Alfredo Iriarte

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Alfredo Iriarte (1932-2002) was a Colombian historian and writer, author of many short historical and fiction novels and essays. Among his books can be mentioned "Lo que lengua mortal decir no pudo" (1979), "Bestiario tropical" (1986), “Episodios Bogotanos” (1987), “Espárragos para dos leones”, “Batallas y batallitas en la historia de Colombia” (1993), “Abominaciones y denuestos” (1994), “Muertes Legendarias” (1996), and “El jinete de Bucentauro” (2000), his last novel.

Besides of his books, Iriarte also made valuable contributions to the correctness and well idiomatic use of the Spanish language in his newspaper column “Rosario de perlas”, published periodically in the Colombian diary El Tiempo for more than 25 years. He was also a frequent commentator of historical and literary ephemeredes in the local cultural radio station HJCK.

For his profound knowledge of the Spanish and the prolific use of uncommon terms within a particularly rhythmic, hilarious and delightful grammatical correction (what makes his books hard to translate), he was recognized as one of the best exponents of an almost vanished and unique vice royal Bogotan heritage (usually known as “cachaca” society), proud of erudite literacy and gentle lifestyle, proper only of the old fashioned and well educated Bogotan society of the late part of the 19th and first half of the 20th century.