Alicia Yánez Cossío facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alicia Yáñez Cossío
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| Born | December 10, 1928 (age 96) Quito, Ecuador |
| Occupation | Writer, poet, journalist |
| Language | Spanish |
| Notable awards | Premio Eugenio Espejo (2008), Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize (1996) |
Alicia Yáñez Cossío (born December 10, 1928, in Quito) is a famous Ecuadorian writer. She is known for her poems, novels, and journalism.
Alicia Yáñez Cossío is one of the most important writers in Ecuador and across Latin America. She was the first Ecuadorian to win the Premio Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz in 1996. This is a very important award for women writers in Latin America.
In 2008, she received Ecuador's highest award for writers, the "Premio Eugenio Espejo". This award honored all her amazing work throughout her life.
Contents
About Her Life
Alicia Yáñez Cossío's parents were Alfonso Yánez Proaño and Clemencia Cossío Larrea. When she was six, she went to the Sagrados Corazones School in Quito. She didn't like math very much and sometimes struggled with it in school.
However, from a young age, Alicia always wanted to be a writer. She had a great talent for using words. She once said that her childhood was "extremely happy." She loved reading adventure books like those by Julio Verne and stories about Tarzan. She even said she never liked dolls!
In her books, Alicia Yáñez Cossío often writes about people, especially women, who fight for their basic rights. She often explores how society views men and women. She uses humor and strong descriptions to show how old ideas about men being superior can be unfair. She wants to show that everyone deserves to be treated equally.
One of her well-known novels is "El Cristo Feo" (which means "The Ugly Christ").
In 1993, she became a widow. Her fame as a writer has spread far beyond Ecuador.
In 1996, she won the Premio Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. This award is given to the best novel written by a woman in Latin America.
In 1998, she published "Retratos cubanos" (meaning "Cuban Portraits"). This book contained 18 stories she wrote between 1957 and 1961 while in Cuba. These stories were about people fighting for freedom. The original stories were taken away, but she rewrote them in 1996, mixing history with real-life situations.
Alicia Yáñez Cossío is also the mother of another writer, Luis Miguel Campos Yáñez.
Her Books
Novels
- Bruna, soroche y los tíos (1973) (English title: "Bruna and Her Sisters in the Sleeping City")
- Yo vendo unos ojos negros (1979)
- Más allá de las islas (1980) (English title: "Beyond the Islands")
- La Cofradía del Mullo de la virgen Pipona (1985) (English title: "The Potbellied Virgin")
- La casa del sano placer (1989)
- El cristo feo (1995)
- Aprendiendo a morir (1997)
- Y amarle pude... (2000)
- Sé que vienen a matarme (2001)
- Concierto de sombras (2004)
- Esclavos de Chatham (2006)
- Memorias de la Pivihuarmi Cuxirimay Ocllo (2008)
Poetry
- Luciolas (1949)
- De la sangre y el tiempo (1964)
- Plebeya mínima (1974)
Short stories
- El beso y otras fricciones (1975)
- Relatos cubanos (1998)
Plays
- Hacia el Quito de ayer (1951)
Children's books
- El viaje de la abuela (1997)
- Pocapena (1997)
- Los triquitraques (2002)
- ¡No más! (2004)
- La canoa de la abuela (2006)
Awards She Won
- National Novel Contest – Fiftieth Anniversary of the journal "El Universo" of Guayaquil (1971)
- Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize (1996)
- Eugenio Espejo Prize in Literature (2008)
The Alicia Yáñez Cossío Children's Literature Competition
In 2002, a special children's literature contest was created in her honor. It is named the "Alicia Yáñez Cossío Children's Literature Competition." This contest is held by the government of Pichincha Province. It helps encourage young writers in all parts of Pichincha to express themselves. It also helps them learn about and strengthen their local culture.
See also
In Spanish: Alicia Yánez Cossío para niños
