Haberkorn on Uruguay

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Dear reader

There’s a new book about Uruguay by Leonardo Haberkorn, entitled MILICOS Y TUPAS.

A came across a rather long blurb in Spanish outlining the content at http://www.ellibrouruguayo.com/milicosytupas/?page_id=43 – but my Spanish is too basic to get the full meaning. A short description on Latin Hub – www.latinhub.com.au - tells us:

"En "MILICOS Y TUPAS" Leonardo Haberkorn narra la historia de tres protagonistas de la guerra entre las Fuerzas Armadas y el Movimiento de Liberación Nacional Tupamaros: un militar y dos guerrilleros."

Even I can understand that sentence. For anyone at all interested in the Tupamaros urban guerrilla movement, this is a must read to understand the past and present of Uruguay.

Now get this. Leonardo Haberkorn has also written The Hitler Dynasty, in which he tracks down a number of Uruguayan men named Hitler.

Apparently, Uruguay has a tradition of naming children after current events:

“We've all heard about the cultural tradition some places have for naming kids after famous figures without reference to good taste or how it will impinge on their life prospects (although last I heard it was the Indian state of Meghalaya where people were calling their kids Lenin and Switzerland and Frankenstein and Barrister). But Peruvian journalist Haberkorn actually took the next step, tracking down a bunch of Uruguayan men named Hitler to see how it had affected their lives. Uruguayans have a tradition of current events-relevant naming, which means there is a bunch of old Uruguayan men born in the Thirties whose village parents had heard this guy was making waves but not yet that they were kind of bad waves, and voila.“ (http://www.librarything.com/work/9913440/reviews)

Hmm…I've heard about some weird baby-naming practices but not that particular one.

Bye for now

Guapita

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