Renato Prada Oropeza
Born	Renato Prada Oropeza ( 1937-10-17 ) October 17, 1937 Potosi , Bolivia
Died	September 9, 2011 (2011-09-09) (aged 73) Puebla, Puebla , Mexico
Occupation	Novelist, poet, literary critics , professor
Language	Spanish
Nationality	Mexican
Education	Doctorate in Linguistics
Alma mater	Sapienza University of Rome Catholic University of Leuven
Period	1969?2011
Genre	novel, short story , poetry
Literary movement	Post-Modernism
Notable works	Los fundadores del alba
Spouse	Elda Rojas Aldunate
Children	Ingmar, Fabrizio , Ixchel

Renato Prada Oropeza (born October 17, 1937 ? September 9, 2011) was a Bolivian and Mexican scientist- literary researcher and writer, author of novels, short stories and poetry books, hermeneutics , semiotics and literary theory . Many of his literary works have been translated into several languages. He was one of the most distinguished semioticians in Mexico and Latin America . ^[1]

Biography [ edit ]

He was born in Potosi , Bolivia, in 1937. In 1976, due to the dictatorship in Bolivia , he moved to Mexico, where in 1983 he became a citizen. From 1976, Prada was a professor at the Autonomous University in Xalapa , Mexico, and at the Autonomous University of Puebla . He was also an academician of the National Council for Science and Technology of Mexico (an analog of the Academy of Sciences in other countries).

He was married to the Mexican art historian Elda Rojas Aldunate . Their children are Ixchel Vanessa, who is a designer (especially a theatre designer); Ingmar, a researcher and professor of physics ; and Fabrizio Prada , who is a Mexican film director . ^[2]

Oropeza died in Puebla , Mexico, on September 9, 2011; the cause of death was kidney cancer . ^[3]

Science and literature [ edit ]

Oropeza held the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the Sapienza University of Rome and a Doctor of Linguistics from the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium.

He was the head of the scientific school of semiotics in the Autonomous University of Puebla and editor of some Mexican academic journals on literary theory and linguistics and semiotics. ^[4] He directed doctoral researches, and his disciples work in Mexico, the United States, Italy, Russia, Guatemala, Spain and other countries. ^[5]

Some novels and short stories by Renato Prada have been translated into English and other languages. In addition to his literary and scientific work, he wrote the screenplays of some Mexican feature films, such as Tiempo Real (2002) ^[6] and Chiles Xalapenos (2008), ^[7] and several short films. ^[8]

His novel Los fundadores del alba , winner of Prize Casa de las Americas in 1969, ^[9] is considered one of the most significant works of Bolivian literature . ^[10]

Awards [ edit ]

• Casa de las Americas (1969) for the novel Los fundadores del alba ^[11]
• Premio Nacional de Novela Erich Guttentag (1969) ^[11]
• Premio "Franja de Oro" of La Paz (Bolivia) (1970) ^[12]
• State Prize of Mexico (2008) ^[13]

Publications ^[14] [ edit ]

Novels [ edit ]

• El ultimo filo (1975, Planeta, Barcelona; 1985, Plaza & Janes, Barcelona; 1987, Arte y literatura, La Habana)
• Los fundadores del alba (published in Spain, Cuba, Bolivia, Mexico)
• Larga hora: la vigilia (1979, Premia)
• Mientras cae la noche (1988, UV, Xalapa)
• ...Poco despues, humo (1989, BUAP, Col. Asteriscos, Puebla)

Short stories [ edit ]

• Argal (1967, Los Amigos del Libro, Cochabamba)
• Ya nadie espera al hombre (1969, Don Bosco, La Paz)
• Al borde del silencio (1970, Alfa, Montivedeo)
• La ofrenda y otros relatos (1981, Premia)
  • (in German) single story: "Faruke". Transl. Jose Antonio Friedl Zapata. In: Ein neuer Name, ein fremdes Gesicht. 26 Erzahlungen aus Lateinamerika. Luchterhand. Neuwied 1987, pp 198?211
• Los nombres del infierno (1985, Universidad Autonoma de Chiapas)
• La noche con Orgalia y otros cuentos (1997, Universidad Iberoamericana y Universidad Autonoma de Tlaxcala)
• A traves del hueco (1998, UNAM, Col. Rayuela, Mexico)
• El pesebre y otros cuentos (2003, UNAM Col. Rayuela, Mexico)
• Las mascaras de 'el Otro ' (2008, UV, Col. Ficcion y BUAP).

Poetry [ edit ]

• Palabras iniciales (2006, Editora de Gobierno, Mexico)
• Ritual (2009, Secretaria de Cultura del estado de Puebla, Mexico)

Screenplays [ edit ]

• En el umbral (1995)
• Mas abajo (1998)
• La noche con Orgalia (2000)
• Tiempo Real (2002)
• Chiles Xalapenos (2008)

Semiotics [ edit ]

• La autonomia literaria (1970, Los Amigos del Libro, Cochabamba)
• El lenguaje narrativo. Prolegomenos para una semiotica narrativa (1979, Educa, Costa Rica)
• Poetica y liberacion en la narrativa de Onelio Jorge Cardoso (1988, UV, Xalapa)
• Los sentidos del simbolo I (1990, UV, Xalapa)
• El lenguaje narrativo (1991, Departamento Editorial, Universidad Autonoma de Zacatecas)
• Analisis e interpretacion del discurso narrativo-literario (1993, Departamento Editorial, Universidad Autonoma de Zacatecas)
• La narrativa de Sergio Pitol : los cuentos (1997, UV, Xalapa)
• Los sentidos del simbolo II (1998, Iberoamericana Golfo)
• Literatura y realidad (1999, F.C.E/UV/BUAP)
• El discurso-testimonio (2001, UNAM)
• Hermeneutica. Simbolo y conjetura (2003, Ibero/BUAP)
• La constelacion narrativa de Ignacio Solares (2003, Ediciones y Graficos Eon, Benemerita Universidad Autonoma de Puebla)
• La narrativa de la revolucion mexicana. Primer periodo (2007, Universidad Veracruzana/UIA Puebla)
• Los sentidos del simbolo III (2007, UV)
• Estetica del discurso literario (2010, F.C.E.-BUAP)

References [ edit ]

External links [ edit ]

• Official site of Dr. Renato Prada Oropeza, in Spanish