Gustavo Gac-Artigas

Gustavo Gac-Artigas
Born1944
NationalityChilean American
OccupationWriter
SpousePriscilla Gac-Artigas

Gustavo Gac-Artigas is a Chilean American writer,[1] playwright,[2] actor, theater director,[3] and editor. Born in Santiago, Chile, he has lived in New Jersey since 1995. He is a correspondent member of the North American Academy of the Spanish Language (Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua Espanola-ANLE) [4] and a member of PEN-Chile and PEN America.

His poetry has been partially translated into English, French, Romanian, Italian, Korean,[5] and Malayalam, and published in academic literary magazines such as the Revista de la Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua Española, the Latino Book Review, Multicultural Echoes Literary Magazine (California State University in Chico), Enclave, Revista de Creación Literaria en Español (the City University of New York-CUNY), and in cultural magazines ViceVersa, Letralia,[6] Todoliteratura,[7] The Chesterton Review, Nueva York Poetry Review, Cronopios, Kametsa, Nagari and Terre a Ciel.[8][9][10][11], Letras de Chile[12]

It has also been included in anthologies such as Segunda antología poética de la Feria Internacional del Libro de Nueva York, 2022, Antología poetica LACUHE 2022, Boundless 2022: Anthology of the Valle del Rio Grande International Poetry Festival y Multilingual Anthology (The Americas Poetry Festival of New York 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023).

He has written op-eds for Agencia Efe, Le Monde diplomatique, Edición Chile, Impactolatino.com,[13] since 2015.

Art Without Borders-The Gac-Artigas Foundation

With his wife Priscilla Gac-Artigas, professor of Latin American literature at Monmouth University, NJ, he is the owner and curator of the exhibit Memories, Geography of a Decade: Chile 1973-1983. The exhibit consists of 45 original prints (24 of them numbered); 25 posters; 50 pictures of the 1973 coup; and 25 photos of performances by Théâtre de la Résistance-Chili, a Chilean theater group in exile in Paris after the coup. Prints are by three National Art Award winners: José Balmes, Guillermo Núñez, & Gracia Barrios, and by Alejandro Marcos, Ernest Pignon-Ernest, and Eduardo Berroeta; posters, which retrace a decade of cultural solidarity events in Europe, by artists e.g. Miró & Ottaviano; photos of the coup are by former Gamma news agency journalists; and TRCh theater pictures are professional photos showing the evolution of a theater group forced to create in exile. Memorias has been hosted by the University of Pennsylvania, Instituto Cervantes in NY, Bowdoin College, and Monmouth University, in NJ.

Biography

In 1968 Gac-Artigas travelled to Bulgaria to participate in the Democratic Youth World Festival and to Czechoslovakia invited by the government of the time to observe the changes introduced during the Prague Spring. Upon his return to Chile, he dropped out of college and embarked on a trip through Latin America performing in different countries with a documentary theater play called Poetry Mail. This included poems by established writers, local writers and songs interspersed with current events from national and local newspapers. With Poetry Mail, Gac-Artigas traversed South America from his native Chile to Bogota, Colombia.[14] In Colombia he worked with Enrique Buenaventura and Santiago Garcia and the Teatro La Candelaria in Bogotá.[14]

In 1971 he returned to Chile where he founded and directed the experimental Theatre del Cobre (TEC)[15] in the Cultural House of El Teniente copper mine during the government of Salvador Allende.

TEC's last performance in Chile was at the Chuquicamata mine,[16] in the northern part of the country with the play Freedom, Freedom, an adaptation by Gac-Artigas of Flavio Rengel’s play about a group opposed to the 1973 coup d'état. The presentation began on September 10, 1973 and ended with a forum attended by David Baytelman, manager of the mine,[17] mine workers, and some political leaders on 11 September, the day in which the group was supposed to continue their tour to present the play for the workers of the nitrate mine.

Gac-Artigas was apprehended on September 11 and subsequently transferred to Rancagua, located 2,000 kilometers to the south, after three days. There, he was incarcerated as political prisoner number 3245 - as recorded by the Chilean National Institute of Human Rights. Over a period of three days, he underwent "expedited interrogation", a euphemism used by the military for torture, conducted by a Lieutenant Medina.

