Tomás Eloy Martínez awarded Ortega y Gasset Journalism Prize

Argentinian writer Tomás Eloy Martínez has been awarded an Ortega y Gasset Prize for Journalism, the Premio a la Trayectoria Profesional (Professional Career Prize): http://www.elpais.com/articulo/sociedad/Ortega/Gasset/Periodismo/premian/testimo...

great news- I have read 2 of his books- The Tango Singer and The Peron Novel. there is a surrealistic quality to his writing. i think he is fabulous. I have his Evita book to still read.

it is nice when a well deserved award is granted to a special writer.

thanks for the news.

Thanks Bert! I haven't read anything by him but I was given Santa Evita. Perhaps I should start it soon, given your hearty recommendation. I would like to read more about Peronism, especially in the light of our Venezuelan regime.

i did not realize you are in Venezuela. Chavez certainly does promote a cult of personality and looks to the underclass to support his policies. this does smack of some of the Peronist trends.

I happen to work with a psychiatrist who is a huge Chavez fan. while i lean left i also abhor some of Chavez's actions , especially bristling at his anti-semitic remarks. Whenever any government bans freedom of expression-the press- i think this is a tipping point and a sign of desperation.

i love LT- we have the opportunity to share our thoughts and love of literature and reading with people from all over the world.

ciao, mi amigo.

Hello Bert! Funnily enough, I decided to read Osvaldo Soriano's A Funny Little Dirty War which turns out to be set during Perón's 1970s term, when the factions are warring. It is short, unusual and very funny indeed (I'm half way through). It's the second of his novels I've read and I'll certainly be reading more. If you have not read it, I would recommend it since you are a fan of Argentina.

As for Chávez, I'm not convinced that he is a "leftist" leader at all, except in rhetoric. Though he now claims to be a socialist, his policies have little to do with socialism as I understand it and some are more typical of the far right. In reality Chavism has so far proven to be a sort of populist state capitalism couched in socialist demagogy, with growing signs of totalitarianism. I can see why Chávez is popular abroad where the reality of his regime is not so apparent. This is a hot topic here, though probably of limited interest to others reading this thread, so I'll leave it at that. If a thread opens about books on the subject (and there are literally dozens of volumes on Chávez, of all flavours and mostly publshed in English), I might say more!

Happy reading Bert!

a new novel is on the way:
Purgatory

http://www.amazon.com/Purgatory-Novel-Tom%C3%A1s-Eloy-Mart%C3%ADnez/dp/160819711...