Jesús Gardea
Encyclopedia
Jesús Gardea Rocha was a Mexican
writer of fiction and short fiction.
, to Vicente Gardea V. and Francisca Rocha. He studied at the Elementary School No. 306 in Delicias, and later went to study his secondary studies at Benjamin N. Velasco school in Querétaro
and its high school in Mexico City
. He studied Odontology at the Autonomous University of Guadalajara, and later established in Ciudad Juárez
where he carried out such professional activity. Jesús Gardea was discovered as a writer by poet Jaime Labastida. During the Writer's Meeting in Ciudad Juárez, Labastida pushed him to publish Los viernes de Lautaro in Siglo XXI publishing house in 1979. Six month's later, in 1980, he signed a contract with Joaquín Mortiz, another publishing house, to publish a book of short stories entitled Septiembre y los otros días, which was awarded with the Xavier Villaurrutia Award
, thus becoming the second Chihuahuan to win such award. In 1985, he won the José Fuentes Mares National Prize for Literature
given by the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juárez
on its inaugural edition, which he rejected.
He was faculty professor of the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences at the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juárez. He participated twice in the "Chihuahuan Writers Gatherings" organized since 1982 by Mario Arras, who proposed him as a candidate to receive the "Tomás Valles Vivar" Award in the subject of literature on its first edition, but lost to philosopher Federico Ferro Gay.
Gardea belongs to the group of Chihuahuan artists born during the 1940s decade made up of writers such as Victor Hugo Rascón Banda, Ignacio Solares
, Joaquín Armando Chacón, José Vicente Anaya and Carlos Montemayor
, and sculptor Sebastián
. Most of these prolific artists moved to Mexico City
looking forward to gain recognition and money; however, Gardea remained firm on his desire to live in his birth state.
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
writer of fiction and short fiction.
Biography
Jesús Gardea Rocha was born on July 2, 1939, in Delicias, Chihuahua, MexicoMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, to Vicente Gardea V. and Francisca Rocha. He studied at the Elementary School No. 306 in Delicias, and later went to study his secondary studies at Benjamin N. Velasco school in Querétaro
Santiago de Querétaro
Santiago de Querétaro is the capital and largest city of the state of Querétaro, located in central Mexico. It is located 213 km northwest of Mexico City, 96 km southeast of San Miguel de Allende and 200 km south of San Luis Potosí...
and its high school in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
. He studied Odontology at the Autonomous University of Guadalajara, and later established in Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez , officially known today as Heroica Ciudad Juárez, but abbreviated Juárez and formerly known as El Paso del Norte, is a city and seat of the municipality of Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Juárez's estimated population is 1.5 million people. The city lies on the Rio Grande...
where he carried out such professional activity. Jesús Gardea was discovered as a writer by poet Jaime Labastida. During the Writer's Meeting in Ciudad Juárez, Labastida pushed him to publish Los viernes de Lautaro in Siglo XXI publishing house in 1979. Six month's later, in 1980, he signed a contract with Joaquín Mortiz, another publishing house, to publish a book of short stories entitled Septiembre y los otros días, which was awarded with the Xavier Villaurrutia Award
Xavier Villaurrutia Award
The Xavier Villaurrutia Award is a prestigious literary prize given in Mexico, to a Latin American writer published in Mexico. Founded in 1955, it was named in memory of Xavier Villaurrutia....
, thus becoming the second Chihuahuan to win such award. In 1985, he won the José Fuentes Mares National Prize for Literature
José Fuentes Mares National Prize for Literature
José Fuentes Mares National Prize for Literature is a Mexican literary award that has been presented annually since 1985 by the Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez. It is given to a Mexican author who has published a book in the form of short stories, poems or a novel...
given by the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juárez
Autonomous University of Ciudad Juárez
The Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez is a university in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico.-External links:*...
on its inaugural edition, which he rejected.
He was faculty professor of the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences at the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juárez. He participated twice in the "Chihuahuan Writers Gatherings" organized since 1982 by Mario Arras, who proposed him as a candidate to receive the "Tomás Valles Vivar" Award in the subject of literature on its first edition, but lost to philosopher Federico Ferro Gay.
Gardea belongs to the group of Chihuahuan artists born during the 1940s decade made up of writers such as Victor Hugo Rascón Banda, Ignacio Solares
Ignacio Solares
Ignacio Solares is a prominent Mexican novelist, editor and playwright, whose novel La invasion was a bestseller in Mexico and Spain...
, Joaquín Armando Chacón, José Vicente Anaya and Carlos Montemayor
Carlos Montemayor
Carlos Montemayor was a Mexican novelist, poet, essayist, literary critic, tenor, political analyst, and promoter of contemporary literature written in indigenous languages. He was a Member of the Mexican Academy of the Language.Montemayor died of stomach cancer on February 28, 2010...
, and sculptor Sebastián
Sebastián (sculptor)
Sebastián is an artist based in Mexico, and is considered the country's foremost living sculptor. His smaller scale work includes jewelry, sacristies, garden sculptures, and painting...
. Most of these prolific artists moved to Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
looking forward to gain recognition and money; however, Gardea remained firm on his desire to live in his birth state.
Short story
- Los viernes de Lautaro (1979)
- Septiembre y los otros días (1980), Xavier Villarrutia Award
- De alba sombría (1985)
- The Lights of the World (Las luces del mundo, 1986)
- Difícil de atrapar (1995)
- Stripping away the sorrows from this world (1998), selection of stories and translation by Mark Schafer: Trinitario, Above the water, Man alone, From Alba, The irrigation ditch, The lights of the world, This very afternoon, Nazaria, All the years of snow, Forty springs, Pale as dust—Remember the silence—According to Evaristo—The aquarium—No loss—Garita, death itself—The bureau—The friends—The dog—like the world, Bridge of shadows, The forest gates, Latitudes of Habacuc, Everyone, The guitar.
- Donde el gimnasta (1999)
Novel
- El sol que estas mirando (1981)
- La canción de las mulas muertas (1981)
- El tornavoz (1983)
- Soñar la guerra (1984)
- Los músicos y el fuego (1985)
- Sóbol (1985)
- El diablo en el ojo (1989)
- El agua de las esferas (1992)
- La ventana hundida (1992)
- Juegan los comensales (1998)
- El biombo y los frutos (2001)
Poetry
- Songs for a Single Cord (Canciones para una sola cuerda, 1982), translation by Robert L. Giron.