He was released from jail months later, and taken to Santiago where, with a deportation order and a travel document issued by the Red Cross, he left the country for exile in Paris.[18] There, along with Colombian actress Perla Valencia, he founded the group Théâtre de la Résistance-Chili (then Nuevo Teatro Los Comediantes), with which he toured Europe and participated in international festivals such as: Nancy, Avignon, Ljubljana, Hammamet, Djendouba, Tabarka, Hammam Lift, Yverdon, Bern, Zurich and Stagedoor Festival[19] among others.

In 1984 he tried to return to Chile, but on September the 5th of that year his name appeared on a list of about 5,000 people forbidden from entering the country for representing "a danger to the internal security of the State".[20] This unsuccessful endeavor led him and his group to traverse Latin America, journeying from Buenos Aires to Bogota and passing through Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador. They spent a year in Colombia, performing throughout various regions. After engaging in a hunger strike, Gac-Artigas was sent back to Europe - Rotterdam this time, rather than Paris, as he had lost his political refugee status in France due to a year-long absence.

From 1986 to 1989, he lived in the Netherlands, persisting in his theatrical endeavors. During this period, his group took part in the Stagedoor Festival in 1986 and the Latino Festival of Utrecht in 1989. In 1989 he received the Poetry Park Award for his story Dr. Zamenhofstraat.[21]

In 2018 his novel Y todos éramos actores, un siglo de luz y sombra (And All of Us Were Actors, A Century Of Light And Shadow) (2016),[22][23] English edition translated by Andrea G. Labinger was second runner up for the ILBA (International Latino Book Award 2018) in the category of Best Fiction Book in Translation - Spanish to English. In 2025, this novel was the Winner of the American Lagacy Award for Cross-Gendre novel.[24]

Gac-Artigas moved to New Jersey in 1995 and lives there to this day where he continues to write.[25][26][27]

Works

Novels

  • Y Todos Éramos Actores, un Siglo de Luz y Sombra (And All of Us Were Actors, A Century Of Light And Shadow) (2016)[22][23]
  • English edition translated by Andrea G. Labinger (2017).[28] The novel took second place in the ILBA (International Latino Book Award 2018) in the category Best Fiction Book in Translation - Spanish to English.[29]
  • It Was A Time To Dream (1992)[30]
    • Second edition, digital and paperback: It Was Time To Dream Of The Pregnant Birdies (2016)[31]
  • And The Earth Was Round (1993)[32]
    • Second edition, digital and paperback: And The Earth Was Round (2016)[33]
  • Ado’s Plot of Land (2002)[34]
  • An Ordinary Murder 1994

Chronicle

  • Waiting for the Revolution: Cuba: The Unfinished Journey (2019)[35]

College textbooks

  • To The Point: a complete reference manual for Spanish grammar (Prentice Hall, College Division, 1999)[36]
  • Sans Détour: a complete reference manual for French grammar (Prentice Hall, College Division, 1999)[37]
  • Roadmap To The Culture And Civilization Of Latin America (Academic Press Jan, 2006, sixth ed. 2012[38][39]

Anthologies

  • Anthology Of Songs Of Struggle And Hope. Editorial Quimantú, Chile (1973). Co-author: Perla Valencia[40]

Awards and recognitions

Winner American Legacy Book Awards 2025[41] cross-genre category for And All of Us Were Actors, A Century of Light and Shadow trans. Andrea G. Labinger.

Awards to Literary Texts

·     Finalist International Book Award, 2025,[42] Confieso que escribo/I Confess That I Write, trans. Andrea G. Labinger y Priscilla Gac-Artigas

·     Winner American Legacy Book Awards 2025[43] cross-genre category for And All of Us Were Actors, A Century of Light and Shadow trans. Andrea G. Labinger

·     Finalist American Legacy Book Awards 2025[44] contemporary poetry category for the trilingual collection, deseos/longings/j’aimerais tant trans. Andrea G. Labinger and Priscilla Gac-Artigas

·     Finalist American Legacy Book Awards 2025, nonfiction-creative category for Waiting for the Revolution, Cuba, the Unfinished Journey, trans. Andrea G. Labinger

·     “Ossi di seppia”, premio a una colección de poemas de un autor extranjero. Italia, 2025.

