On October 24, Javier Ortiz Cassiani, the Colombian writer and historian, gave a lecture «A Journey Along the River of Words: Manuel Zapata Olivella, Candelario Obeso and Afro-Colombian Literature" ("Bogando en un río de letras: Manuel Zapata Olivella, Candelario Obeso y la literatura afrocolombiana") with the support of the Embassy of the Republic of Colombia. Irina Kraeva, MSLU rector, addressed the audience noting the importance of studying Colombian literature, since it is the custodian of cultural traditions and the most important link between eras and peoples. Immersing into the literary experience of Colombia will contribute to understanding and respect between our peoples. Ms Kraeva also recalled the contribution of MSLU to the popularization of Afro-Colombian literature in Russian acknoledging commitment of the creative team of the Department of Spanish for translating stories by Manuel Zapata Olivella "Who Blamed Oswald?" ("¿Quién dio el fusil a Oswald?") and "Stories of Death and Freedom" ("Cuentos de muerte y libertad").

Mr. Hector Isidro Arena Neyra, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Colombia to the Russian Federation, thanked MSLU for organizing the event, and highly appreciated our students` excellent command of the Spanish language.

Javier Ortiz Cassiani dwelled on the origins of Afro-Colombian literature, as well as about its formation using the example of two of the most prominent authors of this movement: Manuel Zapata Olivella and Candelario Obeso. The speaker emphasized the need to understand the historical context when reading and studying the works of Afro-Colombian literature. The speaker also paid special attention to the most important linguacultural aspects of this literary movement: phonetic, lexical and syntactic features inherent in people with African roots of that time, numerous references in the works to the gods of various African tribes, which in many cases allowed the authors to create a unique conceptual apparatus in their works.

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