Spanish Translation Blog

Ernesto Sabato, unknown to many, a hero to a few.

On May 2^nd 2011, the world was cheering, waving flags, climbing trees, singing and dancing in the streets.Why?…You might ask. Well, because Osama bin Laden, the most wanted man in the world had been brutally murdered.  Now, let’s back up a little bit and take a trip down south….way down south, to a city that stole my heart from the first time I stepped off the airplane: Buenos Aires, Argentina. During all this madness dealing with Osama… the conspiracy theories, was it wrong or was it right, was this justified, etc., etc., while in the midst of this craziness, there were a few well educated philosophers, writers, poets and intellectuals gathered around small antique cafes throughout the beautiful city of Buenos Aires celebrating the life of one of their own. Celebrating the life of someone who has been through what they have been through, seen what they had seen, but most importantly…lived through the political chaos that plagued Buenos Aires for so many years, and was brave enough to open the world’s eyes to what was going on in this majestic city and country.

Ernesto Sábato was born on June 24, 1911 in a small province right outside Buenos Aires, but it would not take him long at all to start making his mark on this world. In his early teens he became involved in the effervescent intellectual atmosphere of the Argentinean capital as it grew vertiginously and entered the modern world. He would soon discover the growing communist movement, but deep down he always knew that theses teachings were not for him. During his teen years Ernesto was living in La Plata, about 45 minutes away from the capital of Buenos Aires. Here he got his first glimpse of the meat slaughtering and packaging business that was ramped in Argentina. It disgusted Ernesto to see how these animals and how the workers in these plants were treated, living in slum conditions, no running water…these things deeply disturbed Ernesto. It was at this point Ernesto discovered his talent of bringing modern day truths to the surface for the public to see. There is no better way of doing this besides writing. So yes, that’s exactly what he did.

During Ernesto’s day, spreading his word outside of the Spanish speaking community was virtually impossible. Now, thanks to human translation services, the world can see through this visionary’s eyes. Ernesto exposed the harsh realities of what was going on in Argentina. He showed through his writings how thousands of Argentine youths were simply disappearing because they chose to speak out against the government. Ernesto wrote for human rights. He wrote for the betterment of humanity. He had a dream, and through translations, the world can now read these same dreams. The next time you are browsing through your local bookstore, pick up a copy of One and the Universe, The Tunnel, Men and Gears, or my personal favorite Before the End.

Ernesto Sábato, winner of the Cervantes literary prize, winner of virtually every single Hispanic writing award, an accomplished painter, but most importantly…a human rights activist. Maybe you have never heard of him, but now because of translations you can know him as I have learned to know him. You will not be disappointed. You can find his books published in almost every major language spoken.