·     Filmscript: CANTO A LA MEMORIA: A POETIC JOURNEY, AN ODE TO MEMORY:

·        Winner in two categories: “Best Feature Script” y “Best True Story Script” (World Film Festival-France. Enero 2025)

·        Silver Award Winner: Hispanic International Film Festival. March 2025.

·     Honorable Mention International Latino Book Award, 2024, hombre de américa/man of the américas, trans. Andrea G. Labinger y Priscilla Gac-Artigas

·     Honorable Mention International Latino Book Award, 2024, Confieso que escribo/I Confess That I Write, trans. Andrea G. Labinger y Priscilla Gac-Artigas

·      Finalist International Book Award, 2023, hombre de américa/man of the américas, trans. Andrea G. Labinger y Priscilla Gac-Artigas

·     Finalist International Latino Book Award 2018, category “best book in translation from Spanish to English” for And All of Us Were Actors, A Century of Light and Shadow trans. Andrea G. Labinger

·     Poetry Park Award, Rotterdam 1989, for “Dr. Zamenhofstraat”

Recognition to his Body of Work

  • Award Coroana de Aur Ovidius, Tomis-Constanza 2024.
  • Award Mihai Eminescu XIII International Poetry Festival, Craiova, Romania, 2024
  • Honored Poet of the 17th Hispanic/Latino Book Fair, Queens, 2023[45]
  • Proclamation from the New York City Council for his outstanding achievements in literature, 2023
  • Citation from the New York State Assembly for his literary career and for his work to keep Spanish alive in the United States, 2023
  • Proclamation from the Municipality of Turrialba, Costa Rica, as a Distinguished Poet 2023

