Hernando Urriago Benítez is a poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

 and essay

Essay

An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...

 writer

Writer

A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....

 who was born in Cali

Calì

Calì, also written in English as Cali, is an Italian surname, widespread mainly in the Ionian side of Sicily.For the surname Calì is assumed the origin of the Greek word kalos , or from its Sanskrit root kali, "time."The surname refers to:...

, Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

 in 1974. He studied literature

Literature

Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...

 in Universidad del Valle

University of Valle

The University of Valle , also called Univalle, is a public, departmental, coeducational, research university based primarily in the city of Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia. It is the largest higher education institution by student population in the southwest of the country, and the third in...

 and a Magister in Colombian and Latin American literature

Latin American literature

Latin American literature consists of the oral and written literature of Latin America in several languages, particularly in Spanish, Portuguese, and indigenous languages of the Americas. It rose to particular prominence globally during the second half of the 20th century, largely due to the...

.
His grading thesis

Thesis

A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...

 was about essay writer Baldomero Sanín Cano

Baldomero Sanín Cano

Baldomero Sanín Cano was a Colombian essayist, journalist, linguist, humanist and university professor....

. Urriago Benítez won the National Poetry Prize in 1999.

He currently works in Universidad del Valle with other writers like Carlos Patiño Millán, Fabio Martínez and Oscar Perdomo Gamboa

Oscar Perdomo Gamboa

Oscar Perdomo Gamboa is a writer born in the city of Ibagué, Colombia. Studied Journalism and a magister in Colombian and Latin American literature. Won the Jorge Isaacs award with the novel Hacia la Auora in 1998, a story about a student who can control other people's dreams. The book was...

.

Works

• Esplendor de la Ceniza (Cinder's splendor), 2003.
• Caligrafías del Asombro. 2006, essays
• Caligrafías del asombro: ensayos críticos sobre letras de Colombia y de Latinoamérica, Universidad del Valle, 2006, ISBN 9789586704861
• El signo del centauro: variaciones sobre el discurso ensayístico de Baldomero Sanín Cano, Universidad del Valle, 2007, ISBN 9789586705639
• Hernando Urriago Benítez, Fabio Martínez Cali-grafías, la ciudad literaria, 2008, ISBN 9789586706322, collecting authors like Jorge Isaacs
  Jorge Isaacs
  Jorge Isaacs Ferrer was a Colombian writer, politician and soldier. His only novel, María, became one of the most notable works of the Romantic movement in Spanish literature....
  
  , Andrés Caicedo
  Andrés Caicedo
  Luis Andrés Caicedo Estela was a Colombian writer born in Cali, the city where he would spend most of his life. Despite his premature death, his work is considered one of the most original in Colombian literature...
  
   and José Eustaquio Palacios.