Gioconda Belli, of Northern Italian descent, was an active participant in the Sandinista struggle against the Somoza dictatorship, and her work for the movement led to her being forced into exile in Mexico in 1975. Revista Envío - Women, Poetry, New Nicaraguan Culture Returning in 1979 after the Sandinista victory, Gioconda Belli in 1982 she became FSLN's international press liaison, the director of State Communications in 1984. During that time she met Charles Castaldi, an American NPR journalist, whom she married in 1987. She has been living in both Managua and Los Angeles since 1990. She has since left the FSLN and is now a major critic of the current government.
Education and Kids
Belli graduated from the Royal School of Santa Isabel in Madrid, Spain and studied advertising and journalism in Philadelphia.Belli has four children: Maryam, Melissa, Camilo and Adriana.
In 1988, Belli's book La Mujer Habitada (The Inhabited Woman), a semi-autobiographical novel that raised gender issues for the first time in the Nicaraguan revolutionary narratives, brought her increased attention; this book has been publishd in several languages and it was on the reading list at four universities in the United States; the novel introduces us to two parallel stories: the indigenous resistance to the Spanish and today's insurgency in Central America with various points in common: women's emancipation, pasion and a commitment to liberation. In 2000, she published her autobiography, emphasizing her involvement in the revolutionary movement, El país bajo mi piel, published under the name The Country Under My Skin in the United States; it was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in 2003. Belli continues publishing and maintains that poetry is her most important work. Belli was the recipient of the Premio de Poesía Mariano Fiallos Gil in 1972 and of the prestigious Premio Casa de las Américas in 1978.. In 2008 Belli received the Biblioteca Breve Award for her book El infinito en la palma de la mano (Infinity in the Palm of Her Hand), allegory about Adam and Eve in paradise..
Belli's books have been published in numerous languages.
XXVIII "City of Melilla" International Poetry Award.
"Mariano Fiallos Gil de Poesía" award, Nicaragua 1972.
"Casa de las Americas" award, Cuba, Poesía 1978.
Award of the "Fundación de Libreros, Bibliotecarios" and "Editores Alemanes de la Fundación Friederich Ebhert" in 1989 for La Mujer Habitada, the "best political novel of the year"
"Anna Seghers de la Academia de Artes de Alemania" award, 1989.
"Luchs del Semanario Die Zeit a su libro" award for El Taller de las Mariposas, 1992.
Medal of recognition of the National Theater of Nicaragua for 25 years of cultural labor.
"Internacional de Poesía Generación del 27" award, 2002
"Pluma de Plata" award, Bilbao, 2005.
"Biblioteca Breve Award", 2008.
"Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz Award" for "best novel", International Book Fair in Gudalajara, 2008
