Posts - Ecuadorian Literature

Maria Cecilia Corella

Maria Cecilia Corella Ramírez (Daule, September 9, 1967) is an Ecuadorian writer, poet, and cultural promoter. She has authored five books: “Poesías amatorias,” “Poemas Corellanos,” “La voz de los Daulis,” “Versos caminantes,” and “Daulis.” From 1985 to 2015, she was the editor of La Voz de los Daulis, a literary, historical, and cultural magazine. She hosts a local cultural TV show Viernes de Cultura y literatura on DV Daule Vision. She is presently the president of the Corporación Cultural Daule, whose cultural event, Sofá Cultural, aims to promote Daule’s literature, dance, music, and other local art forms. She is a member of the World Hispanic Union of Writers and the Union of Writers and Artists of Tarija.

Olga Caro

Olga Caro Alda (April 25, 1949) is a French author, Hispanist, researcher, university professor, and lecturer. She holds a PhD in the Spanish language and has been teaching Latin American literature and culture at the Université du Maine in Le Mans, France. She specializes in the works of Ecuadorian novelist Jorge Icaza. In 1994, her interest in Icaza took her to Ecuador, where she extensively researched the author by exploring libraries and connecting with Icaza’s widow, Marina Moncayo. Marina graciously welcomed her into her home and provided access to Icaza’s personal archives, which Caro meticulously studied, photocopied, and photographed. During her research, Caro discovered two of Icaza’s long-lost stories, “Patrón Rafico” (published as “Capítulo para una novela inédita” in 1945) and “Fantasía reincidente” (1960). Impressed by her findings, Caro shared the news with Marina, who exclaimed, “It’s incredible, Jorge was looking for them to publish them and he couldn’t find them!” With the approval of Icaza’s daughters, Fenia and Cristina, Caro published a book in 2005 titled “Nouvelles de Jorge Icaza et études critiques” [Short stories by Jorge Icaza and critical studies]. The book featured the two rediscovered stories and included eight essays that Caro had previously written about Icaza.

Luis Alberto Bravo

Luis Alberto Bravo Piña (Milagro, 1979) is an Ecuadorian writer, widely recognized for his novels, short stories, and poetry. His poetry collections, “Antropología pop” (2010) and “Utolands” (2011), have been particularly well-received. In 2011, Piña was named as one of the “25 best-kept literary secrets of Latin America” by the Guadalajara International Book Festival. His novelistic works include “Septiembre” (2013), “Hotel Bartleby” (2013), “El jardinero de los Rolling Stones” (2016), and “Crow” (2017). Bravo’s excellence in writing was further solidified in 2022 when he received the José Donoso Pareja Narrative Award for his short novel “Asia.” This innovative work skillfully interweaves historical events with fictional narrative, recounting a journey to Guayaquil, Ecuador, undertaken by the renowned American writer and artist William Burroughs in the 1950s.

Jaroslav Kuchválek

Jaroslav Kuchválek (Kardašova Řečice, Czechoslovakia, April 7, 1910 – Prague, Czech Republic, April 13, 1973) was a Spanish and Portuguese to Czech translator, Hispanist, professor, and diplomat. In 1947, he and Miroslav Paťava co-translated Ecuador’s most famous novel “Huasipungo” by Jorge Icaza into Czech as “Indiánská pole” (literally, Indian Fields). He graduated in French Philology in 1934 and earned a PhD in Spanish Philology in 1952, both from Charles University in the Czech Republic. In 1946 he became a member of the communist party. He translated the works of a number of left-wing Spanish and Latin American writers such as Jorge Amado, Pablo Neruda and Alfredo Varela into Czech. From 1946 to 1951, he worked as a Spanish lecturer and later as an assistant professor at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University. He taught Spanish courses, led seminars, and hosted Latin American writers. From 1954 to 1971, he dedicated himself to diplomatic work in his country, Brazil, the United States and Mexico.

