Don Segundo Sombra

Don Segundo Sombra

First edition of the book, 1926.
Language	Spanish
Publication place	Argentina

Segundo Ramírez, who inspired Güiraldes to write the novel.

Don Segundo Sombrais a1926novel byArgentinerancherRicardo Güiraldes.LikeJosé Hernández's poem of the 1870s,Martín Fierro,its protagonist is agaucho.However, unlike Hernandez's poem,Don Segundo Sombradoes not romanticize the figure of the gaucho, but simply examines the character as a shadow (sombra) cast across Argentine history.

Unlike the purely fictional character of Martin Fierro, the figure of Don Segundo Sombra was loosely based on and inspired by the real life of Segundo Ramírez, a native of the town ofSan Antonio de Arecoin Buenos Aires Province. The novel was adapted intothe 1969 Argentine film of the same name,directed byManuel Antín.

Ricardo Güiraldes, who was a friend and literary partner ofJorge Luis Borges–they both founded the legendary magazineProa–, managed to develop a simple and modern language for the novel: a mixture of literacy and colourful local expressions that earned him a major standing among the best representatives of "criollismo".

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, Güiraldes designedDon Segundo Sombrato present (or propose) a series of new ethical examples to a youth that Güiraldes considered disoriented and restless during his time.

External links

• Don Segundo SombraatFaded Page(Canada)
• Don Segundo SombraatIMDb