Colombian writer Antonio Mora Velez, who was an enthusiastic pioneer of science fiction literature in Latin America and the most prolific author of the genre in his country, died at the age of 81 on Saturday, May 18,
at his residence in La Castellana neighborhood, in Monteria, department of Cordoba (Colombia).
Born in Barranquilla on July 14, 1942, Mora Velez stood out as a storyteller with his novels and books of short stories, but he also wrote poetry and essays. He graduated from the José María Córdoba National School in Montería, where he lived since 1956. His performance in the school placed him as the best high school graduate in Colombia.
He obtained a law degree from the University of Cartagena, was a professor at the University of Cordoba and a member of the Academy of History of Cordoba, as well as one of the founders of the University Corporation of the Caribbean (Cecar), the Art and Literature Group El Túnel, the National Union of Writers and the National Parliament of Writers, of which he was its first honorary president (2003).
