Todos est�bamos a la espera, publicado originalmente en 1954, es el primer libro de cuentos de �lvaro Cepeda Samudio y una obra fundamental de la narrativa colombiana del siglo XX. En estos relatos, ambientados entre Colombia y Estados Unidos, el autor explora la soledad, la espera, la infancia, el amor y la alienaci�n a trav�s de personajes suspendidos en un tiempo incierto. Con una prosa experimental, marcada por el mon�logo interior y la fragmentaci�n narrativa, Cepeda Samudio construye historias de gran fuerza po�tica que anticipan el boom latinoamericano y dialogan con la literatura moderna anglosajona.
Este libro marc� una ruptura con el costumbrismo rural predominante en la literatura nacional de la �poca, introduciendo un modernismo urbano y universal influenciado por autores norteamericanos contempor�neos como Hemingway. La mayor�a de los relatos fueron escritos durante la estancia del autor en Nueva York, ciudad que �l mismo describi� como un espacio de "soledad sin soluci�n" donde los personajes, a menudo an�nimos, comparten el sentimiento de la espera y la angustia. Utiliza una prosa experimental, fragmentos y mon�logos interiores que anticiparon el boom latinoamericano.
El m�rito de estos cuentos radica en c�mo abordan tem�ticas como la soledad, la sexualidad, la interioridad, la condici�n de la mujer, la marginaci�n, el poder y la relaci�n con el otro en la ciudad moderna, todo desde un punto de vista personal y con complejas t�cnicas narrativas. Que el autor situara sus ficciones en lo urbano resulta secundario, pues en La casa grande regresar�a al mundo rural; aun as�, Cepeda Samudio encarna el esp�ritu de una ciudad din�mica y pujante. Su postura vital, forjada como periodista, publicista, vendedor, compositor y director de cine, le permiti� explorar mundos diversos.
Cepeda Samudio, Álvaro: - A renowned writer and journalist from Barranquilla, he is remembered for his chronicles, columns, and reports that appeared in newspapers such as El Nacional and Diario del Caribe, where he served as director. His topics encompassed film, politics, literature, and social issues. He also distinguished himself as a short story writer, and in 1954 a compilation of his stories was published in the book Todos estábamos a la espera (We Were All Waiting). This was followed by his novel La casa grande (The Big House) (1962) and a second compilation titled Los cuentos de Juana (Juana's Stories) (1972). Film was another of his great passions: he filmed three documentaries about Barranquilla and the short film La langosta azul (The Blue Lobster) (1954). Cepeda Samudio's literary work is praised for its expressive and well-structured language, as well as for the originality of his stories. He was a member of the Barranquilla Group and a precursor of the Latin American Boom, which emerged in the mid-20th century.
Fuenmayor, Gonzalo: - Gonzalo Fuenmayor (b. 1977, Barranquilla, Colombia) is a Miami-based visual artist known for his monumental charcoal drawings that explore the legacies of empire, ornament, and cultural hybridity. His lush, baroque compositions merge tropical iconography with Western symbols of power-chandeliers, columns, velvet drapery-creating surreal juxtapositions that question notions of identity, exoticism, and historical memory. Fuenmayor's work has been widely exhibited in the United States, Latin America, and Europe, including solo shows at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and Galería El Museo in Bogotá. His drawings are held in major collections such as the Pérez Art Museum Miami and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. He is the recipient of the 2024 South Arts Southern Prize, a 2022 Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, and the 2020 EFG Latin American Art Award. His first monograph, Tropical Burn (DelMonico Books, 2023), spans over a decade of his practice.
