Publisher's Synopsis
Martin Fierro, the argentine poem, has been subject to numerous ideology biased interpretations. This appropriation, sometimes outrageous, has spurred the discussion whether Martin Fierro or Domingo F. Sarmiento's Facundo should be considered in orderto bring the Argentine society into a just, peaceful civil terrain. To read Quiroga Lavié's biography of José Hernández means delving into the mind of an earnest, law abiding scholar, that nevertheless falls into the same trap of romanticizing the roguish characteristics with complete disregard of the fact that Martin Fierro's advise to his sons, along his eldest son experience in jail, constitute a clear lesson and plead to abide by the law. It is true that José Hernández was a political man, however, and in spite of the author's own experience, Martin Fierro is more the racconto of a man's growth into civilization -including some denunciations of bigotry and abuse of the law- than a clear cut elegy of a "noble savage". To read Martin Fierro and Quiroga Lavié's work is a good way of understanding the forces that difficult Argentina's possibilities of becoming a reliably predictable society.
