Luis Britto García (born 9 October 1940, in

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

) is a

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

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, for the purpose of developing and extending the socio-cultural relations with the countries of Latin America, ...

. In May 2012, he was appointed by President

Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; ; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician, Bolivarian Revolution, revolutionary, and Officer (armed forces), military officer who served as the 52nd president of Venezuela from 1999 until De ...

to the Venezuelan Council of State, "the highest circle of advisers to the president" provided for in the Venezuelan Constitution.

Early life

Britto García graduated as a lawyer from the

Central University of Venezuela Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

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 (), abbreviated EPHE, is a French postgraduate top level educational institution, a . EPHE is a constituent college of the Université PSL (together with ENS Ulm, Paris Dauphine or Ecole des Mines). The college is closely linked to É ...

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 Monte Ávila Editores is the largest and most important publishing house in Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and ...

, 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").

Writing

Britto García is 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 corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...

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

Political views

García supports the

Bolivarian revolution The Bolivarian Revolution is a social revolution and ongoing political process in Venezuela that was started by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, the founder of the Fifth Republic Movement and later the United Socialist Party of Venezuela ...

, which he said included "

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

anti-imperialism Anti-imperialism in political science and international relations is opposition to imperialism or neocolonialism. Anti-imperialist sentiment typically manifests as a political principle in independence struggles against intervention or influen ...

, the search for continental unity, dependency theory, social control of natural resources,

participatory democracy Participatory democracy, participant democracy, participative democracy, or semi-direct democracy is a form of government in which Citizenship, citizens participate individually and directly in political decisions and policies that affect their ...

, intellectual commitment, and even civic-military unity".

Partial bibliography

Fiction

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

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

(1979),

- 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, for the purpose of developing and extending the socio-cultural relations with the countries of Latin America, ...

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 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