Adriano González León
Encyclopedia
Adriano González León
was a Venezuelan writer who is known in his country for the novel País Portátil (1968), widely regarded as the premier Venezuelan novel of the latter half of the 20th century, and for his many years of hosting a television program dedicated to promoting literary appreciation among the general public.
González León studied at the Central University of Venezuela
(UCV) in Caracas. Politically active in his youth, in the 1950s he fought against the dictatorship of Marcos Pérez Jiménez
. In the 1960s, from his position as a coeditor of the magazine Sardio, he supported revolutionary ideals then in fashion. He lectured for brief periods in literature and later economics at UCV, held minor diplomatic posts, edited literary magazines, and promoted literature appreciation through the television program. Near the end of his life, in 2004, PEN
Venezuela and other organizations collaborated to pay homage to his opus and the stature he had achieved in the Venezuelan literary world by establishing a biennial literary prize in his name
, dedicated to promoting the work of Venezuelan novelists. Honorees have included Milton Quero Arévalo in 2004 and Héctor Bujanda and Héctor Torres in 2006.
. He earned a law degree from the UCV. During the 1950s he was a leftwing militant in opposition to the dictatorship of Marcos Pérez Jiménez
. At 24, while teaching literature at UCV, González, along with Juan Calzadilla
, Guillermo Sucre
, Edmundo Aray, Rodolfo Izaguirre, Efraín Hurtado, and others founded the group, Sardio, which published a magazine of the same name. The magazine Sardio featured highly politicized writers from a wide variety of backgrounds.
The 1968 novel, País portátil, is an epic, set in González León's native Trujillo State, of the Barazarte family constructed out of the recollections of its youngest son, Andrés. The work was made into a film in 1979 under the same title (directed by Antonio Llerandi).
Among the distinctions he was awarded are the Premio Nacional de Literatura
(National Award for Literature) in 1980 and an honorary doctorate from Universidad Católica Cecilio Acosta (Unica) in Maracaibo
in 2003.
He was a collaborator on the literary magazine, Letra Roja (Red Letter) and in a group of painters, sculptors, and writers, El Techo de la Ballena (The Roof of the Whale).
González León was long active as a popularizer of literature to the Venezuelan public. For 15 years he hosted a television show on literature, Contratema, on the Venezuelan government channel (Televisora Nacional, channel 5). After 2000, he returned to the daily, El Nacional, where he had been a teenage reporter, to write a weekly column. In 2006, he was one of four national authors who offered semester length courses in creative writing to the public, under a project called Escribas (this Spanish word means both "Scribes" and "May you write"). In the 1990s, while a diplomat in Spain, he had been a collaborator and presenter on a television based writing instruction program, Taller Abierto (Open Workshop) of Television Educativa Iberoamericana.
. In the mid 1990s, served as a cultural attaché at the Venezuelan embassy in Spain.
was a Venezuelan writer who is known in his country for the novel País Portátil (1968), widely regarded as the premier Venezuelan novel of the latter half of the 20th century, and for his many years of hosting a television program dedicated to promoting literary appreciation among the general public.
González León studied at the Central University of Venezuela
Central University of Venezuela
The Central University of Venezuela is a premier public University of Venezuela located in Caracas...
(UCV) in Caracas. Politically active in his youth, in the 1950s he fought against the dictatorship of Marcos Pérez Jiménez
Marcos Pérez Jiménez
Marcos Evangelista Pérez Jiménez was a soldier and Presidents of Venezuela from 1952 to 1958.-Career:Marcos Evangelista Pérez Jiménez was born in Michelena, Táchira State. His father, Juan Pérez Bustamante, was a farmer; his mother, Adela Jiménez, a schoolteacher...
. In the 1960s, from his position as a coeditor of the magazine Sardio, he supported revolutionary ideals then in fashion. He lectured for brief periods in literature and later economics at UCV, held minor diplomatic posts, edited literary magazines, and promoted literature appreciation through the television program. Near the end of his life, in 2004, PEN
International PEN
PEN International , the worldwide association of writers, was founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere....
Venezuela and other organizations collaborated to pay homage to his opus and the stature he had achieved in the Venezuelan literary world by establishing a biennial literary prize in his name
Adriano González León Biennial Novel Prize
The Adriano González León Biennial Novel Prize was established in Venezuela 2004 to recognize living novelists who are either Venezuelan nationals residing in any country or foreign nationals residing in Venezuela...
, dedicated to promoting the work of Venezuelan novelists. Honorees have included Milton Quero Arévalo in 2004 and Héctor Bujanda and Héctor Torres in 2006.
Early life
At the age of fifteen, González León was an Andean region correspondent for the daily, El NacionalEl Nacional
El Nacional is a Venezuelan publishing company under the name C.A. Editorial El Nacional, most widely known for its El Nacional newspaper. It, along with Últimas Noticias and El Universal, are the most widely read and circulated daily national newspapers in the country, and it has an average of...
. He earned a law degree from the UCV. During the 1950s he was a leftwing militant in opposition to the dictatorship of Marcos Pérez Jiménez
Marcos Pérez Jiménez
Marcos Evangelista Pérez Jiménez was a soldier and Presidents of Venezuela from 1952 to 1958.-Career:Marcos Evangelista Pérez Jiménez was born in Michelena, Táchira State. His father, Juan Pérez Bustamante, was a farmer; his mother, Adela Jiménez, a schoolteacher...
