Julio Ramón Ribeyro

Julio Ramón Ribeyro

Julio Ramón Ribeyro Zúñiga (August 31, 1929, Lima, Peru - December 4, 1994, Lima, Peru) was a Peruvian writer best known for his short stories. He was also successful in other genres: novel, essay, theater, diary and aphorism. In the year of his death, he was awarded the US$100,000 Premio Juan Rulfo de literatura latinoamericana y del Caribe. His work has been translated into numerous languages, including English.

The characters in his stories, often autobiographical and usually written in simple but ironic language, tend to end up with their hopes cruelly dashed. But despite its apparent pessimism, Ribeyro's work is often comic, its humor springing from both the author's sense of irony and the accidents that befall his protagonists. A collection was published under the title La palabra del mudo (The Word of the Mute).

Ribeyro studied literature and law in Universidad Católica in Lima. In 1960 he immigrated to Paris where he worked as a journalist in France Presse and then as cultural advisor and ambassador to UNESCO. He was an avid smoker, as described in his short story ¨Sólo para fumadores¨ (Smokers Only) and he died as a result of his addiction.

Bibliography

Early years (1929-1952)

Born in Lima on August 31, 1929. Son Julio Ramon Ribeyro Rabines Bonello and Mercedes Zúñiga, was the first of four children (two boys and two girls). His family was middle class, but in earlier generations had belonged to the upper class, for among his ancestors illustrious figures of Peruvian culture and politics, conservative and civilista.1 In his childhood he lived in Santa Beatriz had a middle-class Lima neighborhood and then moved to Miraflores, residing in the neighborhood of Santa Cruz, adjacent to the huaca Pucllana. His school education was received in the Champagnat College of Miraflores. The death of his father affected him a lot and complicated economic situation of their families.

Later, he studied Arts and Law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, between 1946 and 1952, where he met Pablo Macera, Alberto Escobar and Luis Felipe Angell "Sofocleto" among other youth with intellectual and artistic interests. He began his writing career with Grey life story published in the journal Email Bolivarian in 1948. In 1952 he won a journalism fellowship awarded by the Institute of Hispanic Culture, which allowed him to travel to Spain.

First trip to Europe (1952-1958)

He traveled by boat to Barcelona and from there went to Madrid, where he spent a year and made studies at the Complutense University in that city. He also wrote some stories and articles.

To culminate his fellowship in 1953, traveled to Paris to prepare a thesis on French literature at the Sorbonne University. By then wrote his first book The featherless buzzards, a collection of stories of urban issues, regarded as one of its most successful narrative writing. But dropped out and remained in Europe doing odd jobs, alternating his stay in France with brief periods in Germany and Belgium. Thus it was that between 1954 and 1956 was in Munich, where he wrote his first novel, Chronicle of San Gabriel. He returned to Paris and then traveled to Antwerp in 1957, where he worked in a factory photo products. In 1958, he returned to Germany and spent some time in Berlin, Hamburg and Frankfurt. During his European stay I had to make many trades to survive, and recycler of newspapers, concierge, charger packages on the subway, seller of printed matter, etc..

He returned to Lima in 1958. Worked as a professor at the National University of San Cristobal de Huamanga in Ayacucho, whose request was devoted to the creation of an Institute for Popular Culture, in 1959. In 1960 he published his novel Chronicle of San Gabriel, which earned him the National Novel Prize that year.

Second trip to Europe (1961)

In 1961, he returned to Paris, where he worked as a journalist for ten years, Agence France Press. He was also cultural attache at the Peruvian Embassy in Paris, also play as a cultural consultant and ambassador of Peru to UNESCO.

He married Alida Lamb and they had one child. In 1973, he operated a first lung cancer, caused by their addiction to cigarettes as a result of which he received a long treatment. Inspired by this experience, he wrote a book entitled "Only for smokers".

In 1983, he received the National Book Award, and ten years later, the National Culture.

Last years

Generous with his friends and with young writers, Ribeyro never had enemies and was always very appreciated by his contemporaries. After being confirmed as ambassador to Unesco in the late 1980s, had a very rough verbal exchange with his compatriot and friend Mario Vargas Llosa, following unleashed debate in Peru around the proposed nationalization of banks first Garcia government, which divided public opinion in the country. Ribeyro criticized Vargas Llosa for supporting the conservative sectors of the country, thus opposed, he said, to the emergence of the popular classes. Vargas Llosa answered in his memoir A Fish in the Water (1993), pointing out their lack of consistency, which led him to appear subservient to every single shift government to maintain its junior diplomat in Unesco.2 However, apart from this painful episode, Vargas Llosa has consistently praised the literary work of Ribeyro, whom he considers as one of the great storytellers of speaking. The relationship between the two authors, who shared flat in Paris was otherwise complex and full of misterios.3

His last years were spent traveling between Europe and Peru. In the last year of his life he had decided definitely lie in their homeland in Peru. He died on December 4, 1994, days after getting the Juan Rulfo Prize for Literature.

Partial bibliography

Awards

See also