Sergio Ramírez facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sergio Ramírez
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Sergio Ramírez in Madrid to receive the Cervantes Prize (2018)
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| Vice President of Nicaragua | |
| In office 10 January 1985 – 25 April 1990 |
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| President | Daniel Ortega |
| Preceded by | Alfonso Callejas Deshón Francisco Urcuyo (1967) |
| Succeeded by | Virgilio Godoy |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Sergio Ramírez Mercado
5 August 1942 Masatepe, Nicaragua |
| Nationality |
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| Political party | FSLN, MRS |
| Spouse | Gertrudis Guerrero |
| Residence | Managua |
| Alma mater | National Autonomous University of Nicaragua |
| Website | Official Website: http://www.sergioramirez.com |
Sergio Ramírez Mercado (born August 5, 1942, in Masatepe, Nicaragua) is a famous Nicaraguan writer and thinker. He played a big part in the 1979 revolution. Later, he served as the vice president of Nicaragua from 1985 to 1990.
Many people call him Nicaragua's "best-known living writer." Since the 1990s, he has been involved in political groups that disagree with the Nicaraguan government. In 2021, he had to leave his home country. In 2023, the government took away his Nicaraguan citizenship.
Contents
Life and Political Journey
Sergio Ramírez was born in Masatepe in 1942. He published his first book, Cuentos, in 1963. He studied law at the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua in León and graduated in 1964. He was the top student in his class.
In 1977, Ramírez became the leader of "The Group of Twelve." This group was made up of important thinkers, religious leaders, business people, and others. They openly supported the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN). The FSLN was working to remove the president, Anastasio Somoza Debayle.
The Group of Twelve had to leave Nicaragua and go to Costa Rica. But their return was a key moment that showed the Somoza government was ending. When the Nicaraguan Revolution succeeded in 1979, Sergio Ramírez joined the new government. He was in charge of the National Council of Education. In 1984, he was chosen to be the vice president of Nicaragua, and he officially started in 1985.
The FSLN lost power in 1990 to a group called UNO. However, Ramírez continued to lead the FSLN group in the National Assembly until 1995. He then started a new political party, the Movimiento de Renovación Sandinista (MRS). He had different ideas about democratic changes compared to other FSLN leaders, like former president Daniel Ortega.
He tried to become president with the MRS party in 1996 but was not successful. After that, Ramírez decided to leave politics for good. He then focused on his writing, which has become famous around the world. His books have been translated into many languages. He won the "Carlos Fuentes" prize from Mexico for his lifetime of work.
Sergio Ramírez married Gertrudis "Tulita" Guerrero Mayorga in 1964. They have three children: Sergio, María, and Dorel, and eight grandchildren.
In June 2021, he had to leave Nicaragua because of problems faced by people who disagreed with the government. In September, the government issued a warrant for his arrest. In February 2023, the Nicaraguan government took away his citizenship, along with 93 other people. The United Nations Refugee Agency said this was "unfair" and that people should not lose their citizenship for expressing their views.
On July 1, 2023, his home in Masatepe was taken by Nicaraguan authorities.
His Writings
Ramírez started his writing journey by writing short stories. His first story, "The student," was published in 1960. His first book, a collection of stories, came out three years later. In 1970, he published his first full novel. Since then, he has written novels, short stories, essays, and newspaper articles. He became internationally known in 1998 when he won the Alfaguara Prize for his novel Margarita, How Beautiful the Sea.
In 1990, he started a political magazine called La Quincena in Managua, which was published for ten years. Today, he writes columns for La Prensa and other newspapers around the world. He is also the director of Carátula, an online cultural magazine for Central America.
In January 2000, he received the first "José María Arguedas Narrative Prize." He has also taught at the University of Maryland and has been a visiting professor at many universities in the United States and Europe. He is the president of Centroamérica cuenta, an important literary festival in Central America.
On November 16, 2017, Ramírez won the Cervantes Prize. This is the most important literary award for Spanish-speaking writers. In 2018, the Spanish government gave him Spanish citizenship.
His 2021 novel, Tongolele no sabía bailar (which means Tongolele Didn’t Know How to Dance), is a detective story about the protests in Nicaragua in 2018. Copies of this book were stopped by Nicaraguan customs officials.
Awards and Honors
- Latin American Short Story Award 1971 for "De tropeles y tropelias".
- Dashiell Hammett International Prize 1990, for Divine Punishment
- Order Carlos Fonseca, the highest honor from the FSLN (1990)
- Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (France, 1993)
- Alfaguara Prize 1998 for Margarita, how beautiful the sea
- Prix Laure Bataillon 1998 for Best Foreign Novel published in France
- Casa de las Américas Novel Prize 2000 José María Arguedas for Margarita, how beautiful the sea.
- Presidential Honor Medal, Pablo Neruda´s Centennial (Chile, 2004)
- Masatepe´s Favorite Son (Nicaragua, 2005)
- Jose Donoso Award (Chile, 2011).
