Olga Elena Mattei Echavarría (born 1933 in

Arecibo Arecibo (; ) is a city and municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado and Ciales; east of Hatillo; and west of Barceloneta and Florida. It is about west of San Juan, the ...

, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican-born

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

n poet. She has won several poetry awards in

and other

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

-speaking countries. She has written around 23 books published, 41 unpublished and thousands of poems to be typed and compiled, all of them in Spanish.

Career

In 1979 she participated in the ''"International Writers Program"'' at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

(Usono). Her work has been included in more than 120 international and national anthologies and dictionaries. She has received 43 recognitions, including 9 international and national awards and 34 decorations, plaques and tributes. Her multimedia poem on the cosmos, "Cosmoagonía", has been presented at the planetariums of New York, Washington, Toronto, Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Colombia. She has been invited to countless national and international conferences and has performed more than 400 recitals, including some 46 in the United States and Europe. She has been a lecturer in archeology, Egyptian civilization, Angkor Vat, the Khmer culture and the Mayan culture. It was included in the list of the 100 Antioquenos of the 20th century and in the collection of postcards "Grandes Hombres de Antioquia", (only 12 women), where she was the only writer, as well as in a list of biographical investigations of the University of Antioquia of the ten most important Antioqueno writers, in which she was the only living poet. She was an honorary cultural journalist for 25 years at El Colombiano and for almost 15 years has been the only critic of classical music, visual arts, poetry and civics (ad honorem) of Medellín, in El Mundo. She has conducted cultural radio and television programs.

Awards

*National (Colombian) Poetry Award ''

Guillermo Valencia Guillermo Valencia Castillo (October 29, 1873 in Popayán, Colombia – July 8, 1943 in Popayán) was a Colombian poet, translator, and politician. Valencia was a pioneer of Modernism in Colombia and a member of the Colombian Conservative Pa ...

'' in 1973 *International Poetry Award ''Café Marfil'',

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, in 1974 *‘l’Ordre des Aniseteurs du RoI’,

París Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Sin ...

, 1976 *National Poetry Award "

Porfirio Barba Jacob Miguel Ángel Osorio Benítez (July 29, 1883 – January 14, 1942), better known by his pseudonym, Porfirio Barba-Jacob, was a Colombian poet and writer. Born in Santa Rosa de Osos, Antioquia, to parents Antonio María Osorio and Pastora B ...

Medellín Medellín ( or ), officially the Municipality of Medellín ( es, Municipio de Medellín), is the second-largest city in Colombia, after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central re ...

, 2004 *Premio Nacional de Poesía Meira del Mar, 2007 Up to 2009 she has received 18 national and international public recognitions, awards and decorations. Her

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...

''Cosmofonía'' was performed for the first time on radio and TV in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in 1976 with music of the conductor ''Marc Carles''. Her poem ''Cosmoagonia'', with scientific (astronomy) and humanistic content, has been performed in eight important planetariums around the world such as

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. Olga Elena Mattei's literature activities go from reporting, arts and music criticism. As a graduate in philosophy and arts by

Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana The Pontifical Bolivarian University ( es, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana), also referred to as UPB, is a private university in Colombia with its main campus in Medellín, where it was founded in 1936. As of June 2022, the UPB holds the top 4 ...

she cooperates with the music critic column in the Medellin newspaper El mundo, in which she comments on, among others, the Orquesta Filarmonica de Medellin concerts. Besides, she is lecturer of arts and ancient cultures. Up to 2009 she has 16 publications and many others looking for publisher.Augusto Escobar Mesa: Op.Cit.

Works

*Sílabas de arena (1962) 118 pgs, Ed. Imprenta Departamental de Antioquia, ''"Ediciones La Tertulia"'',

, 1962 *Pentafonía (1964) 64 pgs, Ed.

, colecciòn ''"Rojo y Negro"'',

, 1964 *La gente (1974) 182 pgs, Ed.

Colcultura The Colombian Institute of Culture ( es, Instituto Colombiano de Cultura; short name ''Colcultura'') (1968–1997), was established by the Colombian government in 1968 to manage official activity in the cultural arena and to serve as a cultural ...

, Colección ''"Biblioteca Colombiana de Cultura"'',

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

, 1974 *Huellas en el agua (1974) International Poetry Award "''Cafe Marfil''" 1974 *Cosmofonía (Cantata) (1977) with music of Marc Carles. Ed. Multipograficas

1977 *Conclusiones finales (1989) 38 pags, Ed. Talleres Editoriales del Museo Rayo,

Roldanillo Roldanillo is a town and municipality located in the Department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia. It is also a tourist hotspot and known as Colombia's flying capital. It has hosted a range of international competitions, including the paragliding ...

( Valle del Cauca, Colombia), 1989 *Cosmoagonía (Misa cósmica) (1993) *Regiones del más acá (1994) 465 pags, Ed. Secretaria de Cultura Departamental de Antioquia,''"Colección de Autores Antioqueños"'',

, 1994 *Los ángeles del Oceano (2000) 41 pgs, Ed. Talleres Editoriales del Museo Rayo.

( Valle del Cauca, Colombia) *Escuchando al Infinito (2005), 99 pgs, Sic,

Bucaramanga Bucaramanga () is the capital and largest city of the department of Santander, Colombia. Bucaramanga has the fifth-largest economy by GDP in Colombia, has the lowest unemployment rate and has the ninth-largest population in the country, with 68 ...

. *El profundo Placer de este Dolor (2007) 121 pgs Ed. Fondo ditorial Ateneo.

, 2007 *Cierra la Puerta de la Ciudad (2007) 59 pgs, Ed. Uryco.

, 2007. National Poetry Prize Meira del Mar (2007)

Career

Awards

Works

References

External links