"I think cinema is closer to allegories than to reality. It's closer to our dreams."

"My stories are very somber, so I think I need the comic ingredient. Besides, life has so much humor."

"Contrary to what Kafka does, I always like to refer all of my fictions to the level of reality, He, on the other hand, leaves them at an imaginary level."

"I don't think humor is forced upon my universe; it's a part of it."

"Ironically, Latin American countries, in their instability, give writers and intellectuals the hope that they are needed."

"We should try to understand our innermost needs. We shouldn't use irony to reduce their power."

"Teaching is a good distraction, and I am in contact with young people, which is very gratifying."