MANILA – Mario Vargas Llosa (Arequipa, Peru, 1936), recipient of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature and the 1994 Miguel de Cervantes Prize, returns to the Philippines in November 2016 at the invitation of Instituto Cervantes de Manila, the cultural arm of the Embassy of Spain.
Vargas Llosa was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature “for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual’s resistance, revolt, and defeat” (Nobel Prize Foundation). He has been hailed as “a divinely gifted storyteller” whose stories and works of fiction have served to enhance the evolution of the narrative art. His critically acclaimed novels and fictions include: La ciudad y los perros (1963, Eng. trans. The Time of the Hero), La tía Julia y el escribidor (1977, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter), La fiesta del chivo (2000, The Feast of the Goat), Travesuras de la niña mala (2006, The Bad Girl), El sueño del celta (2011, The Dream of the Celt), El héroe discrete (2013, The Discreet Hero), and Cinco esquinas (2016, Five Corners).
This visit to the Philippines comprises the conferment of academic distinctions at De La Salle University (DLSU) and University of Santo Tomas (UST), where the author will give a lecture.
The highlight will be the conferment of the title of the degree of Doctor of Literature honoris causa upon Vargas Llosa by De La Salle University. This will be held on November 8, Tuesday, 2:30 p.m., at the Teresa Yuchengco Auditorium in DLSU’s Manila Campus. Members of the academe and the diplomatic corps, as well as writers and literary enthusiasts, are expected to grace the ceremony. The Nobel Laureate had his primary and secondary education in La Salle schools in Bolivia and Peru.
In keeping with the University of Santo Tomas’ tradition of actively encouraging and supporting the arts, the Rev. Father Herminio V. Dagohoy, O.P., Rector of the University of Santo Tomas, approved the conferment of the Honorary Professorship on November 7 at the university. Upon his arrival, he will be taken on a short tour of the UST Library, which houses the largest collection of rare books in the country. Before his lecture, the title of Honorary Professor will be conferred by the Rev. Father Richard G. Ang, O.P., Vice Rector of the University of Santo Tomas. His lecture, delivered in Spanish (simultaneous interpreting will be provided), will be followed by an Open Forum. After which, there will be a reception hosted by UST.
Those who would like to attend the lecture at UST (Grand Ballroom of the Buenaventura Garcia Paredes, O.P. Building), on November 7, Monday at 3 p.m., must pre-register due to the limited number of seats. To be included in the list of attendees, please call 406-1611 loc. 8281.
This visit is organized by Instituto Cervantes, Embassy of Spain, De La Salle University, and University of Santo Tomas, and is in partnership with the Vibal Group.
