Joaquín Gallegos Lara (Guayaquil, 1911–1947) was an Ecuadorian novelist and essayist.
Lara was born in Guayaquil in 1911 to a poor family, and was self-taught. Many of his stories were collected in"Las Cruces Sobre el Agua," a novel published in 1946. Two other works, "Los Guandos" and "La Bruja," were published posthumously.
Despite being crippled, Lara fought as a militant communist and intellectual in Ecuador. He participated in street battles and blockades, with the help of a friend who carried him on his shoulders and acted as his legs.
In 1930, he wrote the collection of short stories Los Que Se Van, together with Demetrio Aguilera Malta and Enrique Gil Gilbert. He was part of the "Guayaquil Group" (a part of Ecuadorian social realism) and played an active role in leftist politics.
In 1947, shortly before his death, he published the book of short stories La Ultima Erranza." In 1952, his Biografía del Pueblo Indio (completed in 1936) was published, and in 1956 another book of his stories was published.