Hugo Gutiérrez Vega (February 20, 1934 – September 25, 2015) was a Mexican poet, lawyer, writer, academic, actor and translator. In addition to his writings, Gutiérrez Vega, a career diplomat, served as Mexico's Ambassador to Greece from 1987 to 1994, which included concurrent accreditation as Ambassador to

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

, and

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. His diplomatic postings influenced his literary writings. In an October 2007 interview with ''

La Jornada ''La Jornada'' (''The Working Day'') is one of Mexico City's leading daily newspapers. It was established in 1984 by Carlos Payán Velver. The current editor (''directora general'') is Carmen Lira Saade. As of 2006 it had approximately 287,000 ...

'', Gutiérrez noted that he had written one book in every foreign city in which he had lived, including Washington D.C., Rio de Janeiro, London, and

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

. His poetry has been translated into English, French, Italian, Greek, Portuguese, Russian and Romanian. He was also a professor of Humanities and the Social Sciences at the

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public university, public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countri ...

(UNAM).

Biography

Hugo Gutiérrez Vega was born in

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...

, Mexico, on February 20, 1934. He received his Doctor of Law from the

Autonomous University of Queretaro In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be defi ...

Querétaro City Querétaro, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Querétaro, 18 municipalities. Its capital city is Querétaro Cit ...

. He also studied

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

at a university in

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, Italian at the University of Rome, and sociology in London.

Career

Gutierrez was a career diplomat within the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs. He served as a cultural attache and adviser at the Embassy in Rome, the Embassy of Mexico, London, the Embassy in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, and the Embassy of Mexico, Washington, D.C. He served as the Mexican Ambassador to Greece from 1987 to 1994, with concurrent accreditation at Ambassador to Cyprus, Lebanon, Moldova and Romania. He also held the position of consul general of Mexico in

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the sixth-most-populous city in the Americas. Founded in 1565 by the Portuguese, the city wa ...

, and

. Additionally, Gutiérrez conducted special missions for

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and the

former Soviet Union The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they ...

. Most recently, Gutiérrez had served on the board of directors of ''

'', where he also oversaw and directed the newspapers cultural supplement, ''La Jornada Semanal''. Gutiérrez died from a long illness in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

on September 25, 2015, at the age of 81.

Awards and honors

*Commander of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

in 1966. *Premio Nacional de Poesía Aguascalientes in 1975. *Alfonso X Medal from the

University of Salamanca The University of Salamanca () is a public university, public research university in Salamanca, Spain. Founded in 1218 by Alfonso IX of León, King Alfonso IX, it is the oldest university in the Hispanic world and the fourth oldest in the ...

, Spain, in 1981. *Commander of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OYC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and ...

in 1983. *Premio de Letras de Jalisco in 1994. *Grand Cross of the Order of the Dolphin from Greece in 1994. *Premio Nacional de Periodismo in 1999. *Premio Iberoamericano de Poesía "Ramón López Velarde" in 2001. * Xavier Villaurrutia Award for poetry in 2002. *Gold Medal from the

Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura The Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura (INBAL, ), located in the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, is the Mexican institution in charge of coordinating artistic and cultural activities (both at the political and the educati ...

. *

Honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from the

. *Honorary doctorate from the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana in 2011. *Premio Nacional de Periodismo "Carlos Septién García" in 2012. * National Prize for Arts and Sciences in Linguistics and Literature from the

Secretariat of Public Education In Mexico, the Secretariat of Public Education ( in Spanish ''Secretaría de Educación Pública'', ''SEP'') is a federal government authority with cabinet representation and the responsibility for overseeing the development and implementation o ...

in 2013. *Honorary doctorate from the

University of Guadalajara The University of Guadalajara () is a public university, public research university located in Guadalajara, Mexico. It was originally established in 1586 and officially founded on 12 February 1791 as the Royal and Pontifical University of Gu ...

Selected writings and publications

*''Información y sociedad'' (1974) *''Cuando el placer termine'' (1977) *''Bazar de asombros'' *''Cantos del despotado de Morea'' *''Las peregrinaciones del deseo. Poesía reunida 1966–1985'', (1987) *''El erotismo y la muerte'' (1987) *''Georgetown blues y otros poemas'' (1987) *''Los soles griegos'' (1989) *''Nuevas peregrinaciones'' (1994) *''Los pasos revividos'' (1997) *''Lecturas, navegaciones y naufragios'' (1999) *''Algunos ensayos'' (2000) *''Esbozos y miradas del bazar de asombros'' (2006) *''Antología con dudas'' (2008)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gutierrez, Hugo 1934 births 2015 deaths 20th-century Mexican poets Mexican male actors Writers from Jalisco People from Guadalajara, Jalisco Ambassadors of Mexico to Greece Ambassadors of Mexico to Cyprus Ambassadors of Mexico to Lebanon Ambassadors of Mexico to Moldova Ambassadors of Mexico to Romania Mexican expatriates in Puerto Rico Commanders of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Commanders of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Academic staff of the National Autonomous University of Mexico Autonomous University of Querétaro alumni Mexican male poets 20th-century Mexican male writers Xavier Villaurrutia Award winners