Javier Ponce

Javier Ponce Cevallos (Quito, April 28, 1948) is an Ecuadorian author, journalist, and politician. Additionally, he spent many years working as an editorial writer for the newspapers El Universo and Hoy. He has held various public posts, including Minister of Defense (2008–2012) and Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Aquaculture, and Fisheries (2012–2017), both held under President Rafael Correa’s administration. In 1982, he published his first book of poetry, “A espaldas de otros lenguajes,” followed by “Escrito lejos” (1984), “Los codices de Lorenzo Trinidad” (1984), “Texto en ruinas” (1999) and “Afuera es la noche” (2000). In 1990, he wrote his first novel, “El insomnio de Nazario Mieles,” followed by “Es tan difícil morir” (1994), and “Resígnate a perder” (1998) whose plot revolves around a character named Santos Feijó, the director of Quito’s Historical Archive, and his two loves, a woman named Nadja and a transvestite prostitute known as “Caramelo.”

Marco Antonio Rodríguez

Marco Antonio Rodríguez (Quito, 1941) is an Ecuadorian short story writer and essayist. He is a numerary member of the Ecuadorian Academy of Language. His most famous book is a short story collection entitled “Historia de un intruso” which consists of 10 short stories. In 1967, it won the best Spanish language book in the Leipzig International Book Fair (Germany), where other participants included Mario Vargas Llosa, Julio Cortázar, and Carlos Fuentes. He has also written over 20 books on visual arts. In 2020 he published a collection of all his stories in a book entitled “Todos mis cuentos,” which includes his previous collections: “Cuentos del rincón,” “Historia de un intruso,” “Un delfín y la luna,” and “Jaula.”

Jorge Rivadeneyra

Jorge Rivadeneyra Altamirano (Riobamba, 1930) is an Ecuadorian novelist, short story writer, essayist, columnist, and professor. His first novel, “Ya está amaneciendo,” appeared in 1957. He has written several books of short stories, including: “Encrucijada” (1960), “Ismata” (1993), and “Chacamandaca”(2015). Since 2002, he has lived in Caracas, Venezuela, where he has taught doctoral students at Venezuela’s Central University as a Professor of Social Sciences.

Paulo de Carvalho Neto

Paulo de Carvalho Neto (Simão Dias, Sergipe, Brazil, September 10, 1923 – Rio de Janeiro, August 17, 2003) was a Brazilian anthropologist, ethnologist, folklorist, writer, novelist, and essayist. Because of his research and study of oral traditions in Ecuador and other countries he is considered the progenitor of “folklore” as a field of study in Latin America. He lived outside of Brazil for many years, including Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Ecuador (for 6 years), and the United States (for 17 years) where he taught at UCLA. In January 1960 he was appointed Cultural Attaché of the Brazilian embassy in Quito, Ecuador’s capital with the mission of organizing a Center for Brazilian Studies there. He collaborated with Benjamín Carrión of the House of Ecuadorian Culture (CCE), and together with poet Jorge Enrique Adoum and artist Oswaldo Guayasamín founded the Ecuadorian Institute of Folklore. He taught classes at the Faculty of Philosophy and Literature of the Central University of Ecuador. He also co-founded, and directed, the Revista del Folklore Ecuatoriano [Ecuadorian Folklore Magazine], published by the House of Ecuadorian Culture. Several of his books on folklore theory, including “The Concept of Folklore” and “Folklore and Psychoanalysis” were translated into English by Jacques M.P. Wilson and published by University of Miami Press in the late 60’s and early 70’s. In 1972, he published a neo-Indiginest novel entitled, “Mi Tío Atahualpa” [My Uncle Atahualpa], about the Ecuadorian Indians in the highlands of Quito, which has been translated into Portuguese, Finnish, German, and Dutch.

