Background

Aparaín was born on July 28, 1949, in La Macana, Uruguay.

Career

Aparaín's works, translated into several languages, includes several volumes of short stories, for example, Querido Charles Atlas and El canto de la Corvina Negra, and Terribles Ojos Verdes, the latter received the Juan Rulfo Award from Radio France International in 2002.

In his novel, The Ballad of Johnny Sosa, Aparaín tells the story of Johnny Sosa, a poor and toothless musician who lives in a small village, called Mosquitos, where he plays in the local brothel. He dreams of becoming famous and hearing his music on a popular radio station. When he happens to meet a radio announcer who introduces him to orchestral arranger Maestro Di Giorgio, he believes his dream may come true soon. However, Di Giorgio is working with a would-be dictator, the Colonel, who has just taken over the government of Uruguay, and the Colonel's sponsorship comes at a price. Although the Colonel pays for some false teeth for Sosa, this totally changes his appearance. Sosa's friends are arrested or harassed, and when he decides that he doesn't want to work for the Colonel after all, the Colonel comes after him to retrieve the teeth he paid for, as well as Sosa's guitar.

He wrote with the Chilean writer, Luis Sepúlveda, the book titled The worst stories of the Grim brothers, published in 2004. In 2011 he published his novel, The Man from Brussels, and in 2015 Tango del viejo marinero. His latest book, A Dog Without a Name, was published in 2017.

In the period 1990-1995 Aparaín was Director of Arts and Sciences of the Department of Culture of the Municipality of Montevideo. In 2011, he was declared an Illustrious Citizen of that city.

Achievements

• Aparaín first became well known in Uruguay for his short stories, which depict the contrast between Uruguayan country and city life. He stands out for his prose, which has weight and imagination, and for his very incisive humor.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Los peores cuentos de los hermanos Grim

    (Spanish Edition)

  • La Ballade de Johnny Sosa

    (French Edition)

    1987
  • Une histoire de l'humanité

    (French Edition )

  • Februarmond

    (German Edition)

Connections

colleague:

Luis Sepúlveda Calfucura

Sepúlveda was the author of poetry books and short stories; in addition to Spanish, his mother tongue, he spoke also English, French and Italian.

References

• Contemporary Authors Volume 221
  2004