This book leads me to reaffirm that Rocío Durán-Barba is one of the most remarkable authors in Latin-American literature today, and the most remarkable among Ecuadorian writers without a doubt. She has achieved this rank thanks to each one of the novels she has written. Furthermore, the poetry, which underlies this novel, leads me to talk about her as a poet. Her poetry illustrates a work of a personal quest, searching for her Ecuadorian roots. It leads me to consider Rocío Durán-Barba, to some extent, as the spiritual daughter of Jorge Carrera Andrade, nothing less. It is what I have recently said in an interview with Radio France International. However, one should not imagine that she is inspired or seeking to follow the famous poet in her own poetry because this is not the case. The poems of Rocío Durán-Barba carry her signature; they are original; they succeed in capturing the reader’s attention to put together, over several pages, a story. She has her style. She does not use too many, or too few words. Her inspiration is personal and pure, her work intense and tireless, the work of a wordsmith.

The public knows two exceptional collections of poems by Rocío Durán-Barba. I personally have the honor of knowing some others, that have appeared in certain magazines, including Nací en un cráter, a marvelous book which was chosen in June 2006 by the International Chamber of Poets and Writers of Brittany to be studied and translated by translation workshops organized by this Institution –work edited in May 2007 by the city of Saint-Malo–; and other sets of poems which have not been published: Ecuador and Ciudad-lago that I have personally translated into French; and a book of poems, some of which have been published in Quito by the magazine América, under the title Lo sagrado. Rocío’s poetry allows me to claim that she represents one of the great figures of today’s poetic scene in Ecuador. To conclude, I would like to congratulate Ecuador, a country with which I have a special relationship and I have had the pleasure of visiting many times. Congratulations for this book, which restores its image, congratulations for being able to count on the talent of Rocío Durán-Barba, who has become a true ambassador of Ecuadorian letters.