- Officer of France´s Arts and Letters (France, 2013)
- Carlos Fuentes International Award for Literary Creation in Spanish Language (Mexico, 2014)
- Miguel de Cervantes Prize (2017)
Novels and Short Stories
- Cuentos (1963)
- Tiempo de fulgor (1970)
- De Tropeles y Tropelías (1971)
- El Pensamiento vivo de Sandino (1975)
- Charles Atlas también muere (1976)
- ¿Te dio miedo la sangre? (1978)
- Castigo Divino (1988) (Divine Punishment, 2015)
- Clave de Sol (1993)
- Un baile de máscaras (1995)
- Cuentos Completos (1998)
- Margarita, está linda la mar (1998; Premio Alfaguara de Novela)
- Adiós muchachos (1999)
- Mentiras Verdaderas (2001)
- Catalina y Catalina (2001)
- Sombras nada más (2002)
- Mil y una muertes (2004)
- El Reino Animal (2006)
- Catalina y Catalina, Alfaguara México, 2001. Contiene 11 cuentos:
- La herencia del bohemio, El pibe Cabriola, La partida de caza, Aparición en la fábrica de ladrillos, Perdón y olvido, Gran Hotel, Un bosque oscuro, Ya todo está en calma, La viuda Carlota, Vallejo y Catalina y Catalina
- Ómnibus, antología personal, cuentos, Editorial Universidad de Puerto Rico, San Juan, 2008
- Juego perfecto, Editorial Piedra Santa / Amanuense Editorial, Guatemala, 2008; 11 cuentos
- El cielo llora por mí, novel, Alfaguara, 2009 (The sky weeps for me, McPherson & Company, 2020)
- Perdón y olvido, antología de cuentos: 1960 - 2009 (2009)
- La fugitiva, novel, Alfaguara, 2011
- La girafa embarazada, children's short story (2013)
- Flores oscuras, Alfaguara, 2013. Contiene 12 relatos:
- Adán y Eva, La puerta falsa, La cueva del trono de la calavera, Ya no estás más a mi lado corazón, Las alas de la gloria, La colina 155, No me vayan a haber dejado solo, Ángela, el petimetre y el diablo, El mudo de Truro, Iowa, El autobús amarillo, Abbott y Costello y Flores oscuras
- Lo que sabe el paladar. Diccionario de los alimentos de Nicaragua, compendio en comidas y recetas, 2014
- Juan de Juanes, relatos, Alfaguara México, 2014
- Sara: sus páginas beben del mito bíblico de Abraham y Sara 6
- A la mesa con Rubén Darío, short stoaries, 2016
- Ya nadie llora por mí, crime novel, Alfaguara, 2017
- Tongolele no sabía bailar, Alfaguara, 2021
- El caballo dorado, Alfaguara, 2024
Ramírez participated in the Stock Exchange of Visions project in 2007.
Essays and Testimonies
- Mis días con el rector, Ediciones Ventana, León, Nicaragua, 1965; artículos publicados en el diario La Noticia a raíz del fallecimiento del rector de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua, Mariano Fiallos Gil
- Hombre del Caribe, Editorial EDUCA, Costa Rica, 1977 (biografía de Abelardo Cuadra)
- El muchacho de Niquinohomo, ensayo biográfico sobre Sandino, Unidad Editorial "Juan de Dios Muñoz", Departamento de Propaganda y Educación Política del FSLN, 1981 (reeditado en 1988 por la editorial Vanguardia, Managua)
- Pensamiento vivo de Sandino, 2 tomos, Editorial Nueva Nicaragua, Managua, 1981
- Balcanes y volcanes, Editorial Nueva América, Buenos Aires, 1983
- El alba de oro. La historia viva de Nicaragua, Editorial Siglo XXI, México, 1983
- Estás en Nicaragua, Munhnik Editores, Barcelona, 1985
- Las armas del futuro, Editorial Nueva Nicaragua, Managua, 1987
- La marca del Zorro, Editorial Nueva Nicaragua, Managua, 1989; 17 horas de conversación con el comandante guerrillero Francisco Rivera
- Quintero en septiembre de 1988
- Confesión de amor, con prólogo de Ernesto Cardenal; Ediciones Nicarao, Managua, 1991
- Oficios compartidos, Editorial Siglo XXI, México, 1994
- Biografía Mariano Fiallos, Editorial Universitaria, León, Nicaragua, 1997
- Adiós muchachos, Alfaguara 1999; una memoria de la revolución sandinista
- Mentiras verdaderas, Alfaguara México, 2001
- El viejo arte de mentir, Fondo de Cultura Económica, México, 2004
- El señor de los tristes, ensayos literarios, Editorial de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, San Juan, 2006
- Tambor olvidado, Aguilar, San José, Costa Rica, 2007
- Cuando todos hablamos, Alfaguara, 2008; contiene más de 200 artículos publicados en su blog en el portal literario El Boomeran(g)
See also
In Spanish: Sergio Ramírez para niños
