Biography of Eduardo Galeano

(1940-09-03 - 2015/04/13)

Eduardo Galeano
Eduardo German Hughes Galeano
Uruguayan writer

He was born on September 3, 1940 in Montevideo in a family of Catholic and high class with Spanish, English and German descent.
Son of Edward Hughes Roos and Licia Esther Galeano Muñoz.
He started in journalism by publishing drawings and political cartoons with the pseudonym of Gius in the Weekly El Sol. He worked as a Messenger, pawn, collector, stenographer and bank cashier. He was the Chief Editor (1960-1964) the weekly March and Editor of the newspaper era.
In 1973 when President Bordaberry ceded part of the political power to the Armed forces, went into exile in Argentina, where he directed the magazine Crisis. In 1976 he moved to Spain and return to his country in 1985, when Julio María Sanguinetti assumes the Presidency.
Among his books are: the following days (1963), the open Latin American veins (1971), which, since its publication, it has become a classic of Latin American political literature, days and nights of love and war (1978) and memories of the fire (1986), trilogy that combines elements of poetry, history and story, and that formed the births (1982) , Faces and masks (1984) and the century of the wind (1986), and which was awarded by the Ministry of culture of Uruguay and also with the American Book Award, a distinction awarded by the Washington University.
He was awarded the Casa de las Américas Prize in 1975 and 1978; Prize of the Ministry of culture of the Uruguay, 1982, 1984, 1986, and the Danish editors in 1993 Aloa award. In 1999, was the first writer awarded by the Lannan Foundation (Santa Fe, USA) with the prize for cultural freedom; Stig Dagerman 2010 Award and award letters 2013 ALB.
In 2004, Galeano gave its support to the Broad front Alliance led by Tabaré Vázquez. In 2005, along with Tariq Ali and Adolfo Pérez Esquivel among others binds to the Advisory Committee of the recent Latin American network TeleSUR, and in January 2006, along with Gabriel García Márquez, Mario Benedetti, Ernesto Sábato, Carlos Monsiváis and Pablo Milanés amongst others demand sovereignty for Puerto Rico by signing the proclamation of independence.
In April 2009, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez gave a copy of "The veins open of Latin America," US President Barack Obama during the 5th Summit of the Americas, held in port Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.
He married three times, first to Silvia Brando, with whom he had a daughter, then with Graciela Berro Rovira with whom he had two children and finally with Helena Villagra.
In February 2007 it was operated and treated to fight lung cancer. Eduardo Galeano passed away on Monday, April 13, 2015, at 74 years of age, in Montevideo. The previous Friday he entered a hospital as a result of lung cancer.