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Fernando Vallejo

Born

in Medellin, Colombia

October 24, 1942

Twitter

Fer_Vallejo

Genre

Literature & Fiction, Nonfiction, Biography

Influences

Mariano José de Larra, Azorín, Manuel Mujica Láinez ...more

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Fernando Vallejo Rendón (born 1942 in Medellín, Colombia) is a novelist, filmmaker and essayist, born in Colombia. He obtained Mexican nationality in 2007.

Vallejo was born and raised in Medellín, though he left his hometown early in life. He started studies in Philosophy at the National University of Colombia in Bogotá, but after one year he abandoned the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters. Soon after he began new studies on biology at the Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, which he finished. Then he spent one year in Italy at the film academy Cinecittá, where he obtained basic notions on cinema.

Vallejo then returned to Colombia with the project of filmmaking. Yet after difficulties with the Colombian Government in producing and, after he prod Fernando Vallejo Rendón (born 1942 in Medellín, Colombia) is a novelist, filmmaker and essayist, born in Colombia. He obtained Mexican nationality in 2007.

Vallejo was born and raised in Medellín, though he left his hometown early in life. He started studies in Philosophy at the National University of Colombia in Bogotá, but after one year he abandoned the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters. Soon after he began new studies on biology at the Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, which he finished. Then he spent one year in Italy at the film academy Cinecittá, where he obtained basic notions on cinema.

Vallejo then returned to Colombia with the project of filmmaking. Yet after difficulties with the Colombian Government in producing and, after he produced it, in presenting his first film (it was censored), he decided to leave his country.[citation needed]

In Mexico he produced and distributed three films about the violence in Colombia. He also wrote an award-winning children's theater script, "El reino misterioso o Tomás y las abejas." He has been living in Mexico since 1971, where he not only produced his cinematographic pieces, but also the whole of his literary work. Despite time spent in other locales, mainly Europe and the United States, most of his novels take place in Colombia. Some of his themes are grammar, biology, philosophy, physics, violence, pederasty, adolescence, drugs, death and politics, mostly related to places such as Antioquia and Medellín; yet his main theme is his life. His books are written in first person, in an autobiographical style.

His best-known novel, La virgen de los sicarios, has been translated into English as Our Lady of the Assassins. It deals with his fictionalized return to Medellín, and his relationships with two teenagers caught in the local cycle of violence. The autobiographical/fiction La virgen de los sicarios was made into a full feature film in 2000 and released in the United States as Our Lady of the Assassins.

In 2003, Colombian filmmaker Luis Ospina made a feature-length documentary about him: "La desazón suprema: retrato incesante de Fernando Vallejo ("The Supreme Uneasiness: Incessant Portrait of Fernando Vallejo").

In April 2007, Vallejo obtained Mexican citizenship and published a letter in which he publicly renounced his Colombian nationality. The letter presents the reasons for his decision by mentioning several incidents during his career, among them the recent reelection of President Uribe, that eventually led him to this decision.[1] ...more

Combine Editions
Fernando Vallejo’s books

Average rating: 3.74 · 11,311 ratings · 1,185 reviews · 34 distinct works • Similar authors

	La virgen de los sicarios 3.71 avg rating — 4,620 ratings — published 1994 — 58 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	El desbarrancadero 3.85 avg rating — 1,930 ratings — published 2002 — 30 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	La puta de Babilonia 3.83 avg rating — 1,280 ratings — published 2005 — 24 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Los días azules 4.15 avg rating — 594 ratings — published 2004 — 16 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Memorias de un hijueputa 3.14 avg rating — 575 ratings — published 2019 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mi hermano el alcalde 3.70 avg rating — 301 ratings — published 2007 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	El don de la vida 3.59 avg rating — 246 ratings — published 2010 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Casablanca la bella 3.65 avg rating — 200 ratings — published 2011 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	La Rambla paralela 3.67 avg rating — 188 ratings — published 2000 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	El fuego secreto 3.78 avg rating — 178 ratings — published 1986 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Fernando Vallejo…

Series by Fernando Vallejo

El río del tiempo (5 books)
by

Fernando Vallejo

3.97 avg rating — 1,095 ratings

Quotes by Fernando Vallejo (?)

“…cuando la humanidad se sienta en sus culos ante un televisor a ver veintidós adultos infantiles dándole patadas a un balón no hay esperanzas…”
― Fernando Vallejo, La virgen de los sicarios

tags: esperanza, fútbol, humanidad, televisor

23 likes

“A Dios, como al doctor Frankenstein su monstruo, el hombre se le fue de la smanos.”
― Fernando Vallejo, La virgen de los sicarios

tags: dios, hombre, monstruo

16 likes

“…con eso de que aquí, en este país de leyes y constituciones, democrático, no es culpable nadie hasta que no lo condenen, y no lo condenan si no lo juzgan, y no lo juzgan si no lo agarran, y si lo agarran lo sueltan…”
― Fernando Vallejo

tags: condena, culpable, democracia, justicia, ley

13 likes

See all Fernando Vallejo's quotes »

Polls

What will be our September 2025 Open Pick?

Remember, if you vote for a book and it wins, you are implicitly promising to read the book and participate in the discussion.

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The Morning Star by Karl Ove Knausgård

14 votes, 66.7%

The Abyss by Fernando Vallejo

7 votes, 33.3%

21 total votes

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