Writing In Spanish - In Iowa

At first when I heard that Roberto Ampuero taught University of Iowa students how to improve their writing in Spanish, it didn't make sense. But when I talked to him for today's Ramblin' column in The Gazette, it makes perfect sense to have a master of fine arts program for writing in Spanish.

"Our idea," Roberto said, "was why not offer an MFA in a country where 45 million people have a close relationship with Spanish?"

Robert, 56, seemed like the perfect person to start up the program, having grown up in Chile and participated in the university's International Writing Program for three months in 1996. He returned to Iowa City in 2000 to earn advanced a degrees and then, in 2005, begin this program.

Ropberto has had a dozen books published in Spanish and translated into a miriad of languages although not into English yet. Despite being well versed in Spanish, German, English and Portuguese, he prefers to write in his native tongue.

And, wow, what an interesting life. Born in Chile, Roberto attended a Germany speaking school. A couple of years after graduating he went to East Germany for a few months and then to Cuba for five years.

In Cuba, Roberto had thought he'd find the perfect social environment under Fidel Castro's regime. But, he quickly learned it wasn't what he thought and it became the basis for his autobiographical novel, "Nuestros Anos Verde Olivo" ("Our Olive Green Years"). "I got in conflict with the Cuban authorities," he said. "I do not want this for my country."

In the next 15 years, Roberto lived in Germany, first in East Germany, then in Bonn in West Germany and then in West Berlin when the Berlin Wall came down in 1989. As a journalist he reported on the event and its aftermath for the Italian News Agency. He recently went back for a month to talk to folks who remembered the event 20 years ago as he works on writing a new novel about it.

Roberto's fun books, however, center around globe-trotting private eye Cayetano Brule. The first was published in 1993 when he won a contest in Chile where first prize was equivalent to about $50,000 in U.S. dollars today and publication of the book. He has since published five more adventures of Brule. He's even had a chef at the Ritz-Carlton in Valparasio, Chile, create special dishes that Brule would eat.

Some day, hopefully soon, Roberto hopes his novels see print in English. I hope so, too. Because, after meeting him, I want to see what this private eye is up to.