About
Alejo Carpentier (1904-1980) was a French-Cuban writer and a major figure of magical realism. Born in Lausanne, he grew up in Cuba and was involved in the Afro-Cuban movement. Exiled in Paris in the 1930s, he associated with the Surrealists. Returning to the Americas, he lived in Venezuela and then in Cuba after the revolution, where he served as a diplomat. His work, marked by Latin American history and culture, influenced the Latin American Boom. He received the Cervantes Prize in 1977.
* 1904-12-26 — † 1980-04-24
Major works
- ¡Ecué-Yamba-O! (1933)novel
- El reino de este mundo (1949)novel
- Los pasos perdidos (1953)novel
- El siglo de las luces (1962)novel
- Concierto barroco (1974)novel
Key milestones
- 1928Fled the Machado dictatorship and settled in Paris, where he associated with the Surrealists.
- 1949Published El reino de este mundo, whose prologue formulated the concept of 'lo real maravilloso'.
- 1977Received the Miguel de Cervantes Prize, the highest honor in Spanish-language literature.
Themes
Magical realismHistory and revolutionAfro-Cuban cultureLatin American identityMusic and literature
Sources: britannica.com · cervantes.es · bnjm.cu