BIOGRAPHY
JORGE ARMENTEROS was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1961, two years after the communist revolution. His family opposed the political climate and sought asylum abroad. After enduring a year of surveillance by the regime, they abandoned their belongings and arrived in Madrid as political refugees. Shortly thereafter, the United States granted his family entry, and they transited through Tampa before settling in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Armenteros made history as the first student in his high school to be admitted to Harvard University, despite possessing limited English proficiency. Upon his admission, he pursued several electives in Spanish and Latin American Literature from esteemed scholars while concurrently completing his biomedical engineering degree. Upon graduating cum laude, he chose to return to San Juan, his adopted hometown, to pursue medical studies at The University of Puerto Rico.
During his medical school years, he made the decision to take a year-long hiatus to pursue a Master of Arts in Spanish and Latin American Literature at New York University, where he had the privilege of studying under esteemed professors such as Antonio Regalado, Jose Hierro, and Aurora de Albornoz. Upon successfully completing both his Master of Arts and Doctor of Medicine degrees, he embarked on a residency in psychiatry at Bellevue Hospital in New York City, followed by a subspecialty training in child psychiatry. Subsequently, he transitioned to Columbia University, where he established a research career in the field of psychopharmacology.
Over the years, Jorge amassed a substantial body of research projects, published numerous articles in medical journals, and held professorships. In 2012, he decided to pursue an MFA in creative writing at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he graduated in 2012.
Jorge’s literary aspirations led him to become the author of seven novels, including the 2015 International Latino Book Award-winning work, “The Book of I.” Other notable titles in his literary repertoire include “AIR,” “The Roar of the River,” “The Spiral of Words,” “Touch That Which We Cannot Possess,” “We Are Not But We Are,” and “The Curvature of an Absence.” His author interviews and book reviews have been featured in esteemed publications such as The Writer’s Chronicle, American Book Review, Rain Taxi, and Gargoyle Magazine.
Currently, Jorge resides in the South of France with his wife, whom he has been married to for over three decades. And when there is a free minute in the day, he composes and plays jazz pieces for his concert flute.