Alfredo Pareja Diezcanseco Biography

Alfredo Pareja Diezcanseco was an Ecuadorian writer, best known for his work as a novelist, essayist and journalist. His work also touched on the spheres of history and political science, with Pareja working as both an historian and a diplomat in addition to his primary work as a writer. He is seen as one of the founding fathers of a major 20th century Latin American movement, the so-called ‘Grupo de Guayaquil’. In recognition of his literary work, he received recognition from numerous literary societies, universities and cultural organizations as well as his own government. Pareja’s work has been connected to the work of others from the ‘Guayaquil Group’, such as José de la Cuadra, Joaquin Gallegos Lara, Demetrio Aguilera Malta and Enrique Gil Gilbert. In addition, critics have likened his work to that of other Latin American literary greats, such as Jorge Luis Borges, John Dos Passos and Julio Cortázar. He maintained personal connections with other major writers of his era, including a long-time correspondence with John Steinbeck. Aside from his prominence within the literary world, he held posts at several universities in Latin America and North America, lecturing in the departments of literature, politics and history.