Rafael Menjívar Ochoa


Rafael Menjívar Ochoa was a Salvadoran writer, novelist, journalist and translator.

Life

His father, the economist Rafael Menjívar Larín, was director of the University of El Salvador. When the army occupied it in 1972, during which his father was jailed for a short period, after being exiled in Nicaragua they were forced out in January 1973 towards Costa Rica. In 1976, they settled in Mexico, where Menjívar Ochoa lived for 23 years. He studied music, theatre and English Literature, and published many books. His first of note being Historia del Traidor de Nunca Jamás, a novel written in 1984 for which he received the EDUCA Latinoamerican award. In 1990, he won the "Ramón del Valle Inclán" Latinoamerican Award. In 1999, he settled in El Salvador, where in 2001, he became a Coordinator of Letters and founded La Casa del Escritor, a project aimed at providing a formation of young writers, located at the house of Salvador Salazar Arrué. Despite being based in El Salvador, he continued to be active in Mexican projects, publishing books there. His widow is Salvadorean poet Krisma Mancía.

Published works

Historia del traidor de Nunca Jamás, novelAlgunas de las muertes, poetryHistoire du Traître de Jamais Plus, novelLos años marchitos, novelTerceras personas, narrativeLos héroes tienen sueño, novelManual del perfecto transa De vez en cuando la muerte, novelTrece, novelInstructions pour vivre sans peau, novel.Un buen espejo, novelTierces personnes Tiempos de locura. El Salvador 1979–1981, history essay for FLACSOTreize, novel translationMiroirs, translationCualquier forma de morir, novel