Enrique Izquieta, the man who, at 82 years old, fulfills the dream of writing a book; a crime novel featuring a ‘cynic’

An automatic smile pops out every time you have the camera lens on it. Enrique Izquieta Aráuz He takes advantage of the seconds it takes to change his pose to tell that about 20 years ago he had not had a photo shoot. But his joy is greater because at 82 years of age he is fulfilling a dream that he had pending since his youth: to publish a book. “I am a novice writer at this age”, declares.

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Izquieta talks about his crime novel which he decided to title The cynic. Before, he says goodbye to the photographer and forgets the poses to come out “more beautiful” and dedicates himself entirely to speaking with great lucidity and passion about his recent new son, the first composed of letters.

“It’s a thriller detective ” , says Izquieta, from the comfortable sofa at home. Then, as if it were a movie of The Godfather, recounts the plot of his novel. Says the book features Juan Fernando Valterra, a millionaire banker and investor who decides to flee the country, after some problems with the law. His destination is Miami, where he looks for places to keep his illicit money. “In that journey begins a persecution full of deaths, hitmen and even steals money from a Colombian boss (compromising the Government of his country)”, says the author.

“There is a female character called Gigi, who captivates him, makes him fall in love …”, he adds.

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He mentions that the book began to be carried out during the confinement of the pandemic, that is how he interspersed his confinement between shaping history, playing the piano, reading, walking in the space of his home thinking what else to polish, erase what has been written and write again. “This book is the product of the confinement due to the pandemic, of a character who had it drawn in mental sketches … I was shaping it, I was giving life to the characters, as cynical that he is, he is crossed by a couple of girlfriends who do you use?, he points out.

He anticipates the ending a bit and warns that it is not a happy ending. “There is a hidden, mysterious ending, so that the reader can believe what happened to those six people who are chasing him and threatened with death”, indicates.

Izquieta is a musician and composer, his other hobby, He says. You have created participating topics in the OTI Song Festival. He has composed for artists such as Nelson Ned, Fernando Allende, Marco Antonio, Marisela, Pepe Jaramillo, Hilda Murillo, among others.

“For me, writing a song is much easier than making a book”He points without hesitation. However, he says that he is already building mental characters for a possible second part and that he already has another “almost ready” book.

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And it is that for him, this experience with writing was to return to something that was waiting for him inside. “It was back to my younger years when I was at the San Gabriel school in Quito, when I liked to write stories and I liked to read literature. All that is stored on a mental hard drive … “, manifests.

Izquieta talks about dreams and going after them, he takes a pen and to confirm it he writes it as a dedication in his physical book. He also expresses that he hopes to be an example for the elderly to whom he calls to stay active and continue to aspire to things. “I do not like to lie on a sofa … which is what some retirees do, withdraw from the world and call the grim reaper nothing more …”.

The The official launch of his work is scheduled for December 10 at the lobby del MAAC. For the moment, The cynic It is available in the Scientific, Spanish Bookstore, in Mr. Books and in Sodibooks, in Cuenca. It has a cost of $ 20. (I)