Luis Britto García (born 9 October 1940, in Caracas) is a

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

n writer, playwright and essayist. His fiction has been recognised twice with the

Casa de Las Américas Prize The Casa de las Américas Prize (''Premio Literario Casa de las Américas'') is a literary award given by the Cuban Casa de las Américas. Established in 1959, it is one of Latin America’s oldest and most prestigious literary prizes. The award ...

, for his works ''Rajatabla'' (1970) and ''Abrapalabra'' (1979). In 2002, he was the winner of Venezuela's National Prize for Literature, given as a lifetime achievement award. In 2005 he was recognized with the Ezequiel Martínez Estrada honorary award of

Casa de Las Américas Casa de las Américas is an organization that was founded by the Cuban Government in April 1959, four months after the Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which ...

. In May 2012, he was appointed by President Hugo Chávez to the Venezuelan Council of State, "the highest circle of advisers to the president" provided for in the Venezuelan Constitution.

Life

Britto García graduated as a lawyer from the

Central University of Venezuela The Central University of Venezuela (Spanish: ''Universidad Central de Venezuela''; UCV) is a public university of Venezuela located in Caracas. It is widely held to be the highest ranking institution in the country, and it also ranks 18th in ...

in 1962 and obtained a doctorate in law from the same university in 1969. He obtained a diploma in Latin American studies at the

École pratique des hautes études The École pratique des hautes études (), abbreviated EPHE, is a Grand Établissement in Paris, France. It is highly selective, and counted among France's most prestigious research and higher education institutions. It is a constituent college o ...

in Paris in 1982. He taught at the faculty of economics and social sciences of the Central University of Venezuela from 1966, becoming a full professor in 1988.
Rajatabla
'' (2007), Monte Ávila Editores, p222 His non-fiction work includes several historical studies of Caribbean pirates in the early Spanish Empire, including ''Demonios del mar: corsarios y piratas en Venezuela 1528-1727'' ("Demons of the Sea: Corsairs and Pirates in Venezuela 1528-1727"). Britto García is however best known for his fiction. His two best known works are 1970's ''Rajatabla'' and 1979's ''Abrapalabra'', both winners of the

. ''Rajatabla'' is a collection of short stories which are "characterized by humour and irony, ndrefer to political repression and violence".Dinneen, Mark (2004), "Luis Britto García", in ''Encyclopedia of Latin American and Caribbean Literature, 1900-2003'', Balderston, Daniel and Gonzalez, Mike (eds. 2004),

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law ...

, p87 ''Abrapalabra'' is a novel "which explores the cultural and political development of Venezuela" in the twentieth century.

Partial bibliography

Fiction

*''Los fugitivos y otros cuentos'' (1964). Caracas: Pensamiento Vivo. *''Vela de armas'' (1970) *
Rajatabla
' (1970) -

(1970) *''Abrapalabra'' (1979) -

(1979), Monte Ávila Editores - Premio Municipal del Distrito Sucre, Caracas (1980). *''La orgía imaginaria o Libro de utopías'' (1983). Caracas: Monte Ávila Editores *''Me río del mundo'' (1984) *''Pirata'' (1998) *''Andanada'' (2005) - "2006 Premio Nacional del Libro (Venezuela), categoría Mejor libro de autor venezolano en el extranjero". Barcelona: Thule Ediciones, *Pare de sufrir (2006). Caracas: Biblioteca Últimas Noticias *Arca (2007). Caracas: Seix Barral Biblioteca Breve

Non-fiction

*''Ciencia, tecnologia, y dependencia'' (1975) *''La máscara del poder: del Gendarme Necesario al Demócrata Necesario'' (1988) Caracas: Alfadil Ediciones *''El poder sin la máscara: de la Concertación Populista a la Explosión Social'' (1990)Thule Ediciones
Andanada
/ref> - Premio Municipal de Literatura, Mención Ensayo *''El imperio contracultural: del rock a la posmodernidad]'' (1991) *''Demonios del mar: corsarios y piratas en Venezuela 1528-1727'' (1999) *''Elogio del panfleto y de los géneros malditos'' (2000) Mérida: Editorial Libro de Arena *''Golpe de gracia'' (2001) *''País de petróleo, pueblo de oro'' (2003) *''Por los signos de los signos'' (2006) *''Socialismo del Tercer Milenio'' (2008) *''El pensamiento del Libertador'' (2010) *''Dictadura mediática en Venezuela'' (2012) -

Casa de las Américas Casa de las Américas is an organization that was founded by the Cuban Government in April 1959, four months after the Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which ...

Ezequiel Martínez Estrada Essay Prize.

References

External links

*
Britto Garcia blog
*
Bibliography
* mcnbiografias.com
Britto Garcia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Britto Garcia, Luis 1940 births Living people Venezuelan novelists Venezuelan male writers Male novelists Venezuelan dramatists and playwrights Central University of Venezuela alumni Academic staff of the Central University of Venezuela École pratique des hautes études alumni Male dramatists and playwrights Writers from Caracas