“I’m a writer, obsessed with remembering, with remembering the past of America and above all that of Latin America, intimate land condemned to amnesia.” Said Eduardo Galeano about himself.

If you have a penchant for South America, you should discover the words and world of Eduardo Galeano for yourself. I had never heard of Galeano until I stumbled across his quote about a kiss and a glass of wine. Given the beauty of his quote, I decided to look a bit deeper.

He was born in Montevideo, Uruguay – a place I visited once. And a place, despite my short stay, I will never forget. I will never forget the shadows, the smell of warm cherries, the dull shine of dark, polished wood throughout – not from the care of a dust cloth; the shine the result of hands that have caressed the wood over thousands of days.

It was a café on the corner, across the street.  It was large, somber, vibrant. And no matter what time of day I went inside, there was always a handful of people sitting at one of the mismatched tables. Depending on the slant of the sun’s rays through the dust-covered panes, either a cortado or a small glass of ruby-red wine was in front of these regular guests, Gerardo Matos Rodriguez’ tango sounding from the small speakers, filling the room with a tin-like richness. Contradictory right? Dark, light, vibrant, melancholy, musical, the essence of how I perceived Uruguay, and the parts of South America I saw and felt and heard.

That café is a space I imagine Eduardo Galeano sat hours in, and wrote. Two of his books we would like to recommend:

Children of the Days: Galeano illuminates the humanity and barberity of our species through a year’s worth of daily vignettes of unknown heroes.

Soccer in Sun and Shadow: Galeano says this of the beautiful game: “when good soccer happens, I give thanks for the miracle and I don’t give a damn which team or country performs it.” The beautiful game deserves a beautifully told story – this is it, and belongs to the top 100 sports books ever written.

Uruguayan Tango found on iTunes  La Cumparsito by Orquesta Matos Rodriguez

Books by Eduardo Galeano best found at your local independent bookstore. If they don’t have it in stock, ask them to order it. Give them a chance. 

A deep red wine best found at myowncuvee.com to drink while reading Galeano and listening to Rodriguez.

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