Rivera Leteler, Hernan -FILSA 2015 11 07 fRF04

Hernán Rivera Letelier (born 11 July 1950 in

Talca Talca () is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune in Chile located about south of Santiago, Chile, Santiago, and is the capital of both Talca Province and Maule Region (7th Region of Chile). As of the 2012 census, the ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

) is a Chilean

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

. Until the age of 11 he lived in the Algorta saltpeter mining town, in the north of Chile. When it was closed down, he and his family moved to

Antofagasta Antofagasta () is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2015 census, the city has a population of 402,669. After the Spanish American wars ...

, where his mother died. His siblings went to live with his aunts. He stayed in Antofagasta, alone, until he was about 11. To survive, he sold newspapers. Later he worked as a messenger for Anglo Lautaro Nirate Company, until his thirst for adventure led him to spend three years traveling in Chile, Bolivia, Perú, Ecuador and Argentina. He returned to Antofagasta in 1973 and began to work at another company, Mantos Blancos. He married a 17-year-old girl when he was 24. Later he left for

Pedro de Valdivia Pedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia or Valdiva (; April 17, 1497 – December 25, 1553) was a Spanish conquistador and the first royal governor of Chile. After serving with the Spanish army in Italy and Flanders, he was sent to South America in 1534, whe ...

, another saltpeter mining town. He completed his seventh and eighth years of study at night school, and at the Inacap educational institute he earned his license as a

secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final pha ...

instructor. Today he lives in Antofagasta with his wife and four children. He has received the ''Premio Consejo Nacional de Libro'' (Chilean National Book Award) twice, in 1994 and 1996. His novel ''El arte de la resurrección'' won the

Premio Alfaguara de Novela The Alfaguara Novel Prize ( es, Premio Alfaguara de Novela) is a Spanish-language literary award. The award is one of the most prestigious in the Spanish language. It includes a prize of (about ) making it one of the richest literary prizes in th ...

in Spain in 2010. Although his early works consisted of poetry and stories (''Poemas y Pomadas'' ''Cuentos breves y Cuescos de brevas''), it is as a novelist that he has had the greatest success, both critical and popular. His books are being translated to several languages and it is possible that film versions will be made. He dreams of having a literary style which blends "the magic of

Juan Rulfo Juan Nepomuceno Carlos Pérez Rulfo Vizcaíno, best known as Juan Rulfo ( ; 16 May 1917 – 7 January 1986), was a Mexican writer, screenwriter, and photographer. He is best known for two literary works, the 1955 novel ''Pedro Páramo'', and th ...

, the marvels of

Gabriel García Márquez Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez (; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter, and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo () or Gabito () throughout Latin America. Considered one ...

, the playfulness of Cortázar, the refinement of

Carlos Fuentes Carlos Fuentes Macías (; ; November 11, 1928 – May 15, 2012) was a Mexican novelist and essayist. Among his works are ''The Death of Artemio Cruz'' (1962), '' Aura'' (1962), '' Terra Nostra'' (1975), ''The Old Gringo'' (1985) and ''Christophe ...

, and the intelligence of

Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known bo ...

." ''El arte de la resurrección'' is a comic love story set in the early 1940s during a strike by saltpetre miners in barren northern Chile. It centres on the obsession of the historical-mythical folk preacher El Cristo de Elqui (the Christ of Elqui) with making a disciple of a devout prostitute called Magalena Mercado.

Published works

* ''Poemas y pomadas'' (Poems and Ointments). 1988 * ''Cuentos breves y cuesco de brevas'' (Shorts Tales and Tales About Figs). 1990 * ''La reina Isabel cantaba rancheras'' (The Queen Isabel Sang Mexican Music). 1994 * ''Himno del ángel parado en una pata'' (The Anthem of the Angel Stand in a Feet). 1996 * ''Fatamorgana de amor con banda de música'' (Mirage of Love with Music Band). 1998 * ''Los trenes se van al Purgatorio'' (Trains Leave to the Purgatory). 2000 * ''Santa María de las flores negras'' (Santa María of the Black Flowers). 2002 * ''Canción para Caminar Sobre las Aguas'' (Song for Walk Above the Water). 2004 * ''El Romance del Duende que me Escribe las Novelas'' (The Romance of the Leprechaun Who Writes My Novels). 2005 * ''El Fantasista'' (The Fantasista). 2007 * ''Mi Nombre es Malarrosa'' (My Name is Malarrosa). 2008 * ''La Contadora de Películas'' (The Movie Speaker). 2009 * ''El arte de la resurrección'' (The Art of the Resurrection). 2010 * ''El Escritor de Epitafios'' (The Epitaphs Writer). 2011 * ''Historia de Amor con Hombre Bailando'' (Love Story with a Dancing Man). 2013

References

External links

Hernan Rivera Letelier
by Guillermo Schavelzon & asociados, Agencia litetaria. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rivera Letelier, Hernan 1950 births Living people 20th-century Chilean novelists 20th-century Chilean male writers Chilean male novelists Chilean people of French descent 21st-century Chilean novelists 21st-century Chilean male writers