Jorge Antonio Majfud Albernaz (born September 10, 1969) is a Uruguayan–American professor and writer.

Early life

Majfud was born on September 10, 1969, in

Tacuarembó Tacuarembó ( Guaraní language, Guarani: ''Takuarembo'', literally: "Bamboo shoot") is the capital city of the Tacuarembó Department in north-central Uruguay. History On 24 October 1831, a presidential decree by Fructuoso Rivera ordered the cr ...

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. He is of paternal Lebanese descent of the

Christian faith Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

, as his grandparents immigrated from

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

to Uruguay. His father, born to an impoverished family of 12 children, was a

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenter ...

by trade and his mother, Marlene (née Albernaz; 1940-1984), was a

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. His father moved to

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

during the 1950s to study carpentry and

radiotelephony A radiotelephone (or radiophone), abbreviated RT, is a radio communication system for conducting a conversation; radiotelephony means telephony by radio. It is in contrast to ''radiotelegraphy'', which is radio transmission of telegrams (messag ...

, ultimately becoming a successful businessman in different sectors, including in

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

banking A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

, and

pharmaceutical Medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal product, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy ( pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the ...

, although he returned to Tacuarembó before Jorge was born, leading an austere life.

Education

In 1996, Majfud received a bachelor of architecture from the University of the Republic. during which he traveled extensively to gather material that would later become part of his novels and essays. After his undergraduate studies, he became a professor at the

University of Costa Rica The University of Costa Rica (Spanish: ''Universidad de Costa Rica,'' abbreviated UCR) is a public university in the Republic of Costa Rica, in Central America. Its main campus, Ciudad Universitaria Rodrigo Facio, is located in San Pedro Mo ...

and at Escuela Técnica del Uruguay, where he taught

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

and

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

. In 2003, Majfud enrolled in the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

, where he obtained a masters and Ph.D. in the Department of Romance Languages.

Career

Majfud is a member of the scientific committee of the ''Araucaria'' review in Spain,

Phi Kappa Phi The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi (or simply Phi Kappa Phi or ) is an honor society established in 1897 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship without restriction as to the area of study, and to promote the "unity and democracy of educa ...

, and a Professional Member of PEN American Center. He has taught at the University of Georgia and was a professor at Lincoln University. Currently, he is a professor at

Jacksonville University Jacksonville University (JU) is a private university in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Located in the city's Arlington (Jacksonville), Arlington district, the school was founded in 1934 as a two-year college and was known as Jacksonvill ...

Majfud has won many awards, including the Excellence in Research Award in Humanities and Letters in 2006,

Casa de las Américas prize The Casa de las Américas Prize (''Premio Literario Casa de las Américas'') is a literary award given by the Cuban Casa de las Américas. Established in 1959, it is one of Latin America’s oldest and most prestigious literary prizes. The award ...

in 2001, a Juan Rulfo Award finalist in 2011, Faculty Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Professional Activities at Jacksonville University in 2013, and the ''Premio Letterario Internazionale Indipendente Settima'' (The Independent International Literary Award) in 2019. His novels and essays are under study in different universities in Europe, the U.S., and Latin America, and is one of the most important writers of a new generation of Uruguayan intellectuals. In 2012, readers of the American magazine

Foreign Policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

(now EsGlobal in Spanish) recognized him as "The Most Influential Latin American Intellectual". He delivered public lectures at many universities and events around the world. In 2024, Caras & Caretas magazine published that, according to

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

, Jorge Majfud was among the ten most recognized Uruguayans in the world.

Awards

He has distinguished himself in different international contests, for example: *Mention at Premio Casa de las Américas, in Habana, Cuba in 2001, for the novel ''La Reina de América'', "because it stands out as an intense writing regarding the established powers by the use of parody and irony," according to the panel of judges composed of Belén Gopegui (Spain), Andrés Rivera (Argentina), Mayra Santos Febres (Puerto Rico) and others *Excellence in Research Award, University of Georgia, 2006 *Faculty Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Professional Activities, Jacksonville University, 2013. *2014 International Latino Book Awards Finalist *2019 Premio Letterario Internazionale Indipendente Award

Works

His publications include: *''Hacia qué patrias del silencio / memorias de un desaparecido'' (novel, 1996) *''Crítica de la pasión pura'' (essays, 1998) *'' La reina de América'' (novel, 2001) *''El tiempo que me tocó vivir'' (essays, 2004) *''The Narration of the Invisible: A Political Theo-ry of Semantic Fields'' (essays, 2006) *''Perdona nuestros pecados'' (short stories, 2007) *''La ciudad de la Luna'' (novel, 2009

*'' Crisis (novel by Jorge Majfud), Crisis'' (novel, 2012) *''Cyborgs'' (essays, 2012) * ''El eterno retorno de Quetzalcoátl'', 2012

