Haroldo Conti (May 25, 1925–1976) was an Argentine writer, screenwriter, teacher and Latin professor. On May 5, 1976 he disappeared during the Proceso de Reorganización Nacional military dictatorship, on this day the "Día del Escritor Bonaerense" (Day of the Buenos Aires writer) is held in his honour.
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Conti was born in Chacabuco, Buenos Aires. He was the son of Petronila Lombardi and Pedro Conti, who was the founder of the Chacabuco [[Peronist party.[1] He studied Philosophy at the University of Buenos Aires, he finished his studies in 1954 and wrote the film La bestia debe morir ("The beast must die").
In 1955 he married Dora Campos and together they had two children: Alejandra and Marcelo.
Conti had a passion for the Tigre river and the Paraná Delta, it features in several of his works and in 1960 he built a boat, El Alejandra, which he used on the Tigre river.
In 1962 he published his first novel Sudeste ("South-East"), which won the Fabril award and appeared on the Primera Plana best-sellers list in 1963. In 1964 his book of short stories Todos los veranos ("All the Summers") received the second Premio Municipal.
In 1967 his book Alrededor de la jaula ("Around the cage") won an award at the Veracruz University in Mexico.
Between 1967 and 1976 he taught Latin at Liceo Nacional Nº 7 in Buenos Aires. In the early 1970s he travelled to Cuba to attend the Casa de las Américas. He continued to win prizes and awards for his work and in 1975 his novel Mascaró, el cazador americano ("Mascaró, the American hunter") won the Casa de las Américas Prize.
Around October 1975, Conti was warned that his name was included on a list of "subversive agents" compiled by the military. After the military coup in 1976 he was arrested in his shop on 1205 Fitz Roy street, Buenos Aires. In 1979, three years after his disappearance, the ministry of education sent a letter claiming that Conti had retired in order to "carry out various tasks". He is currently included on the list of permanently disappeared.
On May 5 the "Día del Escritor Bonaerense" (Day of the Buenos Aires writer) is held in his honour. An number of his works have been made into films including "Crecer de golpe" (1977), based on "Alrededor de la jaula" and "Sudeste" (2003).
In 2002 a telefilm of his story, "Los perfumes de la noche" directed by Santiago Palavecino was broadcast.