Julio Cortazar

He was twice married in his lifetime. The first was to Aurora Benardez, an Argentina translator in 1953. The relationship did not last long and the couple separated in 1967 due to his infidelity.

Same time, he became involved with Lithuanian Ugne Karvelis. The two were deeply in love but never married. It was Ugne who instilled in him the interest in politics.

He finally tied the knot with Canadian Carol Dunlop. She served as his soul mate until her death in 1982, following which he was taken care of by his former wife, Aurora Bernandez. Bernandez supported him right through his illness and later life.

Julio Cortazar was born to Julio Jose Cortazar and Maria Herminia Descotte in Belgium, Brussels. His family, originally belonging to Argentina, relocated to Zurich shortly after his birth.

For two years, the family moved around Europe, settling at various cities including, Zurich, Geneva and Barcelona. The family finally settled at Buenos Aires in 1919.

After his parents separated, young Cortazar spent much of his time with his mother and younger sister. He was raised in the Banfield area of Buenos Aires. Since he was a sickly child, he spent much of his time bed reading. It was then that he developed a liking for the works of Jules Verne.

Academically proficient, he completed his formal education and by the age of 18, obtained a qualification as an elementary school teacher. He took up studying philosophy and languages later on from the University of Buenos Aires but did not graduate from the same.

He took up a profession in teaching and served as the teacher in two high schools based in the cities of Chivilcoy and Bolivar.

In 1938, he came up with a volume of sonnets that he published under the pen name Julio Denis. However, he rebuffed this work of his later on.

In 1944, he took up as a professor of French literature at the National University of Cuyo. Five years later, he came up with a play titled, Los Reyes, which was based on the myth of Theseus and Minotaur.

Since he had an opposing line of belief as compared to the government of Juan Domingo Peron, he moved to France where he spent the rest of his life.

In 1951, he came up with a collected volume of short stories titled, ‘Bestiario’. The following year, he started working as a translator for UNESCO. He completed numerous works including Spanish interpretation of the works of Robinson Crusoe, Marguerite Yourcenar and Edgar Allan Poe.

Michelangelo Antonioni movie ‘Blow-Up’ is an adapted version of the short story ‘Las Babas del Diablo’ written by this famed Argentinian writer.