Posted by adir ferreira
Pablo Neruda was born on July 12th 1904 in Parral, Chile and died on September 23rd 1973 in Santiago de Chile. His real name was Neftalí Reyes Basoalto and, besides being a poet, he was a translator and a diplomat. He won the Nobel Prize of Literature in 1971 and his writing has strongly influenced Latin American writing and acquired universal value. He wrote one of Chile’s most varied and rich literary works.
He wrote a self portrait titled Autorretrato and it is a very rich source of Spanish language learning. Read it out here.
You can also listen to and read Neruda’s acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize here
Here are some of his quotes:
“I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride; so I love you because I know no other way.”
“Love is so short, forgetting is so long.”
“A child who does not play is not a child, but the man who doesn’t play has lost forever the child who lived in him and whom he will miss terribly.”
“And one by one the nights between our separated cities are joined to the night that unites us.”
“You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming.”
See you next time!
Posted by adir ferreira
Mario Benedetti was born in Uruguay and is not well known in the English-speaking world, but he is considered one of Latin America’s most important living writers. He lived in Argentina, Bolivia, Cuba and Spain from 1973 to 1985, during a military dictatorship in Uruguay. Nowadays he divides his time between Montevideo and Madrid.
Benedetti has always been politically-oriented and, in January 2006, he joined other renowned figures such as Gabriel García Márquez, Ernesto Sábato, Thiago de Mello, Eduardo Galeano, Carlos Monsiváis, Pablo Armando Fernández, Jorge Enrique Adoum, Pablo Milanés, Luis Rafael Sánchez, Mayra Montero and Ana Lydia Vega, to demand sovereignty for Puerto Rico and join the Latin American and Caribbean Congress for the Independence of Puerto Rico, which approved a resolution favoring the island-nation’s right to assert its independence.
If you want to read some more about Mario Benedetti’s life and work, check out the following website.
Palabras Verdaderas
His profile on the Cervantes Virtual Library
(http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/bib_autor/mbenedetti/)
Some of his short stories, in Spanish
Nos vemos prontito!
Posted by adir ferreira
Have you ever heard of Manolito Gafotas? Manolito is a series of kids’ books written by Spanish author Elvira Lindo. They tell the story of Manolito in the district of Carabanchel, in Madrid. Manolito is a common kid and his stories are written with lots of humor and tenderness. These stories started on the radio, then became books, and were eventually adapted as movies and a TV series. It’s a good read and I highly recommend it. Here’s a link to one of the stories, Manolito tiene un secreto (Manolito has a secret), (http://www.literaturas.com/02infantiljuvenilelviralindo2002.htm), check it out, you won’t regret it! You can also buy his books and DVDs in the USA. Post your comments and tell us what you think!
Nos vemos prontito.
