January 16, 2004

From staff reports

Famed Mexican author and scholar Carlos Fuentes will visit the University of Houston campus Feb. 11 to deliver the annual Farfel Distinguished Lecture.

Known for such praised novels as “The Old Gringo” and “Terra Nostra,” Fuentes will speak on “The Creative Spirit as a Force for Humanism.”

In his speech, Fuentes will examine how the modern West was inaugurated by Renaissance Humanism, the meaning of humanism today and how creativity contributes to humanism.

Fuentes earned his law degree from the National University of Mexico and pursued studies at the Institut des Hautes E’tudes Internationales in Geneva.

His works include many screenplays, dramas and short stories, which have garnered acclaim from both Mexican and American critics.

A recipient of the National Prize in Literature, Mexico’s greatest literary achievement, Fuentes is one of the most recognized political figures of the Spanish-speaking world.

The Farfel Lecture will be presented at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11, in UH’s Moores Opera House, Entrance 16 off Cullen Boulevard.

Tickets will be distributed on a first come, first served basis and are limited to the first 700 people. For more information, please call (713) 743-2255.