Leonardo Padura. Photo: Archivo.

Madrid, Dec 11 (RHC)-- The Casa de América in Madrid begins a series of days of homage to Cuban writer Leonardo Padura, in Author's Week, which will take place from December 11 to 15.

The series will alternate with cinema, literature and colloquiums and will consist of numerous activities related to his work, which will culminate with a conference by Padura himself in the 28th edition of the Author's Week, the organizers indicated.

The opening will be tonight with the screening of the film Vientos de La Habana, by Spanish filmmaker Félix Viscarret, in which the prominent actor Jorge Perugorría plays the role of the detective Mario Conde.

After opening remarks by the director of Casa de América, Enrique Ojeda, there will be a colloquium with Padura himself and the filmmaker Viscarret, among others.

The recognition of the prolific Cuban writer comes from an original idea of the Spanish Agency of International Cooperation for Development (Aecid), which Casa de América has been organizing since 2000, and is christened Author's Week.

Born in Havana in 1955, he won the 2015 Princess of Asturias Award for Literature for his work as a whole, but before that he had already achieved international recognition with his detective novels featuring the detective Mario Conde (Pasado perfecto, Vientos de cuaresma, Máscaras, Paisaje de otoño, Adiós, Hemingway, La neblina del ayer, among others).

He has won several awards such as the Café Gijón, the Dashiell Hammett, the Islas 2000, the Brigada 21 and the Premio de Novela Histórica Barcino, the first of which gave rise to the television series Vientos de La Habana (Platinum Award).

Author of La novela de mi vida, El hombre que amaba a los perros and Herejes, he experimented with adapting his works to the cinema, offering a visual perspective of his captivating stories.

Among these is the film "Return to Ithaca" (2014), directed by French director Laurent Cantet and based on Padura's "The Novel of My Life". The film explores the nostalgia and complexities of life in Cuba through a group of friends who reunite after many years apart.Another Padura film is "Pasaje a la oscuridad" (2006), based on his novel of the same name.

Detective Mario Conde is also the protagonist of the series "Cuatro estaciones en La Habana" (2016), an adaptation of the four novels that make up the series written by Padura. In addition, "Vientos de cuaresma" (2015) is Padura's signature film. The film directed by Félix Viscarret presents Mario Conde investigating the disappearance of a child in Havana, offering a cinematographic vision of the intrigue and complexity of its plots.  According to Casa de América, the tribute is based on the reasoned criterion of highlighting the great creators of Latin American literature of our time.

In previous years, Author's Week has been dedicated to authors of the stature of Isabel Allende, Nelida Piñon, Ricardo Piglia, Álvaro Mutis, Roberto Bolaño or Gioconda Belli. (Source: Prensa Latina)