MARIO VARGAS LLOSA

TAMARA ROJO

JOSÉ MARÍA CANO

AITANA SÁNCHEZ GIJÓN

MARIO VARGAS LLOSA 

Mario Vargas Llosa, is a Peruvian writer, politician, journalist, essayist, college professor, and recipient of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature, el Premio Cervantes (1994), el Premio Príncipe de Asturias de las Letras (1986), among others.

Vargas Llosa is one of Latin America’s most significant novelists and essayists, and one of the leading writers of his generation. Some critics consider him to have had a larger international impact and worldwide audience than any other writer of the Latin American Boom.

Upon announcing the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature, the Swedish Academy said it had been given to Vargas Llosa “for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual’s resistance, revolt, and defeat”.

Vargas Llosa rose to fame in the 1960s with novels such as The Time of the Hero (La ciudad y los perros, literally The City and the Dogs, 1963/1966, The Green House (La casa verde, 1965/1968), and the monumental Conversation in the Cathedral (Conversación en la catedral, 1969/1975).

As a playwright he has written  La Chunga, La Señorita de Tacna, Los cuentos de la Peste and in 2015 Vargas Llosa made his acting debut at the Teatro Real in Madrid, where he appeared as a duke in Los cuentos de la peste (“Tales of the Plague”), his stage adaptation of Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron.

TAMARA ROJO

Tamara Rojo is a Spanish ballet dancer.

She is the Lead Principal and Artistic Director of the English National ballet

Trained in Madrid at the Victor Ullate School. Galina Samsova asked her to join Scottish Ballet where she danced many principal roles.

She received a personal invitation from Derek Deane to join English National Ballet and within six months was promoted to Principal. Tamara joined The Royal Ballet as a Principal at the invitation of Sir Anthony Dowell shortly after her highly acclaimed Guest Artist debut with the Company in Peter Wright’s Giselle.

Tamara has been repeatedly recognised for her artistic excellence. She won the 2010 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production with Goldberg: the Brandstrup- Rojo Project.

King Juan Carlos has decorated Tamara with Spain’s three highest Honours, The Prince of Asturias Award, the Gold Medal of Fine Arts and Encomienda de Número de Isabel la Católica.

She has also received the Benois de la Danse Award, The Times Dance Revelation of the Year, Critics’ Circle National Dance Award, Barclay’s Outstanding Achievement in Dance Award, Positano Dance Award, Leonide Massine Premio al Valore, the Italian Critic’s Award, and from the City of Madrid, both the International Medal of the Arts and the Interpretation Award.

In January 2016 Tamara Rojo became D.A. Magna Cum Laude, presenting her thesis ‘Psychological Profile of the Elite Dancer – Vocational Characteristics of the Professional Dancer’ at Rey Juan Carlos University and was awarded a CBE for her services to ballet in the Queen’s 2016 New Year’s Honours.

JOSÉ MARÍA CANO

José María Cano  is a Spanish visual artist. In his youth he was a member and principal composer of the Spanish pop-rock band “Mecano”.

He composed songs that would become well known in the Spanish-spoken world, such as Hijo de la luna, Lia, Mujer contra mujer, Me cuesta tanto olvidarte, Aire, Tiempo de vals, Cruz de navajas, Naturaleza muerta, Una rosa es una rosa and several others, which were covered both by Spanish and non-Spanish-speaking singers.

After Mecano separated in 1992, he composed an opera, Luna, which was recorded with Plácido Domingo in the leading role. In 2002 he composed the anthem for Real Madrid also sung by Plácido Domingo. In 2006, he composed an “Our Father” that was sung by Montserrat Caballé during the visit of the Pope “Benedicto XVI” to Valencia. Six years later, he conducted the orchestra at Caballé’s last concert in Madrid.

En su pintura reflexiona sobre el mundo, el poder, la economía, el mercado y la creación artística, los procesos mentales y el desarrollo de las ideas.

Su estilo es crítico; utiliza materiales y técnicas poco convencionales, como la encáustica  entre otras.

AITANA SÁNCHEZ GIJÓN

Aitana Sánchez Gijón is best known for playing dramatic roles in Spain, Aitana Sánchez Gijón is known in the United States for her portrayal of Victoria Aragon, a pregnant and abandoned Mexican-American winegrower’s daughter who is helped by travelling salesman Paul Sutton (Keanu Reeves) in ‘A Walk in the Clouds’ (1995) o Volaverunt  (awarded as Best Actress in  San Sebastián Film Festival).

She has since built a reputation as an international star in films such as Manuel Gomez Pereira’s ‘Boca a Boca’ (1996), Bigas Luna’s ‘The Chambermaid on the Titanic’ (1997), Jaime Chavarri’s ‘Sus Ojos Se Cerraron’ (1998), Gabriele Salvatores’ adaptation of the Niccolò Ammaniti novel ‘I’m Not Scared’ (2003) and Brad Anderson’s ‘The Machinist’ (2004).

In recent years she has focused her career on the theatre where she has played numerous leading roles, (recently La Chunga, ‘Tales of the Plague’, ‘Medea’ (winning the prestigious Valle Inclán Award in 2016) that have established her as one of the most important Spanish actresses of all time.

Between 1998-2000 she was the President of the Spanish Academy of Arts and Cinematographic Sciences.