''Don Segundo Sombra'' is a

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of Viet ...

novel by Argentine rancher

Ricardo Güiraldes Ricardo Güiraldes (13 February 1886 — 8 October 1927)Escuela Normal Superior de Chascomús was an Argentine novelist and poet, one of the most significant Argentine writers of his era, particularly known for his 1926 novel ''Don Segundo Sombra' ...

. Like José Hernández's poem ''

Martín Fierro ''Martín Fierro'', also known as ''El Gaucho Martín Fierro'', is a 2,316-line epic poem by the Argentine writer José Hernández. The poem was originally published in two parts, ''El Gaucho Martín Fierro'' (1872) and ''La Vuelta de Martín Fi ...

'', its protagonist is a

gaucho A gaucho () or gaúcho () is a skilled horseman, reputed to be brave and unruly. The figure of the gaucho is a folk symbol of Argentina, Uruguay, Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, and the south of Chilean Patagonia. Gauchos became greatly admired and ...

. However, unlike Hernandez's poem, ''Don Segundo Sombra'' does not romanticize the figure of the gaucho, but simply examines the character as a shadow (''sombra'') cast across Argentine history. Unlike the character of Martin Fierro, who is purely a fictional creation, Don Segundo Sombra was loosely based and inspired by the real life of Segundo Ramírez, a native of the town of

San Antonio de Areco San Antonio de Areco is a city in northern Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, and administrative seat of the partido of San Antonio de Areco. It is located on the Areco River away from Buenos Aires city, the country's capital. San Antonio de A ...

, in Buenos Aires Province. The novel made it to the big screen in the 1969 Argentine film of the same name, directed by

Manuel Antín Manuel Antín (born February 27, 1926) is an Argentine film director and screenwriter. Manuel Antín was born in Las Palmas, Chaco Province, in 1926. He first wrote for Argentine television in 1956 and made his directorial debut in 1962 with hi ...

. Ricardo Güiraldes, who was a friend and literary partner of

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known b ...

–they both founded the legendary magazine ''Proa'' –, managed to develop a simple and modern language for the novel: a high quality mixture of literacy and colourful local expressions that earned him a major standing among the best representatives of "

criollismo ''Criollismo'' () is a literary movement that was active from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century throughout Hispanic America. It is considered the Hispanic counterpart to American literary regionalism. Using a realist ...

". Even though it may be considered as having a continuity of sorts with '"Martin Fierro"', the protagonist is more than an extinguished gaucho elegy (like José Hernández's character is); instead, ''Don Segundo Sombra'' was designed to present (or propose) a series of new ethical examples to a youth that Güiraldes considered disoriented and restless during his time.

References

External links

* * 1926 novels Argentine novels adapted into films Argentine novels Sombra Sombra Novels set in Argentina {{1920s-novel-stub