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Carlos Fuentes

カルロス・フエンテス

Carlos Fuentes

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1928-11-11 （Panama City, Panama）
Died
2012-05-15 （Mexico City, Mexico） age 83
Nationality
Mexican
Languages
Spanish, English
Residence History
Washington, D.C., United States → Santiago, Chile → Havana, Cuba → Mexico City, Mexico → Paris, France

Career

Occupations
novelist, essayist, diplomat, university professor, screenwriter, playwright, short story writer, columnist
Active Years
1954-2012
Affiliations
El Colegio Nacional (Mexico), Mexican Academy of Language (honorary member), Secretariat of Foreign Affairs (cultural relations)
Memberships
El Colegio Nacional, Mexican Academy of Language (honorary member)
Influenced By
Miguel de Cervantes, William Faulkner, Honoré de Balzac, Jorge Luis Borges, Pablo Neruda, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, Marcel Proust
Influenced
Writers of the Latin American Boom and subsequent generations of Mexican novelists, Numerous contemporary Spanish-language authors

Education

National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)
Faculty of Law / Law
Period: 1944–1950
Country: Mexico
Studied law with an aim toward a diplomatic career
Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva
Country: Switzerland
Studied international affairs; attended as part of diplomatic training

Awards

Biblioteca Breve Award
1967
Work: A Change of Skin
Organization: Editorial/award body
Result: winner
Xavier Villaurrutia Award
1976
Work: Terra Nostra
Organization: Xavier Villaurrutia award committee
Result: winner
Rómulo Gallegos Prize
1977
Work: Terra Nostra
Organization: Rómulo Gallegos award committee
Result: winner
Miguel de Cervantes Prize
1987
Organization: Spanish literary institutions
Result: winner
Prince of Asturias Award (Literature)
1994
Category: 文学
Organization: Prince of Asturias Foundation
Result: winner
Belisario Domínguez Medal of Honor
1999
Organization: Senate of the Republic (Mexico)
Result: winner
Prix Formentor
2011
Organization: Formentor Prize organization
Result: winner
Honorary Doctorate (Harvard University)
1983
Category: 名誉学位
Organization: Harvard University
Result: honorary degree

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Where the Air Is Clear (La región más transparente)

1958 novel

A debut novel presenting a kaleidoscopic portrait of Mexico City through interwoven individual stories and interior monologues.

the cityidentityinequality
Translations
  • English: Where the Air Is Clear

The Death of Artemio Cruz (La muerte de Artemio Cruz)

1962 modern novel

Begins with the protagonist on his deathbed; through flashbacks and shifting narrators it examines power, corruption, and the Mexican Revolution's aftermath.

powercorruptionmemory
Translations
  • English: The Death of Artemio Cruz

Terra Nostra

1975 historical epic / massive novel

A massive, ambitious novel tracing Hispanic civilization from the sixteenth century to the twentieth, exploring conquest, cultural roots, and identity.

colonialismhistorycivilization
Translations
  • English: Terra Nostra

The Old Gringo (Gringo viejo)

1985 historical novel

Set during the Mexican Revolution; follows an American woman, an aging journalist, and a revolutionary general to explore ideals and compromises of revolution.

revolutioncross-cultural encountersloss
Adaptations
  • [film] Old Gringo / Luis Puenzo (1989)
Translations
  • English: The Old Gringo

Christopher Unborn (Cristóbal Nonato)

1987 satirical novel

A satirical, allegorical novel addressing contemporary Mexican society and politics; part of Fuentes's larger reflection on time and fiction.

satirepolitical critiquetime
Translations
  • English: Christopher Unborn

The Crystal Frontier (La frontera de cristal)

1995 short story cycle

A novel in nine stories about the US–Mexico border, addressing migration, cultural tensions, and social realities.

bordermigrationcultural exchange
Translations
  • English: The Crystal Frontier

Bibliography

  • Where the Air Is Clear (1958)
  • The Good Conscience (1961)
  • Aura (1962)
  • The Death of Artemio Cruz (1962)
  • A Change of Skin (1967)
  • Terra Nostra (1975)
  • The Old Gringo (1985)
  • Christopher Unborn (1987)
  • The Crystal Frontier (1995)
  • The Years With Laura Diaz (1999)
  • Inez (2001)
  • The Eagle's Throne (2002)
  • Destiny and Desire (2008)

Adaptations

  • Old Gringo - 1989 film (directed by Luis Puenzo)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
cinematic narrative techniquesmodernist and postmodern elementslayered historical narration
Recurring Motifs
Mexican history and identitypower and corruptiontime and memoryborders and migration

Legacy

Carlos Fuentes was one of the most prominent Spanish-language novelists and a leading figure of the Latin American Boom. He received numerous international honors and exerted major influence in Mexico and beyond. In 2012 the Mexican government created a literary prize in his name.

Academic Societies

  • El Colegio Nacional
  • Mexican Academy of Language (honorary member)

In Popular Culture

  • Film adaptation of The Old Gringo (1989)
  • The Buried Mirror: book and television series (Discovery/BBC)

Quotes

  • “one of the most admired writers in the Spanish-speaking world”
    Source: The New York Times (obituary) (2012)
  • "Do words need anything else?" (on his writing process)
    Source: Lecture / interview

Trivia

  • Born in Panama City to a Mexican diplomat; spent childhood in several Latin American capitals.
  • The Old Gringo (1985) became one of the first U.S. bestsellers by a Mexican author.
  • Buried at Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris.
  • Long considered a possible Nobel Prize candidate but never awarded the Nobel.