“Soñé despierto con esos papeles, y veía ya en mis manos el primer ejemplar del librito empastado en rojo oscuro, casi negro, y que cabía en el bolsillo de la chaqueta. Todo libro debería caber en el bolsillo; hay que llevarlo, tiene que ser manual, para leerlo al pie de los árboles, al lado de las fuentes, en donde nos coja el deseo. Un libro bueno tiene que ser manoseado, vivir con uno, pasear con uno. En fin, este amor ilegal por los libros se apoderó de mí y no me dejó dormir, como una muchacha que hubo en casa, cuando yo era joven...”
Fernando González Ochoa was a Colombian writer and existentialist philosopher known as "el filósofo de Otraparte" (The Philosopher from somewhere else). He wrote about sociology, history, art, moral, economy, epistemology and theology in a magisterial and creative way, using different genres of literature. González is considered one of the most original writers of Colombia during the 20th century. His ideas were controversial and had a great influence in the Colombian society at his time and today. The González work was the inspiration of Nadaism, a literary movement founded by one of his disciple, Gonzalo Arango. The Otraparte Villa, his house in Envigado, is today a museum and the headquarters of the cultural foundation to preserve and promote his legacy. The place was declared a National Patrimony of Colombia in 2006.