Alvaro Mutis

Álvaro Mutis is a poet and novelist living in Mexico, born in 1923.

Youth

Born in Bogota, wire of Santiago Mutis Dávila, a Colombian diplomat, and of Carolina Jaramillo, Alvaro Mutis is two years old when his/her father obtains a station with the Colombian embassy of Brussels. He lives in Belgium until the death of his father in 1932. He turns over then in Colombia, where he lives with his mother and his Leopoldo younger brother in an agricultural domain, the hacienda Coello.

After having given up its studies early, and married in 1941, Mutis works with the radio as presenter of newspapers and animates a literary emission. During years 1940, it begins a career of copywriter and person in charge of public relations for various companies (insurances, companies of aviation ( Lansa ), oil companies ( Standard Oil , or '' Esso ''), movie studios ( Columbia Pictures )). This life of representative of international companies shows through in its work, in particular of the novels where it is put in scene as narrator travelling on business, conferences or visits of oil exploitations.

In 1948, it publishes in a confidential pulling its first poetic work, Balanza , in collaboration with Carlos Patiño Roselli. Its friendship with Gabriel Garcia Marquez begins in 1950.

The writer

In 1956, Mutis settles with Mexico City, bus of the financial embezzlements relating to funds of the Standard Oil oblige it to leave Colombia. Its relations obtained letters of introduction to him, one in particular with Luis Buñuel. He works in the publicity and the mediums of television, while tying relations with the literary circles of the Mexican capital. Stopped by Interpol, he is imprisoned fifteen months with the prison of Lecumberri, stay from which he will draw its first novel Diaro de Lecumberri (Newspaper of Lecumberri), published in 1960.

1974: Mutis receives the national Literary prize of Colombia.

Initially poet, Mutis, during the years 1970 and 1980, affirms himself as novelist. He develops as from 1985 a series of novels around a character, Maqroll el Gaviero, adventurer always at the edge of misery and sailor everywhere on the sphere, which appears already in its poetries starting from the collection Los elementos LED disaster (elements of the disaster) appeared in 1953. He creates around this wandering character of other protagonists, like the Bashur family, of the traders Lebanese, of which he details Romance after novel the adventures in the world of the turbid maritime businesses, the flags of convenience, and the doubtful cargoes, with a contemplative and disillusioned style. Its works met a great success in Latin America and Europe.

In France, Mutis received, in 1989, the foreign Médicis price for its novel the snow of the Admiral .

In Spain, he is prize winner of the Prix Cervantes 2001.

Spanish works

Poetry

Balanza , Talleres Prag, Bogota, 1948 (in collaboration with Carlos Patiño Roselli)
Los elementos LED disaster , Losada, Buenos Aires, 1953
Reseñas of los hospitales of Ultramar , supplement with the review " Mito" , Bogota, 1955
Los trabajos perdidos , Era, Mexico City, 1965
Summa de Maqroll el Gaviero , Barral, Barcelona, 1973
Caravansary, FCE, Mexico City, 1981

Los emisarios, FCE, Mexico City, 1984
Crónica regia there alabanza LED reino , Cátedra, Madrid, 1985
a homenaje there siete nocturnos , El Equilibrista, Mexico City, 1986

Novels and news

Diario de Lecumberri , University of Veracruz, 1960
the mansión of Araucaíma , Sudamericana, 1973
Nieve del Almirante
will verdadera It historia LED flautista of Hammelin , Penélope, 1982
Ilona the idiot the lluvia , Oveja Negra, 1987
beautiful to morir , Oveja Negra; Mondadori, 1989
the última escala del Tramp Steamer , El Equilibrista, Mexico City, 1989
muerte LED estratega , FCE, Mexico City, 1990
Amirbar , Normalized, Siruela, 1990
Abdul Bashur, soñador of navíos , Norma, Siruela, 1991
Tríptico of mar will tierra , Norma, 1993 there

Tests

Contextos para Maqroll , Igitur-Cilcultura, 1997
Of will lecturas there algo LED mundo , Seix Barral, 1999
Caminos there encuentros of Maqroll el Gaviero , Áltera, 2001

Anthologies

Poesía there prosa , Institute Colombian of the culture, 1982
Antología poética , selection and notes of Jose Balza, Assembles Avila
Summa de Maqroll el Gaviero . Poetry 1948-1988, Visor, 1992
Poesía supplemented , Arango, 1993
Summa de Maqroll el Gaviero . Poetry 1948-1997, University of Salamanque-Patrimonio Nacional, 1997
Antología , selection of Enrique Turpin, Plaza there Janés, 2000
Hastened there tribulaciones of Maqroll el Gaviero , Siruela, 1993 (2 volumes)

Works translated into French

elements of the disaster: integral of the poetries published of 1947 to 1985, translated by François Maspero
the last face: integral of the news published of 1958 to 1990, translated by François Maspero
the snow of the admiral ( Nieve del Almirante )
Ilona comes with the rain ( Ilona the idiot the lluvia )
beautiful to morir ( beautiful to morir )
the last stopover of Tramp Steamer ( the última escala del Tramp Steamer )
Abdul Bashur, dreamer of ships ( Abdul Bashur, soñador of navíos )
Ecoute me, Amirbar ( Amirbar )
the appointment of Bergen

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