<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>Several books dedicated by Mario Vargas Llosa or Carlos Fuentes and a first edition of the work <em>Yo el Supremo </em>were deposited this past Tuesday in the Caja de las Letras of the Instituto Cervantes as part of the legacy ‘in memoriam’ of Augusto Roa Bastos, considered the most important Paraguayan author of the 20th century and who received the Cervantes Prize in 1989.</strong></h4> The delivery of the legacy, held at the headquarters of the institution in Madrid, was attended by Luis García Montero, director of the Institute; Mirta Roa, director of the Roa Bastos Foundation and daughter of the writer, and Justo Pastor Apodaca Paredes, ambassador of the Republic of Paraguay, among other guests. This is the first Paraguayan writer to enter the Caja de las Letras. García Montero highlighted the recognition of a writer who “was an example in favour of freedom and human rights” both in his country and in exile, as reflected in all his work, conceived as “a reflection on power”. “I remember the words of Roa Bastos when speaking of <em>Yo el Supremo</em>: ‘The reader will have noticed that, unlike usual texts, this book has been read first and written later. ’ Only reading the past can help us write the future,” García Montero continued. Likewise, the director of the Cervantes highlighted the importance of the Guaraní language in the work of the Paraguayan author. “Spanish has been made and is enriched in dialogue with other languages and, in America, with original languages such as Guaraní. For this reason, this act is also a recognition of a bilingual country where languages are interrelated,” said García Montero, who recalled that the Cervantes is preparing a translation into 28 indigenous languages of the poem <em>Grito hacia Roma</em> by Federico García Lorca, for the next Book Fair in Guadalajara (Mexico). For his part, the Paraguayan ambassador to Spain celebrated this deposit in number 903 of the Caja de las Letras, which allows the work of Roa Bastos “to return to lands that have received him so generously.” “In difficult times for this writer, Spain granted him nationality and a passport so he could continue to travel around the world,” recalled Justo Pastor Apodaca. The legacy has included three books dedicated to Roa Bastos by their authors, including <em>Los jefes</em>, by the Nobel Prize winner for Literature Mario Vargas Llosa; <em>Las buenas conciencias</em>, by the Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes, and <em>Los exiliados</em>, by the Paraguayan novelist Gabriel Casaccia, which show the “affection, love and admiration” they felt for the creator of <em>Hijo de hombre</em>. According to the Paraguayan writer's daughter, the three books mentioned belonged to Roa Bastos' personal library and were recovered 40 years after having “wandered through different cities”, when they were already considered lost. In addition, the legacy includes a first edition of <em>Yo el Supremo</em> (inspired by the life of the former dictator of Paraguay between 1814 and 1840, José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, and which this 2024 celebrates 50 years of publication), a jacket and glasses, as well as a handwritten letter addressed to his father Lucio Roa and another to his daughter, Mirta. A poem, a score of the song <em>Siempre</em> (a guaranía with lyrics by the novelist himself) and a photograph have also been delivered. Roa Bastos (Asunción, Paraguay, 1917-2005), a narrator and poet, participated in the Chaco War between his country and Bolivia, an experience that he used for his novel <em>Hijo de hombre</em> (1960), which covers one hundred years of Paraguayan history. He worked as a journalist, lecturer and professor and is also the author of works such as <em>El pollito de fuego</em> (1974), <em>Lucha hasta el alba</em> (1979), <em>La vigilia del almirante</em> (1992), <em>El fiscal</em> (1993), <em>Contravida</em> (1995) and <em>Madame Sui</em> (1995).
