Juan Manuel Rodriguez

Who is Juan Manuel Rodriguez?

Juan Manuel Rodríguez López is a Spanish-born, naturalized Ecuadorian professor and author. He studied with the Jesuits and earned a licenciate/BA degree in philosophy and later obtained a doctorate in literature from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador. From 1969 to 1972, he was a television producer with Channel 6 in Quito. He has been a professor at Universidad Central del Ecuador and Universidad Católica, as well as founding professor of Universidad San Francisco de Quito, where he is currently teaches in the College of Communication and Contemporary Arts.

He has published novels and short-story collections in Ecuador, Spain and Mexico, as well as various academic and reference books, including literary criticism. His most popular works have included El pez perfume, a modern picaresque novel that is frequently read in Ecuadorian high schools, and Fricciones, El Poder de los Vencidos, and Cinturón de Fuego, which were best sellers in Ecuador in 1991, 2003 and 2006/2007, respectively, according to polls taken by the newspaper HOY.

Juan Manuel Rodríguez has been a columnist and editorial writer for the newspaper La Hora and the magazine Chasqui. He has published over forty critical introductions to classic works for Editorial Alba in Madrid and Editorial Libresa in Quito, as well as articles and editorial pieces in the magazines Anaconda and Polémika.