Rolf Blomberg, writer. Guayaquil, 1934.
Rolf Blomberg, writer. Guayaquil, 1934.

Blomberg, Rolf (Stockholm, 1912 - Quito, 1996)

Rolf Blomberg was born in Sweden on November 11, 1912. He was an explorer, naturalist, writer, photographer and filmmaker. He was a pioneer in the protection of nature and the defense of Human Rights. He made important contributions in countless fields, ranging from biology to journalism. In 1934 he arrived for the first time to the Galapagos Islands and Ecuador. This expedition was followed by a lifetime of travels and chronicles over almost fifty years. In Sweden, Blomberg's continuous lectures helped Scandinavians to get to know remote places such as Ecuador in an era without television and other current technological advances. His bond with Ecuador was strengthened by the union with his two Ecuadorian wives. The first one was writer Emma Robinson Perez, who died in 1952. With the second, the Guayaquilean painter Araceli Gilbert, he married in 1955. After living intermittently in Sweden and Ecuador, he settled definitively in Quito in 1968, until his death on December 8, 1996.

Literary work by Rolf Blomberg

 

  • "Underliga människor och underliga djur" (Strange People and Strange Animals). Gebers, Stockholm, 1936.
  • "Högkvarter hos huvudjägare " (Headquarters with Head hunters). Gebers, Stockholm, 1938; Tidens Forlag, Stockholm, 1951.
  • "Tropisk urskog" (Tropical Jungle). Gebers, Stockholm, 1940; Folket i Bild, Stockholm, 1952.
  • "Sydvart" (Southbound). Gebers, Stockholm, 1947.
  • “Nya Smålands upptäckt" (Discovering New Småland). Gebers, Stockholm, 1948.
  • "Vildar" (Savages). Gebers, Stockholm, 1949 / 1954; Tidens Bokklubb, Stockholm, 1956; Allen and Unwid, London; Bokforlaget Bra "Bocker, Germany, 1969; Abya Yala, Quito - Ecuador, 1996.
  • "Såna djur finns” (Such Animals Do Exist). Gebers, Stockholm, 1951; Tidens Bokklubb, Stockholm, 1956; Tiden Norsk Forlag, Oslo, 1959; Tidens Bokklubb, Stockholm, 1970.
  • "Ecuador, Andean Mosaic". Gebers, Stockholm, 1952.
  • "Guld att hämta" (Buried Gold and Anacondas). Gebers, Stockholm, 1956; Carit Andersens Forlag, Copenhagen, 1956; Eberhard Brockhaus Wiesbaden, Germany, 1957; Demzuz, Moscú, 1958; Allen and Unwin, London, 1959; Folket i bild, Stockholm, 1959; Editorial Juventud, Barcelona, 1964; Tidens Bokklubb, Stockholm, 1965; Iskry, Warsaw, 1966; Obzor Bratislava, 1968; Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana, Quito, 2002.
  • "Xavante". Gebers, Stockholm, 1958; Tidens Bokklubb, Stockholm, 1960; Allen and Unwin, London, 1960.
  • "Jätteormar och skräcködlor" (Giant Snakes and Fearful Lizards). Gebers, Stockholm, 1959.
  • "Latitud 0°". Gebers, Stockholm, 1960; Tiddens Bokklubb, Stockholm, 1963.
  • "Äventyr i djungeln" (Jungle Adventures). Folket i bild, Stockholm, 1962.
  • "Människor i djungeln" (Jungle People). Gebers, Stockholm, 1964; The Book Club, Stockholm, 1966.
  • "Mina Tropiska öar " (My Tropical Islands). Gebers, Stockholm, 1965.
  • "Rio Amazonas". Gebers, Stockholm, 1966.
  • "Imbabura". Gebers, Stockholm, 1967.
  • "Träd" (Trees), text by  Artur Lundqvist and photographs by  Rolf Blomberg. Bokförlaget Bra Böcker, Stockholm, 1973.
  • "Bufo blombergi". Iskry, Warsaw, 1973.
  • "Tropisk utsikt" (Tropical Views). Awe/Gebers, Oslo, 1976.

 

 

Film work by Rolf Blomberg

(Production Company: SF Svensk Filmindustri / Copyright: SVT - Swedish Television)

 

