He has been well known among intellectual circles in Mexico, Latin America and Spain for years, but his success among a wider readership has grown since receiving the Herralde Prize for his novel El testigo.

As a rock music fan, he was the DJ for the radio program "El lado oscuro de la luna" (the Spanish translation of The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd) from 1977 until 1981.

Palmeras de la brisa rapida: un viaje a Yucatán ("Palm Trees of the Rapid Breeze: A Journey to Yucatan") 1989 is an account of his travels in a part of Mexico known for its Mayan culture.

He covers a wide range of topics, including Andy Warhol, the Rolling Stones, the television series Dallas, the absurdities of publishing children's literature in the United States and an interview with Jane Fonda.

[10] As a rock music fan, Villoro collaborated with Mexican band Café Tacuba on the songs "Sashimi (Corte fino)" and "Laberinto" for the film Vivir mata, directed by Nicolás Echevarría.