Sergio Ramírez

Sergio Ramírez was born in 1942 in the community of Masatepe, in the municipal district of Masaya, Nicaragua. In 1963, he published his first book, entitled Cuentos, and the following year he graduated from law school. In 1964 he married and the couple emigrated to Costa Rica, where they remained until 1973. For the next two years they lived in Berlin on a DAAD scholarship, and then returned to Costa Rica until 1977. He played an active role in the resistance against the dictator Somoza and, following the triumph of the Sandinista revolution and their rise to power, and after holding various posts, he was elected vice-president of the country in 1984, alongside President Daniel Ortega. He became world-famous in 1998 when he won the Alfaguara Prize. He continues to write for numerous magazines and newspapers across the Spanish-speaking world and to publish his novels and essays. A democrat and reformist, he soon became persona non grata within the party. In 2017, he won the Cervantes Prize. In 2021, he was accused of money laundering and incitement to hatred, and an arrest warrant was issued for him; however, he managed to reach Spain, where he lives to this day as a Spanish citizen.