  • "Vikingar på sköldpaddoarna" (Vikings on the Turtle Islands). Director: Rolf Blomberg. Format: 35mm. Length: 10' 25''. Location: Galapagos, Ecuador. Year: 1936.
  • "I kanot till huvudjägarnas land" (By Canoe to the Head Hunters Land). Director: Rolf Blomberg. Format: 35mm. Length: 12' 5''. Location: Amazonia, Ecuador. Year: 1936.
  • "Ormar och orangutanger på Java" (Snakes and Orangutans in Java). Director: Rolf Blomberg. Format: 35mm. Length: 8' 4''. Location: Indonesia. Year: 1939.
  • "Den stora urskogsön" (The Big Jungle Island). Director: Rolf Blomberg. Format: 35mm. Length: 8' 48''. Location: Indonesia. Year: 1939.
  • "Erik Lundquist, en svensk skogskarl på Borneo" (Erik Lundquist, A Swedish Forester in Borneo). Director: Rolf Blomberg. Format: 35mm. Length: 09' 45''. Location: Indonesia. Year: 1939.
  • "Strandhugg pa Sundaöarna" (Walking on the Beaches of the Sunda Islands). Director: Rolf Blomberg. Format: 35mm. Length: 13' 57''. Location: Indonesia. Year: 1946.
  • "Svenskt i Australien" (Swedish in Australia). Director: Rolf Blomberg. Format: 35mm. Length: 5' 53''. Location: Australia. Year: 1946.
  • "Quito, en stad med kontraster" (Quito,  A City of Contrasts). Director: Rolf Blomberg. Format: 35mm. Length: 13' 10''. Location: Ecuador: Ecuador. Year: 1949.
  • "Galapagos". Director: Rolf Blomberg. Format: 35mm. Length: 11' 17''. Location: Ecuador. Year: 1949-50.
  • "Imbabura”. Director: Rolf Blomberg. Format: 35mm. Length: 8' 58''. Location: Ecuador. Year: 1949-50.
  • "Panamahattar, som inte görs i Panama" (Panama Hats, Not Made In Panama). Director: Rolf Blomberg. Format: 35mm. Location: Ecuador. Year: 1949-50.
  • "Olja i urskogen" (Oil in the Jungle). Director: Rolf Blomberg. Format: 35mm. Length: 12' 33''. Location: Amazonia, Ecuador. Year: 1949-50.
  • "Indianer på svärdfiskfångst" (Indians on Swordfish Catch). Director: Rolf Blomberg. Format: 35mm. Length: 18' 12''. Location: Ecuador. Year: 1951-52.
  • "Anaconda". Director: Torgny Anderberg / Expedition leader: Rolf Blomberg. Format: 35mm. Location: Amazonia, Colombia. Year: 1954.
  • "Jangada". Three episodes about the Opera in Manaus, Amazonian Indians and a fishing village. Directors: Rolf Blomberg & Torgny Anderberg. Format: 16mm. Location: Brazil. Year: 1958.
  • "Äventyr bland huvudjägare" (Adventures Among the Head Hunters). Director: Torgny Anderberg / Expedition leader: Rolf Blomberg. Format: 35mm. Location: Amazonia, Ecuador. Year: 1958.
  • "Blommor i Ecuador" (Flowers of Ecuador). Director: Rolf Blomberg. Format: 16mm. Length: 7' 34''. Location: Ecuador. Year: 1961.
  • "Galapagos, ett reportage av Rolf Blomberg" (Galapagos, A Report By Rolf Blomberg). Director: Rolf Blomberg. Format: 16mm. Length: 18'. Location: Ecuador: Ecuador. Year: 1961.
  • "Inkaättlingarnas land" (The Land of the Inca Descendants). Director: Rolf Blomberg. Format: 16mm. Length: 21' 55''. Location: Peru. Year: 1962.
  • "Urskogsindianernas vite vän" (The White Friend of the Jungle Indians). Two episodes about the Albert Schweitzer Amazon Hospital. Director: Rolf Blomberg. Format: 16mm. Location: Amazonia, Peru. Year: 1962.
  • "Jibaros, ett djungelfolk" (Jibaros, The Jungle People). Director: Rolf Blomberg. Format: 16mm. Length: 30' 3''. Location: Amazonia, Ecuador. Year: 1963.
  • "Balsa" (Balsa Wood). Director: Rolf Blomberg. Format: 16mm. Length: 26' 46''. Location: Ecuador. Year: 1965.
  • "Jaramijó, en ecuadorianskt fiskeby" (Jaramijó, An Ecuadorian Fishing Village). Director: Rolf Blomberg. Format: 35mm. Length: 9' 7''. Location: Ecuador. Year: 1965.
  • "Pedro, en indianpojke" (Pedro, An Indigenous Boy). Director: Rolf Blomberg. Format: 16mm. Length: 20' 15''. Location: Ecuador. Year: 1965.
  • "Djungeltripp: besök i Coloradoindianernas urskogsdomaner i Ecuador" (Jungle Trip: to the Domains of the Colorado Indians). Reporter: Rolf Blomberg. Format: 16mm. Length: 27' 38''. Location: Ecuador. Year: 1967.
  • "Alfredo från Guayaquil" (Alfredo of Guayaquil). Director: Rolf Blomberg. Format: 16mm. Length: 21' 37''. Location: Ecuador: Ecuador. Year: 1968.
  • "Indianer är de människor?" (Are Indians People?). Five episodes on the indigenous issues. Directors: Rolf Blomberg & Torgny Anderberg. Format: 16mm. Location: Latin America. Year: 1969.
  • "Jakt på Inkaguld" (In Search of Inca Gold). Two episodes about the Inca treasure. Directors: Rolf Blomberg & Torgny Anderberg. Format: 16mm. Location: Ecuador. Year: 1969.