Rodrigo González-Rojas was born in Santiago, Chile, in 1948, and graduated from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile’s Faculty of Communications.  In 1971, he won first prize in a screenwriting competition for the script for his short film Caperucita. As a multi-disciplinary artist, he participated in the unforgettable years of the Popular Unity movement, which backed Salvador Allende’s campaign for the presidency. In 1974, he earned what he called “the Pinochet bursary” and went into exile in Montreal, where, the following year at the NFB, he directed the first segment of the three-part film  Il n'y a pas d’oubli.

As an author, stage director, actor, mime and filmmaker, Rodrigo was an active participant in Montreal’s cultural scene, joining Latino and Quebecois theatre companies, for both adults and children. These included La Barraca, La Cucaracha, Horizones, La Zizanie, Théâtre-mime Kaos and Théâtre-mime Kosmos. He wrote nearly two dozen plays and published just as many novels and short-story collections. His passion for writing was not diminished despite his having Alzheimer’s disease, and he continued to write about this “other” life for five years after his diagnosis. The final curtain fell on March 15, 2020, when Rodrigo died at home, having performed on the great stage of life with love, creativity, courage and dignity.

Information provided by Clara C. Verhas-Breyne.