Juan Antonio Villoro Ruiz (born 24 September 1956, in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

) is a Mexican writer and journalist and the son of philosopher

Luis Villoro Luis Villoro Toranzo (3 November 1922 – 5 March 2014) was a Spanish– Mexican philosopher, researcher, university professor, diplomat, academic and writer. He published more than ten books between 1950 and 2007. Villoro was born in Barc ...

. He has been well known among intellectual circles in Mexico, Latin America and Spain for years, but his success among a wider readership has grown since receiving the Herralde Prize for his novel ''El testigo''.

Biography

Juan Villoro received his bachelor's degree in

Sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

from the

Metropolitan Autonomous University Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

Iztapalapa Iztapalapa () is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City, located on the eastern side of the city. The borough is named after and centered on the formerly independent municipality of Iztapalapa (officially Iztapalapa de Cuitláhua ...

campus. He was also part of a short story workshop conducted by Guatemalan writer

Augusto Monterroso Augusto Monterroso Bonilla (December 21, 1921 – February 8, 2003) was a Honduran writer who adopted Guatemalan nationality, known for the ironical and humorous style of his short stories. He is considered an important figure in the Latin Amer ...

. As a

rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...

fan, he was the DJ for the radio program "El lado oscuro de la luna" (the Spanish translation of ''

The Dark Side of the Moon ''The Dark Side of the Moon'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 1 March 1973, by Capitol Records in the US and on 16 March 1973, by Harvest Records in the UK. Developed during live performances before ...

'' by

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

) from 1977 until 1981. He was then made the cultural attaché to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

in the then

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. For three decades, Villoro has produced a steady output of articles for various Mexican periodicals, concentrating in such areas as sports, rock, cinema, literature and travel. ''Palmeras de la brisa rapida: un viaje a Yucatán'' ("Palm Trees of the Rapid Breeze: A Journey to Yucatan") 1989 is an account of his travels in a part of Mexico known for its

Mayan Mayan most commonly refers to: * Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Mayan languages, language family spoken ...

culture. His first novel was ''El disparo de argón'' ("The Shot of Argon"), published in 1991. ''Los once de la tribu'' ("The Eleven of the Tribe"), published in 1995, collects many of his best short, non-fiction essays and interviews. The title refers to the number of people on an international football team. He covers a wide range of topics, including

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

, the television series ''

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

'', the absurdities of publishing children's literature in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and an interview with

Jane Fonda Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress and activist. Recognized as a film icon, Jane Fonda filmography, Fonda's work spans several genres and over six decades of film and television. She is the recipient of List of a ...

. In 2011, Villoro appeared in the film production '' Guerrero 12'', a feature-length documentary examining football fandom passion. The film is directed by Miguel A. Reina, who was also responsible for the Sundance film ''Un aliado en el tiempo''. In 2018 he received Chile's Manuel Rojas Ibero-American Narrative Award.

Interests

Since he was a child, Villoro has been fond of football. He is a fan of Barcelona, influenced by the fact that his father is from the region. Villoro played in the lower divisions Pumas of the

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public university, public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countri ...

, but left the team when he was 16. When he began writing about football, he described himself as being a fan of being a fan. He has consistently written chronicles, a genre that he defines as the platypus of prose, due to the large number of varying influences that chronicles can require. He began writing theater when he was 50 years old. As a rock music fan, Villoro collaborated with Mexican band

Café Tacuba Café Tacuba (), stylized as Café Tacvba, is a band from Naucalpan de Juárez, State of Mexico. The group gained popularity in the early 1990s. They were founded in 1989, before they had the current lineup of Rubén Albarrán, Rubén Isaac Albar ...

on the songs "Sashimi (Corte fino)" and "Laberinto" for the film Vivir mata, directed by Nicolás Echevarría."Listo, soundtrack de Vivir mata", ''El Universal'', 29.12.2001; acceso 11.12.2013. Villoro is also a professor at the

Gabriel García Márquez Foundation for New Iberoamerican Journalism In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel ( ) is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind, as the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Chris ...

and was a member of the dean's council for the Gabriel García Márquez Prize for Journalism, which meets annually in

Medellín Medellín ( ; or ), officially the Special District of Science, Technology and Innovation of Medellín (), is the List of cities in Colombia, second-largest city in Colombia after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia Departme ...

Works

Novels

*''El disparo de argón'' (1991) *''Materia dispuesta'' (1997) *''El testigo'' (2004) *''Llamadas de Ámsterdam'' (2007) *''Arrecife'' (2012) *''La utilidad del deseo (2017)''

Short stories

*''La noche navegable'' (1980) *''La alcoba dormida'' (1992) *''Albercas'' (1985) *''La casa pierde'' (1999) *''Los culpables'' (2007) *"Orden suspendido," in ''Manuel Felguérez Obra Reciente 2002-2005'' (2005) *"Palmeras de la brisa rápida" (2009) *''Forward: Kioto'' (2010) *''Espejo Retrovisor (2013)''

Children's books

*''Las golosinas secretas'' (1985) *''El profesor Zíper y la fabulosa guitarra eléctrica'' (1992) *''Autopista sanguijuela'' (1998) *''El té de tornillo del profesor Zíper'' (2000) *''Cazadores de croquetas'' (2007) *''El libro salvaje'' (2008) *''El taxi de los peluches'' (2008) *''La cuchara del señor Zíper'' (2015)

Essays, Chronicles, and Non-Fiction

*''Tiempo transcurrido (Crónicas imaginarias)'' (1986) *''Palmeras de la brisa rápida: Un viaje a

Yucatán Yucatán, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 106 separate municipalities, and its capital city is Mérida. ...

'' (chronicle, 1989) *''Los once de la tribu'' (football chronicles, 1995) *''Efectos personales'' (essay, 2000) *''Safari accidental'' (chronicle, 2005) *''Dios es redondo'' (essays and chronicles on football, 2006) *''Funerales preventivos: Fábulas y retratos'' (political essays, with drawings by Rogelio Naranjo, 2006) *''De eso se trata'' (literary essays, 2008) *''Manuel Felguérez el límite de una secuencia'' (1997) *''La máquina desnuda'' (essay, 2009) *''8.8: Miedo en el espejo'' (chronicle,2010) *''¿Hay vida en la Tierra?'' (articles, 2012) *''El Ojo en la Nuca ( Stavans, ilan / Villoro, Juan, 2014)'' *''El vértigo horizontal'' (Barcelona: Anagrama, 2019. English translation: Horizontal Vertigo: A City Called Mexico, Knopf, 2021)

References

External links

Juan Villoro's page
at

n+1 N1, N.I, N-1, N=1, or N01 may refer to: Information technology * Nokia N1, an Android tablet * Nexus One, an Android phone made by HTC * Nylas N1, a desktop email client * Oppo N1, an Android phone * N1, a Sun Microsystems software brand now ...

Juan Villoro recorded for the literary archive in the Hispanic Division at the Library of Congress on September 14, 2015.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Villoro, Juan Villoro,Juan Villoro,Juan Villoro,Juan Living people 1956 births Cultural attachés Xavier Villaurrutia Award winners