Carlos Montemayor

Carlos Montemayor was a Mexican writer and translator, who was also known for his political and social activism in defense of the indigenous communities and the most vulnerable groups of his country. He was a member of the Mexican Academy of the Language and the Association of Writers in Indigenous Languages. He also had a passion for music and sang as a tenor in several operas. He mastered more than seven languages, including Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Maya, and several indigenous languages of Mexico. He wrote novels, poems, essays, and literary criticism, as well as translated works from indigenous languages into Spanish. Some of his most notable works are Las llaves de Urgell, Guerra en el Paraíso, Los informes secretos, and Las armas del alba. He also wrote about the history and culture of the Tarahumara people and the guerrilla movement in Guerrero. He was a frequent contributor to various magazines and newspapers, such as Plural, Excélsior, Unomásuno, and La Jornada. He received several awards and honors, such as the Xavier Villaurrutia Prize and the National Prize of Linguistics and Literature. He died of stomach cancer on February 28, 2010, at the age of 62.