* ''Cuentos'', audiobook, 2014 * ''Latin American Political Cinema'', essays, 2014 * ''Herrmenéutica'', essays, 2014 * ''El pasado siempre vuelve'', short stories, 2014 * ''Algo salió mal'', short stories, 2015 * ''El mar estaba sereno'', novel, 2017 * ''USA. ¿Confía Dios en nosotros?'', essays, 2017 * ''Neomedievalism. Reflections on the Post-Enlightenment Era'', essays, 2018 * ''Tequila'', novel, 2018 * ''The Same Fire'', novel, 2019 * ''Perros sí, negros no'', essays, 2020 * ''Silicone 5.0'', novel, 2020 * ''The Wild Frontier: 200 Years of Anglo-Saxon Fanaticism in Latin America]'', history essay, 2021 * ''La privatización de la verdad. La continuidad de la ideología esclavista en Estados Unidos'', essay, 2021 * ''El otoño de la plutocracia estadounidense'', essays, 2023 * ''Teología del dinero'', essays, 2023 * ''Moscas en la telaraña: Historia de la comercialización de la existencia―y sus medio''s, essays, 2023 * ''Palestine: The Vietnam of Generation Alpha", ensayos, 2023. * ''La prisión sin muros: Reflexiones sobre la crisis de las democracias liberales'', ensayos, 2024. * ''El fin de la Pax Americana'', ensayos Universidad de Valencia 2024. * ''P = d.t : Outline of a Theory of Power''. Theory, 2024. * ''Plutocracy: Tyrannosaurs of the Anthropocene'', essays, 2024. * ''1976: The Exile of Terror''. History, 2024. * ''Best Democracy Money Can Buy''. Essays, 2025. * ''Had Other Plans''. Stories, 2025. As contributor or editor * 2020, Crónicas del coronavirus (Editorial Irreverentes) * 2020, ''Diccionario de autobiografías intelectuales'' (Universidad Nacional de Lanus) * 2019, ''Unwanted People'' (University of Valencia Press, PUV) by Aviva Chomsky. * 2018, ''Cinco entrevistas a Noam Chomsky'' (''Le Monde Diplomatique'' / Editorial ''Aun Creemos en los Sueños'') by

Michel Foucault Paul-Michel Foucault ( , ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French History of ideas, historian of ideas and Philosophy, philosopher who was also an author, Literary criticism, literary critic, Activism, political activist, and teacher. Fo ...

Ignacio Ramonet Ignacio Ramonet Miguez (born 5 May 1943) is a Spanish academic, journalist, and writer who has been based in Paris for much of his career. After becoming first known for writing on film and media, he became editor-in-chief of ''Le Monde diplomati ...

, Daniel Mermet, Jorge Majfud y Federico Kukso. * 2018, "Vsa teža zakona" (''Zgodbe iz Urugvaja. Antologija sodobne urugvajske kratke proze''/''Anthology of contemporary Uruguayan short prose''). Translated by Yuri Kunaver. * 2017, ''The Routledge History of Latin American Culture'' (Edited by Carlos Manuel Salomon) Routledge Histories. * 2017, ''Pertenencia. Narradores sudamericanos en Estados Unidos''. Antología. (Melanie Márquez Adams, Hemil García Linares, editores). Ars Communis Editorial, Publisher. . * 2016, ''Ruido Blanco. Antología de cuentos de ciencia ficción uruguaya.'' (Mónica Marchesky, coordinador) M Ed. * 2013, ''De la indignación a la rebeldía'' (con

Eduardo Galeano Eduardo Germán María Hughes Galeano (; 3 September 1940 – 13 April 2015) was a Uruguayan journalist, writer and novelist considered, among other things, "a literary giant of the Latin American left" and "global soccer's pre-eminent man of le ...

, Carlos Taibo y

Slavoj Zizek Slavoj may refer to: * Karel Slavoj Amerling (1807–1884), Czech teacher, writer, and philosopher * Slavoj Černý (1937–2020), Czech former cyclist *Slavoj Žižek Slavoj Žižek ( ; ; born 21 March 1949) is a Slovenian Marxist philosoph ...

). . Ediciones Irreverentes. * 2012. ''Ilusionistas. '', by

Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American professor and public intellectual known for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a ...

. Edition, translation, and introduction. . Ediciones Irreverentes. * 2012, ''Antología de Nueva York''. . Ediciones Irreverentes. * 2012, ''Antología de ciencia ficción, 2099''. . Ediciones Irreverentes. * 2011, ''Microantología del Microrrelato III.'' . * 2011, ''Truman, Hiroshima''. (con

) Ediciones Irreverentes. * 2010, ''El libro del voyeur.'' . Ediciones del viento. * 2010, ''Microantología del Microrrelato II.'' . * 2010, ''Entre Orientales y Atlantes. Antología de relatos uruguayo-canaria.'' . Editorial Baile del Sol. * 2007, ''Las palabras pueden.'' . (con

Ernesto Sábato Ernesto Sabato (; June 24, 1911 – April 30, 2011) was an Argentine novelist, essayist, painter, and physicist. According to the BBC he "won some of the most prestigious prizes in Hispanic literature" and "became very influential in the literary ...

