Germán Espinosa Villareal (April 30, 1938 – October 17, 2007) was a Colombian

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 asp ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

born and based in Cartagena, Colombia. He wrote over forty works over the course of his career. He often used his native Cartagena for the backdrop or inspiration for his writings. His historical fiction writings featured such diverse topics as witches, pirates and the

Spanish Inquisition The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition ( es, Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición), commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition ( es, Inquisición española), was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand ...

. Espinosa was often called "Gabo sin Nobel," or "Garcia Marquez without the prize" in English. The quote referred to fellow Colombian writer, Garcia Marquez, who won the

Nobel Prize for Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...

in 1982. Espinosa was best known for his 1982 novel "La Tejedora de Coronas" (The Weaver of Crowns). which focuses on the main character, Genoveva Alcocer, and is set in 17th century Cartagena. Espinosa once called the city of Cartagena a "city of legends." "Perhaps the legends that arose in my city were the product of the inactivity of the people, since, for so long, almost the entire 19th century . . . there was nothing much to do other than invent, speak, read and remember." His books are a real milestone for Colombian and American Literature. Some of his novels are "La Balada del Pajarillo" (the Ballad of the little bird), "Cuando Besan las Sombras" (When shadows kiss), "El Signo del Pez" (The Sign of the Fish) and "Aitana", dedicated to his deceased wife, Josefina. He also wrote several books of short stories. Germán Espinosa died of cancer on October 17, 2007, in Cartagena at the age of 69.

References

He smokes and his lungs got bad and he died {{DEFAULTSORT:Espinosa, German 1938 births 2007 deaths People from Cartagena, Colombia Colombian male novelists 20th-century Colombian poets Colombian male poets 20th-century Colombian novelists 20th-century male writers