References

  1. ^ Wasem, Marcos (3 July 2016). "Cuando decir "somos París" no basta y otros poemas". Enclave. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  2. ^ Bafile (16 May 2016). "Gustavo Gac-Artigas: escudriñar al mundo con mirada circular". ViceVersa (in European Spanish). Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  3. ^ Benítez, Jorge (1999). Ratón de Biblioteca N° 2. Revista Bibliográfica de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades. Universidad Arcis Editorial LOM. p. 98. ISBN 978-0020020028.
  4. ^ De Gregorio, Alicia (2014). "Boletín Informativo de la Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua Española" (PDF). Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua Española. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2017.
  5. ^ 뉴스, 문화앤피플 (19 May 2025). "[해외작가] 구스타보 가크-아르티가스(Gustavo Gac-Artigas) 시인의 "사랑"". 문화앤피플 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 20 May 2025. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
  6. ^ "Reseña de "Deseos, Longings, J'aimerais tant", de Gustavo Gac-Artigas, por Ana Osan". letralia.com/ (in European Spanish). 22 January 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
  7. ^ Gac-Artigas, Gustavo (8 June 2025). "Gustavo Gac-Artigas artículos en Todoliteratura". Todoliteratura.es.
  8. ^ "Gustavo Gac-Artigas". www.ranle.us. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  9. ^ "Gustavo Gac-Artigas, autor en ViceVersa Magazine". 21 December 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  10. ^ "La necesidad de un enemigo para justificarnos, por Gustavo Gac-Artigas". Letralia, Tierra de Letras. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  11. ^ "Gustavo Gac-Artigas traduit par Priscilla Gac-Artigas". Terre à ciel (in French). 2 October 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  12. ^ "Poemas del escritor Gustavo Gac-Artigas | Letras de Chile" (in Spanish). 7 June 2025. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
  13. ^ "Search Results". Impacto Latino (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 June 2025.
  14. ^ a b Flores, Arturo (1994). "Gustavo Gac o los sueños de un viaje inconcluso". Revista Chilena de Literatura (45).
  15. ^ Obregon, Osvaldo (1983). "Apuntes sobre el teatro latinoamericano en Francia". Cahiers du monde hispanique et luso-brésilien. 40 (40): 17–45. doi:10.3406/carav.1983.1635.
  16. ^ Gac, Valencia, Gustavo, Perla (1974). "El último grupo de teatro popular que actuó en Chile" (PDF). Revista Conjunto # 11. Cuba.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ González Pino, Fontaine Talavera, Miguel, Arturo. Los mil días de Allende (PDF).{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ Santoro, Aghata. "Exilio chileno, cultura y solidaridad internacional". Exilio chileno, cultura y solidaridad internacional. Archived from the original on 1 February 2016.
  19. ^ "The Columbus Egg or Coca-Cola Offers You A Dream Voyage to Latin America". theaterencyclopedie. 23 August 2024.
  20. ^ Orellana Vargas, Patricio. LA REPRESIÓN EN CHILE, 1973-1989 7.7. EXILIO Y DESEXILIO». Probidad en Chile. p. 151.
  21. ^ "Literaire Prijzen". Letterkundig Museum. Archived from the original on 7 February 2016.
  22. ^ a b "Y todos éramos actores, un siglo de luz y sombra de Gustavo Gac-Artigas - Resonancias Literarias -- Revista latino americana, revue litteraire latino-americaine". www.resonancias.org. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  23. ^ a b Catedral Tomada
  24. ^ Gac-Artigas, Gustavo. "Winner of the American Legacy Book Award in cross-genre fiction". Facebook. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
  25. ^ "EE UU., elecciones 2016: ¿El fin de la democracia?". www.efe.com. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  26. ^ elEconomista.es. "EE UU., elecciones 2016: ¿El fin de la democracia? - elEconomista.es". www.eleconomista.es. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  27. ^ "[Le Monde diplomatique - edición chilena]". www.lemondediplomatique.cl. 4 May 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  28. ^ "AND ALL OF US WERE ACTORS | Kirkus Reviews". Retrieved 12 November 2023 – via www.kirkusreviews.com.
  29. ^ "Two Chilean Writers and One Mexican Finalists of the ILBA in Translation Spanish to English". ViceVersa Magazine (in Spanish). 14 June 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  30. ^ Gac-Artigas, Gustavo (1992). Tiempo de soñar. Mosquito Editores. ISBN 978-9562650427.
  31. ^ Gac-Artigas, Gustavo (2016). Era el tiempo de soñar con los pajaritos preñados. Ediciones Nuevo Espacio. ISBN 9781930879669.
  32. ^ Gac-Artigas, Gustavo (1993). E il orbo era rondo. Mosquito editores. ISBN 978-9562650441.
  33. ^ Gac-Artigas, Gustavo (2016). Y la tierra era redonda. Ediciones Nuevo Espacio. ISBN 9781930879683.
  34. ^ Gac-Artigas, Gustavo (2002). El solar de Ado. Ediciones Nuevo Espacio. ISBN 9781930879324.
  35. ^ "010 Waiting for the Revolution: Cuba, the Unfinished Journey (excerpt) | ICH". cervantesobservatorio.fas.harvard.edu. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  36. ^ Gac-Artigas, Priscilla, Gustavo (1999). Directo al grano. Prentice Hall. ISBN 9780130848017.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  37. ^ Gac-Artigas, Priscilla, Gustavo (1999). Sans détour. Prentice Hall. ISBN 9780130220554.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  38. ^ Gac-Artigas, Priscilla, Gustavo (2012). Hoja de ruta, cultura y civilización de Latinoamérica, sexta edición. Academic Press Ene. ISBN 978-1930879607.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  39. ^ Gac-Artigas, Gustavo / Priscilla (2020). Hoja de ruta: cultura y civilización de Latinoamérica. Academic Press ENE. ASIN B08F24NP4T.
  40. ^ Gac-Artigas, Valencia, Gustavo, Perla (1973). ANtología de canciones de lucha y esperanza. Editorial Quimantú, Chile.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  41. ^ "The American Legacy Book Awards". www.americanlegacyawards.com. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
  42. ^ "The American Legacy Book Awards". www.americanlegacyawards.com. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  43. ^ "The American Legacy Book Awards". www.americanlegacyawards.com. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  44. ^ "The American Legacy Book Awards". www.americanlegacyawards.com. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  45. ^ Latino, Impacto (23 September 2023). "La 17a Feria del Libro Hispana/Latina de Nueva York a llevarse a cabo en Queens". Impacto Latino (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 June 2025.
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