José Peralta

José Peralta Serrano (Chaupi-Yunga, Gualleturo, present day Cañar, 1855 – Quito, December 27, 1937) was an Ecuadorian lawyer, politician, diplomat, educator, writer and journalist who founded several liberal journals in the 19th and early 20th century. He is considered the greatest ideologue of the Liberal Revolution. His works, such as “¿Ineptitud o traición?” (1904), “Tipos de mi Tierra” (1910), “El régimen liberal y el régimen conservador juzgados por sus obras” (1911), and “Eloy Alfaro y sus victimarios” (1951) are an invaluable part of Ecuadorian literature’s heritage. He was an ally of Eloy Alfaro (President of Ecuador from 1895 to 1901 and from 1906 to 1911) and held various diplomatic and public posts during Alfaro’s rule. He was one of the drafters of the 1906 constitution. He was proposed by Alfaro as a candidate to succeed him as president of the republic, which he declined in order to avoid violence from conservatives factions.

Rocío Durán-Barba

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.

Charles J. García Plúas

Dr. Charles J. García Plúas (Daule, 1964 – April 5, 2020) was an Ecuadorian writer, editor, biographer, historian, professor, researcher, and cultural promoter. He was a Language and Spanish professor with a doctorate in Education Sciences. He belonged to various cultural organizations in Ecuador. He authored over twenty books that narrate the history of towns settled on the banks of the Daule River, including Balzar, Colimes, Santa Lucía and others. He served as the Subdirector of Culture and Education of the Municipality of the Daule canton. In 2020, the Guayas chapter of the House of Ecuadorian Culture named a virtual festival in his honor. In 2021, the new Municipal Cultural Center (Centro Municipal de Cultura) of Daule, a three-story building which will house a museum, library, and more, was named “Dr. Charles García Plúas.”

Etelvina Carbo Plaza

Etelvina Carbo Plaza (Daule, Ecuador, March 18, 1834 – Lima, Peru, March 22, 1902) was an Ecuadorian poet known for her contributions to Romantic poetry. Raised in an intellectual environment, she began writing poetry as a teenager, focusing on themes of love, patriotism, and devotion to God. Her work reflected personal and political struggles, particularly influenced by her family’s exile due to political upheaval. Some of her notable poems include Las Flores de mi Jardín and La Partida. Despite not gaining widespread recognition during her lifetime, she posthumously became a significant figure in Ecuadorian literature, with schools and literary societies established in her name. Her poetry remains a testament to 19th-century Ecuadorian Romanticism.

Lola Orbe Carrera

Lola Orbe Carrera, born Luz María Dolores Orbe Carrera (Otavalo, March 31, 1920 – Quito, August 16, 2004) was an Ecuadorian writer, poet, teacher, director of schools and colleges in the province of Imbabura. In 1954, UNESCO awarded her a scholarship to Uruguay and Argentina. She wrote poetry, essays, hymns, biographies, among others. She admired and corresponded with the Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral.

Mariana Cristina García S.

Mariana Cristina García Salvador (Quito, June 8, 1955 – Quito, 1985) was an Ecuadorian poet, essayist and journalist. Her poetry works include: “De Alfa a Omega” (1972), “Cantos Transparentes” (1974), “De la voz Innumerable” (1977), “Con la prisa de la vida en las manos” (1983), and “Voces para recordar” (1987, published posthumously). As a journalist, she collaborated with some of the country’s newspapers and magazines in the 1970s and 1980s, including El Comercio and Diario Expreso.

Juliana Espinosa R.

Juliana Espinosa R. (Ibarra, 1986) is an Ecuadorian writer and social communicator. Her literary debut novel “Las Manos de Alondra” (2017) remains her only published work to date. The story revolves around a young girl who confronts the profound loss of her mother and sets off on a transformative journey of self-discovery. Espinosa skillfully explores themes of family, love, resilience, and personal growth, captivating readers with her sincere and engaging narrative. “Las Manos de Alondra” serves as a testament to Espinosa’s potential as a distinct and promising author.