Mario Vargas Llosa Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (28 March 1936 – 13 April 2025) was a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and politician. Vargas Llosa was one of the most significant Latin American novelists and essayists a ...

José Saramago José de Sousa Saramago (; 16 November 1922 – 18 June 2010) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese writer. He was the recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature for his "parables sustained by imagination, compassion and irony [with which ...

y otros ) United Nations Children's Fund (New York: UNICEF-UN). * 2008, ''Los testimonios'', de Roque Dalton. . Baile del Sol. * 2008, ''Diccionario alternativo''. . (con Hugo Biagini y Arturo Andrés Roig). Aguilar/Alfaguara. * 2007, ''América Latina hacia su segunda independencia''. (con Hugo Biagini y Arturo Andrés Roig. Aguilar / Alfaguara. * 1999, ''Entre siglos/Entre séculos''. . His stories and articles have been published in daily newspapers, magazines, and readers, such as ''

El País (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second-most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . is the most read newspaper in ...

'' of Madrid, ''El País'' and '' La República'

of Montevideo,

Courrier International ''Courrier International'' (; ) is a Paris-based French weekly newspaper which translates and publishes excerpts of articles from over 900 international newspapers. It also has a Portuguese and a Japanese edition. ''Courrier Japon'' was launche ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

br>
''Rebellion'', ''Hispanic Culture Review'' of

George Mason University George Mason University (GMU) is a Public university, public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., the university is named in honor of George Mason, a Founding Father ...

, Revista de Crítica Literaria Latinoamericana of

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

, ''Pegaso'' of the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

Texas State University Texas State University (TXST) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in San Marcos, Texas, United States, and another campus in Round Rock, Texas, Round Rock. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has ...

, Washington University Political Review, ''Chasqui'' of

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

, ''Hispamerica'' of

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

, United Nations Chronicle, UNICEF, ''Araucaria'' of Spain, etc. He has been the founder and editor of the magazine ''SigloXXI – reflexiones sobre nuestro tiempo''. He is a contributor to ''El Pais'', ''La República'' of Montevideo, ''La Vanguardia'' of Barcelona, ''Tiempos del Mundo'' of Washington, ''

Monthly Review The ''Monthly Review'' is an independent socialist magazine published monthly in New York City. Established in 1949, the publication is the longest continuously published socialist magazine in the United States. History Establishment Following ...

'' of New York, ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...

'', ''

Milenio ''Milenio'' is a major national newspaper in Mexico, owned by Grupo Multimedios. It is published in 11 cities across Mexico, including Monterrey, Mexico City, Guadalajara, León, Pachuca, Puebla, Villahermosa, Tampico, Torreón, Toluca, an ...

'' of Mexico, ''Jornada'' of La Paz, Panama America, ''

El Nuevo Herald ''El Nuevo Herald'' is a newspaper published daily in Spanish in Southeast Florida, United States. Its headquarters is in Doral. ''El Nuevo Heralds sister paper is the ''Miami Herald'', also produced by the McClatchy Company. About ''el Nuevo ...

'' of Miami, '' Página/12'' of Buenos Aires, ''Cambio16'' of Spain, ''Centro Cervantes'' of Madrid, ''The Humanist'' of the

American Humanist Association The American Humanist Association (AHA) is a 501(c) organization, non-profit organization in the United States that advances secular humanism. The American Humanist Association was founded in 1941 and currently provides legal assistance to defe ...

, Radio Uruguay, Radio Nacional de Argentin

Radio Exterior de España], Radio Popolare Roma, NTN 24 T

Russia TV (RT), and many other daily and weekly newspapers. He is a member of the International Scientific Committee of the magazine ''Araucaria'

in Spain. His essays and articles have been translated into Portuguese, French, English, German, Italian, Basque, Greek, and many others. He is also the editor and translator of ''Ilusionistas'', the latest book of

in Spanish (Madrid, 2012). He has published many books with authors like

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury ( ; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, Horror fiction, horr ...

, Carlos Fuentes, and

. In November 2019, after the coup d'état in Bolivia, Jorge Majfud called on OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro to resign from his post. The letter went viral and was supported by millions of Latin Americans.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Majfud, Jorge 1969 births Living people People from Tacuarembó Psychological fiction writers Uruguayan people of Lebanese descent Uruguayan male writers Hispanic and Latino American writers Hispanic and Latino American novelists American Spanish-language writers Latin Americanists Uruguayan architects University of the Republic (Uruguay) alumni University of Georgia alumni Jacksonville University faculty Uruguayan emigrants to the United States 21st-century American novelists American male novelists 21st-century American male writers Novelists from Florida