Emma Reyes

(1919 - 2003)

Born into poverty in Bogotá in 1919, Emma Reyes and her sister grew up in a convent for orphan girls, where they were locked away and forced to work long hours. She escaped at nineteen and eventually found her way to Paris, where she made a life as a painter. In the 1940s a Colombian historian encouraged her to write her life story. Thirty years later, he showed her work to novelist Gabriel García Márquez, who phoned Reyes to say how much he enjoyed it. She was furious, saying her confidentiality had been violated.

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