On October 5, well-known Brazilian prose-writer Pablo Cuelo will visit
Armenia by the invitation of the Armenian National Education and
Culture Union. Pablo Cuelo, considered one of the most influential
writers of the past century, was born in Brazil in 1947. His work has
been translated in 68 languages and published throughout 150 countries
in the world.
Over 51,000,000 million books have been sold. In 1973, the young writer
joined the “Alternative Literary Union” and got arrested for his
differing views. In the 1980s, during a tour around Europe, he visited
the Dacha concentration camp. This visit was of major significance in
his life and directed the writer towards Christian culture and values.
His book “The Alchemist” published in 1985, is the best-selling book in
Brazil, some European countries, the U.S. and Australia. The next books
“The Pilgrimage”(1987), and “Crying by the Pietra river” (1994) made
the writer even more famous.
Only $1,000,000 dollars has been paid for the copyright of the book
“The Fifth Mountain”. The novels entitled “The Guide for the Militant”
(1997) and “Veronica decided to die” (1998) were also multi-million
selling books. Alongside the many novels, Cuelo also writes columns for
leading newspapers and includes his short-stories in the web-site.
Documentaries about Cuelo have been filmed in Brazil, France, Canada,
America, Germany and Russia. Author of many books Cuelo has received
many international awards, including France’s Honor of Legion (1999),
and the German writer Bambi award (2001). In 2002, the writer has
received the “World Artists” award in Frankfurt, Germany.
Cuelo will visit Armenia with the staff of the “Paolo Cuelo” institute,
journalists and the Russian and Ukrainian publishers. As stated by the
director of the Armenia branch of the Armenian National Education and
Culture Union, certain cultural organizations have spread
misinformation connected with Cuelo’s visit.
“There are some cultural organization/pick-pocketers, who try to raise
their ratings by doing something as cheap as pick-pocketing,” said L.
Galstyan. This refers to the organizers of the “HyeFilm” festival who
have recently announced the following during a press conference: “Cuelo
is our honorable guest and he is coming here to read lectures for us.”
Meanwhile, during the two-month long conversations with Pablo Cuelo,
the writer has stated nothing about reading lectures.
Cuelo will stay in Armenia until October 10. The guests will stay at
the “Europe” hotel. His Holiness Garegin the 2nd and President Robert
Kocharyan will welcome them on October 6-7. The writer will meet with
students of the state university, he will meet with intellectuals, tour
around Yerevan, visit Tsitsernakabert, Vernisazh, he will be taken to
Garni, Geghard, Sevan, Haghartsin, Tsakhkadzor and he will participate
in the celebration in Oshakan dedicated to Translators’ Day. On October
6th, he will be present at the sale of his Armenian translated book
“The Alchemist” at the Writers’ Union. Funding for the book’s
translation has been made possible by the Armenian National Education
and Culture Union. The book has been translated in Western-Armenian
(Khachik Muradyan) and Eastern-Armenian (Artak Vardazaryan). The
translation has been done with the use of Russian. In addition, the
copyright for translation of “The Alchemist” belongs to the Armenian
National Education and Culture Union. “They have bought the copyright
at a “symbolic price”,” says owner of the Union’s Armenia branch.