habito” (2018), and “Poemas para la tarde y el después” (2019). In 2021, ben aki published a biographical novel about his maternal grandmother, María Agripina Cruz Torres, entitled, “María Agripina.” He currently resides in Ambato where he is Professor of Communication and Academic Writing at the Catholic University of Ecuador.

Gustavo Abad Ordoñez

Gustavo Abad Ordoñez (Loja, 1968) is an Ecuadorian journalist, essayist, editor, and university professor. His articles have been published in numerous newspapers, including El Comercio, HOY, El Universo and El Telégrafo. His scholarly and journalistic books include: “El monstruo es el otro: La narrativa social del miedo en Quito” (2005), “Medios y movilidad humana. Pautas para informar sobre hechos migratorios” (2009), “El club de la pelea: Gobierno y medios, un entramado de fuerzas y debilidades” (2011), “Ecuavoley: La ovación voluntaria” (2011). He teaches at the Faculty of Social Communication (FACSO) at the Central University of Ecuador. He worked as an editor for the magazines Chasqui and Textos y contextos. In 2022 his book “Crónica de multitudes. La dimensión carnal de la escritura” (2021) was bestowed the “Isabel Tobar Guarderas” Award by the Municipality of Quito.

Purita Pelayo

Purita Valentina Pelayo, also known by the pseudonym Alberto Cabral (Esmeraldas, March 24, 1957) is an Ecuadorian transgender activist and author. She was one of the founders and the president of the Coccinelle Association, the first organization of transgender people in the history of Ecuador, which played a leading role in the campaign for the decriminalization of homosexuality in the country, which achieved its goal in November 1997. She is also the author of the award-winning non-fiction work “Los fantasmas se cabrearón” (2017), which recounts police abuse and the birth of LGBT activism in Ecuador at the end of the 20th century.

Juana Neira Malo

Juana Neira Malo (Cuenca, May 29, 1963) is an Ecuadorian author of children’s literature. In 2008 she published her first book, “Mi amiga secreta.” In 2009, her second book “Se necesita a un súper héroe,” won the “Darío Guevara Mayorga” Prize. She was president of Girándula, the Ecuadorian Book Association for Children and Young People, a branch of IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) in Ecuador. She produced and hosted a literary radio program, Sueños de papel, from 2006 to 2018. The program contributed to the country’s culture by highlighting several contemporary Ecuadorian authors and focusing on children’s and youth literature. In August of 2020 it was announced that she was the new director of the “José de la Cuadra” National Plan for the Promotion of Books and Reading.

Victoria Tobar

Victoria Tobar Fierro (Ambato, 1943) is an Ecuadorian poet, writer, and literary critic. In 1983 her first poetry book, “Y de repente” was bestowed the “Juan León Mera” award by the municipality of Ambato. She has written 5 poetry books and her poems have been selected for inclusion in various anthologies of Ecuadorian and Latin American poetry. In 2020 a compilation of her poems was published in a book entitled “Inmensos sentidos” by the publisher El ángel editor.

Íñigo Salvador

Íñigo Salvador Crespo (Quito, October 23, 1960) is a novelist, lawyer, public official, diplomat, and university professor. His debut novel “Miércoles Santo: un caso de Nuño Olmos” (2013), is a critically acclaimed detective novel set in Quito. His latest novel, “1822: La novela de la independencia,” won the Joaquín Gallegos Lara Prize in 2022, and was that year’s best-selling novel in Ecuador. He served as the Procurator General of Ecuador (PGE) from 2018-2022, and will serve as a judge in the Andean Community Court of Justice.

Jorge Vargas Chavarría

Jorge Vargas Chavarría (Guayaquil, 1992) is an Ecuadorian writer, teacher, and chemical engineer. He has authored three short story collections, “Aquí empieza lo extraño” (2016), “Las cosas que no decimos” (2018), and “Una boca sin dientes” (2022), which won the Joaquín Gallegos Lara Prize.

Mireya Romero Plaza

Mireya Romero Plaza de Bravomalo, aka Mireya de Bravomalo or Mireya Romero y Cordero (Quito, January 29, 1929 – July 2014) was an Ecuadorian poet, novelist, and feminist. In 1953, at the age of 23, she published a novel entitled, “La pena fuimos nosotras,” which was read by many women and that put her in the forefront of feminism in Ecuador in the 50’s. In 1956, she published a poetry book entitled, “Heliofina,” prologued by poet Francisco Granizo Rivadeneira. She sometimes used the pseudonym Marga del Río.

Aida Borja Álvarez

Aida Borja Álvarez was an Ecuadorian historian and poet. In 1959, she released a remarkable collection of poetry titled “Nautilo.” Alongside her poetic endeavors, Aida also delved into nonfiction, producing compelling works such as “El Capitán de los Andes” (1960), a comprehensive two-volume biography chronicling the life of Simon Bolivar. Additionally, she authored “Grecia” (1960), an insightful exploration of Greece’s majestic mountains, its gods, and the people that inhabit its land. Aida’s literary repertoire extended further with “Mi visión del archipiélago” (1963), a captivating book that offered her unique perspective on the enchanting Galápagos Islands.

Laura Pérez de Oleas Zambrano

Laura Pérez de Oleas Zambrano, pseudonym Doña Manuelita (Quito, circa 1904-14 — circa 1981) was an Ecuadorian writer. She authored a novel, a collection of stories, two radio dramas, and an unpublished collection of poems. One of her significant works, published in 1959, is the novel “Sangre en las manos” (Blood on the Hands), which grapples with the moral complexities of abortion. This compelling narrative draws inspiration from a real-life incident, the trial of an obstetrician in Quito during 1938, charged with the death of a patient during a clandestine abortion. Her other notable work is a two-volume collection of stories entitled, “Historias, leyendas y tradiciones ecuatorianas” [Ecuadorian Stories, Leyends and Traditions] (1962).

* Because there does not appear to be agreement on the exact date of Laura Pérez’s birth or death, we have chosen to approximate the dates based on data from various sources, hence why circa is used above.

María Natalia Vaca

María Natalia Vaca Santander (Ambato, May 5, 1878 – January, 1955) was an Ecuadorian teacher, writer, and poet. She taught reading, writing, and literature in the city of Ambato. Her poetry was published in newspapers and magazines such as La Mujer (created by Zoila Ugarte) and La Ilustración Ecuatoriana. In the magazine La Mujer she also published her short novel “¡Pobre María!” and the short stories “Viaje en diligencia” and “Cuento de Navidad.” In 1907, she was appointed Secretary of the National Library by President Eloy Alfaro. There are two streets named after her in Ecuador. One is in Quito’s Metropolitan District, and the other is in the city of Ambato. A school in Ambato, founded in 1974, bears her name: “Instituto Superior Tecnológico María Natalia Vaca.”