I was very saddened to learn that one of my favorite Latin American writers, Uruguyan Mario Benedetti, passed away yesterday. A poeta of love and revolutions, Benedetti’s writing led him into exile during Uruguay’s military dictatorship. He later returned to his birthplace. He wrote over 80 books, including la Tregua , which is required Latin American reading in my opinion. Benedetti’s writings have even been turned into films, and I have to admit that my favorite pop culture moment involving him is in the film El Lado Oscuro del Corazon.

“An intellectual’s weapon is writing, but sometimes people react as if it were a firearm. A writer can do a lot to change the situation, but as far as I know, no dictatorship has fallen because of a sonnet,” he said at a conference in 1997.

Hasta siempre…

Via / The Latin Americanist, Reuters