Adem s del reconocimiento que recibi por su obra escrita, Carlos Fuentes siempre fue apreciado como uno de los grandes oradores, como un conferenciante cr tico, agudo y generoso al momento de compartir sus ideas y puntos de vista. Hasta el final de su vida, sub a al podio con un salto atl tico, seduc a a su p blico con la brillantez de su s ntesis, con la calidez y la vitalidad de su tono.

A viva voz recopila una serie de conferencias culturales, divididas en tres partes, que hablan intensamente de su relaci n con la literatura nacional y universal, con su propia obra, con sus amigos y con quienes consider sus maestros. Maestros est conformada por textos que desvelan la grandeza de Balzac, Faulkner y Cervantes, y la influencia que tuvieron en su obra. Amigos integra textos sobre la amistad y lo que representaba para l: Lo que no tenemos, lo encontramos en el amigo. Creo en este obsequio y lo cultivo desde la infancia. Estas conferencias hablan de Luis Bu uel, Alfonso Reyes, Julio Cort zar, Fernando Ben tez y Octavio Paz. Finalmente, en Vocaci n, Fuentes vuelve su mirada hacia la historia de sus propias obras literarias y a los principios detr s de su construcci n, las coloca al lado de los acontecimientos relevantes de su poca y cuenta detalles que interesaran vivamente a los amantes de la literatura. Leer A viva voz es asistir al encuentro cercano e ntimo con la palabra de uno de los pensadores m s inquietos y vitales de todos los tiempos. ENGLISH DESCRIPTION Along with the international recognition he received for his written work, Carlos Fuentes was always recognized and respected as one of the greatest speakers, as a speaker who was critical, sharp, and generous when sharing his ideas and points of view. Up until the end of his life, he would ascend up to the podium with an athletic leap, seduce his audience with his gift of synthesis, and with the warmth and vitality of his tone. Speaking Out Loud is a collection of lectures offered by Carlos Fuentes at different times of his life about cultural themes. They are divided into three parts: teachers, friends, and vocation. In them, he speaks intensely about his relationship with literature nationally and universally, about his own works, his friends, and about those he considered his teachers. Teachers is made up of texts that reveal the greatness of Balzac, Faulkner, and Cervantes, and the influence they all had on Fuentes' work. Friends includes texts about friendship and what it meant to him: I think that what we are lacking, we find in our friends. I believe in this gift and I've fostered it since childhood. These conferences speak of Luis Bu uel, Alfonso Reyes, Julio Cortazar, Fernando Benitez, and Octavio Paz. At last, in Vocation, Fuentes turns his gaze towards the history of his own literary works and the principles behind his creation of them; he places them next to relevant events of those times, and narrates details that will vividly interest those who love literature. To read Speaking Out Loud is to be present in a close and intimate encounter with the words and thoughts of one of the most restless and vital thinkers of all time.