Mario Lamo-Jiménez

Mario Lamo-Jiménez is a writer, editor and translator who has won several literary prizes in Colombia, Spain, and the United States. His work has been published in those three countries. Simon and Schuster recently published 50 of his poems for children for their Spanish Reading Program "Literatura Abremundos" and also published his nonfiction book for children "Giant Dinosaurs of South America". His fiction book in verse for children "El día de la ecología" (Ecology Day) was recently published by Panamericana and is being sold in Colombia and the United States. This year, 4 of his poems were chosen to be part of McGraw-Hill/SRA's Spanish Open Court Reading, along with two of his children's books.

His most recent short story, titled "Nadie se muere la víspera," was chosen as a finalist in the "Tanatocuentos" contest in Madrid, Spain. According to the contest organizers, "387 texts from Spain, other European countries, the U.S., and every country in Central and South America" were considered. The stories were judged for "literary quality, structure, treatment of the concept of the funeral rites, and originality of approach." His story was published in January by "Adiós" magazine from Madrid, along with the contest winners and other finalists. "Nadie se muere la víspera" was published last November by "Sherezade", an online magazine edited by Spanish professors at Princeton and Manitoba Universities.

In 1987, his short story "La espera" won the short story contest sponsored by the Latino Newspaper of Washington, D.C. "La piñata más grande del mundo" written in verse, was a finalist in the juvenile theater category of the Colcultura contest in 1992. One of his novels received second prize from the Novela Plaza y Janés contest in Colombia, and was a finalist in the Bienal de Novela José Eustasio Rivera. "Héroes sin guerra," a theater play he wrote, was a finalist in the Letras de Oro theater contest sponsored by the University of Miami. He has also published several books, short stories, and poems for children in the U.S. and Colombia. Additionally, he has published Spanish translations of English literature, the most recent example being "La lagartija esmeralda" (The Emerald Lizard) by Pleasant DeSpain, a collection of Latin American tales which includes "El hombre caimán" (The Alligator Man) from Colombia.

In addition to these literary endeavors, Mario has directed several documentaries: one about Latin migration to Washington, D.C. for the Smithsonian Institution, another for the Latino festival in Washington, and a third on Cuban music. In his 1990 documentary film "El son cubano en Washington", he had the opportunity to interview Compay Segundo and Elíades Ochoa of the Cuarteto Patria and film them performing their music. He produced three documentaries for Bogota's Institute of Culture and Tourism: "Los muiscas de Suba," "La Soledad en clave de sol," and "Arte, artesas y artesanos." His photography and video work received a Mention of Honor from the Washington Post in its video contest of 1989, Second Place in its video contest of 1990, and Third Place in its photography contest of 1990.

Mini-biography

Mario was born in Bogotá, Colombia and received a Bachelor of Philosophy and Letters from Colegio Mayor del Rosario, and a degree in Anthropology from Uniandes. He went on to study at the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont, where he received a Masters in Intercultural Administration. He currently directs an editorial company in California.