Hugo Gutiérrez Vega


Hugo Gutiérrez Vega was a Mexican poet, lawyer, writer, academic, actor and translator. In addition to his writings, Gutiérrez Vega, a career diplomat, served as Mexico's Ambassador to Greece from 1987 to 1994, which included concurrent accreditation as Ambassador to Cyprus, Lebanon, Moldova, and Romania. His diplomatic postings influenced his literary writings. In an October 2007 interview with La Jornada, Gutiérrez noted that he had written one book in every foreign city in which he had lived, including Washington D.C., Rio de Janeiro, London, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. His poetry has been translated into English, French, Italian, Greek, Portuguese, Russian and Romanian.
He was also a professor of Humanities and the Social Sciences at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Biography

Hugo Gutiérrez Vega was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, on February 20, 1934. He received his Doctor of law from the Autonomous University of Queretaro in Querétaro City. He also studied English literature at a university in Michigan, Italian at the University of Rome, and sociology in London.

Career

Gutierrez was a career diplomat within the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs. He served as a cultural attache and adviser at the Embassy in Rome, the Embassy of Mexico, London, the Embassy in Madrid, and the Embassy of Mexico, Washington, D.C.. He served as the Mexican Ambassador to Greece from 1987 to 1994, with concurrent accreditation at Ambassador to Cyprus, Lebanon, Moldova and Romania. He also held the position of consul general of Mexico in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Additionally, Gutiérrez conducted special missions for UNESCO to Iran and the former Soviet Union.
Most recently, Gutiérrez had served on the board of directors of La Jornada, where he also oversaw and directed the newspapers cultural supplement, La Jornada Semanal.
Gutiérrez died from a long illness in Mexico City on September 25, 2015, at the age of 81.

Awards and honors