Mario Bencastro (born 1949) is a

Salvadoran Salvadorans (), also known as Salvadorians, are citizens of El Salvador, a country in Central America. Most Salvadorans live in El Salvador, although there is also a significant Salvadoran diaspora, particularly in the United States, with smalle ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

and

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

who has also written both

plays Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

and

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

that have been published in Spanish and English. Mario Bencastro was born in

Ahuachapán Ahuachapán () is a city, district, and the capital of the Ahuachapán Department in western El Salvador. The district, including the city, covers an area of 244.84 km2 and as of 2007 has a population of 110,511 people. Situated near the ...

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

. For over 20 years he resided in

Northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several County (United States), counties and independent city (United States), independent cities in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. ...

, United States near Washington DC, but in recent years he has moved to Port Saint Lucie, Florida. His works primarily concern the

Salvadoran Civil War The Salvadoran Civil War () was a twelve-year civil war in El Salvador that was fought between the government of El Salvador, backed by the United States, and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), a coalition of left-wing guer ...

and its aftermath, including the

Salvadoran Diaspora Salvadorans (), also known as Salvadorians, are citizens of El Salvador, a country in Central America. Most Salvadorans live in El Salvador, although there is also a significant Salvadoran diaspora, particularly in the United States, with smalle ...

Select bibliography

Novels * ''El árbol de la vida'', (1983) * ''Disparo en la catedral'', (1989) * ''Odisea del norte'', (1998) Drama * ''Crossroads'' (1988)

References

External links

Mario Bencastro recorded for the literary archive in the Hispanic Division at the Library of Congress on July 19, 1999.

Website Mario Bencastro

* Consuelo Hernández. "El inmigrante como sujeto polidimensional en ''Viaje a la tierra del abuelo"''. ''MACLAS. Latin American Essays'' 2011. MACLAS James Street Prize 2011. * Consuelo Hernández. ""El cronista de la guerra civil y la diáspora salvadoreña. Entrevista con Mario Bencastro." ''Antípodas XXI. Journal of Hispanic and Galician Studies''. Australia, 2010. 1949 births Living people Salvadoran emigrants to the United States 20th-century Salvadoran painters 21st-century Salvadoran painters Salvadoran novelists People from Ahuachapán Salvadoran dramatists and playwrights Male novelists Salvadoran short story writers Male short story writers Male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century novelists 20th-century dramatists and playwrights Salvadoran male writers 20th-century short story writers 20th-century male writers 20th-century Salvadoran writers {{ElSalvador-writer-stub