José María Ridao

Guest of the ilb 2003

The diplomat, essayist and writer José María Ridao was born in Madrid in 1961.  After completing a degree in Law and Arabic studies he entered the diplomatic service in 1987.  In the following years his work took him to Angola and Equatorial Guinea as an embassy counsellor and to Moscow as a consul.

Ridao does not regard literature and politics as being fundamentally different things.  He feels close to authors such as Günter Grass and quotes Manuel Azaña, president of the Spanish republic from 1936 to 1939, by way of explanation for how he sees his own role: "History is the highest level of our culture".  Ridao proves himself a keen analyst and eloquent critic, who, in his work, uses poetic means to examine the root causes of thought patterns that have formed our present culture.

His most recent book 'El pasajero de Montauban' (2003; Engl: The Traveller of Montauban) is at once an essay and a fictional travel report, whose title is another reference to Azaña.  Ridao traces the footsteps of prominent intellectuals who have travelled in Spain – alongside Azaña for example Walter Benjamin – in an attempt to revise current Spanish discourse, which Ridao himself describes as historical pasticcio.  The novel 'El mundo a media voz' (2001; Engl: The World in a Hushed Voice), to be published in German translation next year, is the story of a man who researches his family history to find out why his grandfather emigrated to Angola.  His discoveries fall short of his expectations – he does not find the endangered Franco opponent that he had imagined his grandfather to be, but instead a picture of a convinced colonialist comes together.  Ridao writes on the loss of innocence with great narrative talent.  His prose is precise and subtle; it has occasionally been associated with the Spanish realism of the 50’s and 60’s.

His essays were first published in various newspapers, including in 'El País'.  A collection was published under the title 'La desilusión permanente' (Engl: The Permanent Disappointment) in 2000.  Further essay collections followed.  Ridao started writing at an early age but did not publish his first novel until 1998 ('Agosto en el Paraíso'; Engl: August in Paradise).  One year later the short story collection 'Excusas para el doctor Huarte' (Engl: Excuses for Doctor Huarte) was published.  Ridao decided to end his diplomatic career in 2000 so as to devote himself to writing.  He now lives in Madrid.

© international literature festival berlin