. At 24, while teaching literature at UCV, González, along with Juan Calzadilla
Juan Calzadilla
Juan Calzadilla is a Venezuelan prolific poet, painter and art critic.He studied in the Universidad Central de Venezuela and in the Instituto Pedagógico Nacional...
, Guillermo Sucre
Guillermo Sucre
Guillermo Sucre Figarella , is a Venezuelan poet and literary critic born in Tumeremo in the state of Bolivar. He is also a member of the notable Sucre family like his uncle Jose Antonio Ramos Sucre and his older brothers General Juan Manuel Sucre Figarella and Senator Leopoldo Sucre...
, Edmundo Aray, Rodolfo Izaguirre, Efraín Hurtado, and others founded the group, Sardio, which published a magazine of the same name. The magazine Sardio featured highly politicized writers from a wide variety of backgrounds.
Literary career
His first forays into literature were as a short story writer. In 1956, won second prize in the annual short story competition sponsored by the Caracas daily newspaper, El Nacional for "El Lago" (The Lake). In three subsequent collections of short stories, he described somber, dramatic urban and rural environments.The 1968 novel, País portátil, is an epic, set in González León's native Trujillo State, of the Barazarte family constructed out of the recollections of its youngest son, Andrés. The work was made into a film in 1979 under the same title (directed by Antonio Llerandi).
Among the distinctions he was awarded are the Premio Nacional de Literatura
National Prize for Literature (Venezuela)
The National Prize for Literature is a literary award made annually to Venezuelan writers.* 1948 Mario Briceño Iragorry...
(National Award for Literature) in 1980 and an honorary doctorate from Universidad Católica Cecilio Acosta (Unica) in Maracaibo
Maracaibo
Maracaibo is a city and municipality located in northwestern Venezuela off the western coast of the Lake Maracaibo. It is the second-largest city in the country after the national capital Caracas and the capital of Zulia state...
in 2003.
He was a collaborator on the literary magazine, Letra Roja (Red Letter) and in a group of painters, sculptors, and writers, El Techo de la Ballena (The Roof of the Whale).
González León was long active as a popularizer of literature to the Venezuelan public. For 15 years he hosted a television show on literature, Contratema, on the Venezuelan government channel (Televisora Nacional, channel 5). After 2000, he returned to the daily, El Nacional, where he had been a teenage reporter, to write a weekly column. In 2006, he was one of four national authors who offered semester length courses in creative writing to the public, under a project called Escribas (this Spanish word means both "Scribes" and "May you write"). In the 1990s, while a diplomat in Spain, he had been a collaborator and presenter on a television based writing instruction program, Taller Abierto (Open Workshop) of Television Educativa Iberoamericana.
Other activities
In the 1960s, León was appointed the first secretary of the Venezuelan Embassay in Argentina. Upon returning to Venezuela, he worked as a professor in the Economics Department of UCV. In 1986, he played Tío Pancho in the Venezuelan film, IfigeniaIfigenia
Ifigenia is a Venezuelan novel. It was written by Teresa de la Parra and published in 1924....
. In the mid 1990s, served as a cultural attaché at the Venezuelan embassy in Spain.
Short stories
- 1957. Las hogueras más altas (The highest bonfires). Buenos Aires: Goyanarte, 1959. Winner of the Premio Municipal de Prosa.
- 1963. Asfalto-Infierno y otros relatos demoniacos. Caracas: El Techo de la Ballena.
- 1967. Hombre que daba sed. Buenos Aires: Jorge Álvarez.
- 1988. Linaje de árboles. Caracas: Planeta.
- 1998. Crónicas del rayo y de la lluvia. Caracas: Contexto Audiovisual-Pomaire.
- 1998. Todos los cuentos más Uno. Alfaguara.
Novels
- 1968. País portátil. Seix Barral. Winner of the Biblioteca Breve prize.
- 1995. Viejo. Alfaguara.
Poetry
- 1979. Damas
- 1980. De ramas y secretos. Caracas: Rayuela.
- 1997. Hueso de mis huesos (illustrated by Manuel Quintana Castillo). Caracas: Rayuela.
Other
- 1982. El libro de las escrituras (silkscreens of Marco Miliani); Ediciones de Galería Durban-Arte Dos, Caracas-Bogotá.
- 1985. Solosolo.
- 1996. El viejo y los leones (children's story). Caracas: Rayuela.
- 2001. Viento blanco. Caracas: Rayuela.
Further reading
- 2004. Balderston, Daniel & Mike Gonzalez, eds. Encyclopedia of Latin American and Caribbean literature, 1900-2003. Routledge.
- 2008. Cruz, Juan. Obituary of Adriano González León in El País (Madrid), 14 Jan 2008. In Spanish.
See also
- VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
- Venezuelan literatureVenezuelan literatureVenezuelan literature can be traced to pre-Hispanic times with the myths and oral literature that formed the cosmogonic view of the world that indigenous people had. Some of these stories are still known in Venezuela. Like many Latin American countries, the Spanish conquerors have had the greatest...
- Latin American literatureLatin American literatureLatin American literature consists of the oral and written literature of Latin America in several languages, particularly in Spanish, Portuguese, and indigenous languages of the Americas. It rose to particular prominence globally during the second half of the 20th century, largely due to the...