Carlos Rojas Vila (12 August 1928 – 9 February 2020) was a Spanish author, academic, and artist born in Barcelona in 1928. His father was Carlos Rojas Pinilla, a Colombian doctor, who was in turn the younger brother of

Gustavo Rojas Pinilla Gustavo Rojas Pinilla (12 March 1900 – 17 January 1975) was a Colombian Army general, civil engineer and dictator who ruled as 19th President of Colombia as from June 1953 to May 1957. Rojas Pinilla gained prominence as a colonel during L ...

, the 19th president of Colombia. He attended the University of Barcelona, obtaining his undergraduate degree in 1951. He earned his doctorate in 1955 from the University of Madrid with a study on

Richard Ford Richard Ford (born February 16, 1944) is an American novelist and short story writer. His best-known works are the novel ''The Sportswriter'' and its sequels, ''Independence Day'', ''The Lay of the Land'' and ''Let Me Be Frank With You'', and the ...

. In 1960 he began teaching at

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

where he led a distinguished career until his retirement in 1996. He wrote both non-fiction and fiction, winning awards in both categories. His first novel ''De barro y esperanza'' appeared in 1957. In 1959, he was awarded the Ciudad de Barcelona prize for his work, ''El asesino de César.''. He received the Premio Selecciones de Lengua Española for his 1963 work ''La ternura del hombre invisible'', this was followed in 1968 by the

Premio Nacional de Literatura A National Prize for Literature ( es, Premio Nacional de Literatura) is a kind of award offered by various countries. Examples include: * National Prize for Literature (Argentina) * National Literary Awards, Burma * National Prize for Literature ( ...

"Miguel Cervantes" for the novel ''Auto de Fe''. The

Premio Planeta de Novela The Premio Planeta de Novela is a Spanish literary prize, awarded since 1952 by the Spanish publisher Grupo Planeta to an original unpublished novel written in Spanish. It is one of about 16 literary prizes given by Planeta. Financially, it is the ...

was awarded to him in 1973 for his biographical novel ''Azaña'', four years later, in 1977, he won the Premio Ateneo de Sevilla for ''Memorias inéditas de José Antonio Primo de Ribera''. His 1979 work ''El Ingenioso hidalgo y poeta Federico García Lorca asciende a los infiernos'' won the

Premio Nadal Premio Nadal is a Spanish literary prize awarded annually by the publishing house Ediciones Destino, part of Planeta. It has been awarded every year on 6 January since 1944. The Josep Pla Award for Catalan literature is given at the same ceremo ...

, and in 1984 he was awarded the Premio Espejo de España for ''El mundo mítico y mágico de Pablo Picasso''. These last works are all fictionalized biographies, a genre of which he was particularly fond. His writing has been translated into English, French, German, Hungarian, and several Slavic languages

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rojas Vila, Carlos 20th-century Spanish male writers 21st-century Spanish writers 1928 births 2020 deaths Emory University faculty Spanish people of Colombian descent University of Barcelona alumni Writers from Barcelona Spanish expatriates in the United States