Juan Carlos Onetti was one of the greatest Uruguayan writers and journalists. After growing up in an environment where he did not finish high school and had to work in various jobs, Onetti traveled to Buenos Aires in 1930, upon marrying his first wife. Once in Argentina, he began to publish film reviews and collaborate in magazines.
After his divorce, Onetti returns to Uruguay, although he travels regularly to Argentina, where he maintains good relations. During these years, Onetti never stops writing despite not finding facilities to publish. In 1936, he unsuccessfully tried to enlist in the International Brigades to participate in the Spanish Civil War.
From 1939, he began working for the Marcha magazine and published his first book, El pozo (1939). In 1941, he joined the Reuters Agency and in 1950 published La vida breve, considered his best novel, a foundational book of Santa María.
In 1975, he decided to settle in Madrid, distancing himself from the military dictatorship established in Uruguay. He continues writing and in 1980 is nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. That same year, he receives the highest accolade in Hispanic letters: the Cervantes Prize. He also garnered other awards, such as the National Literature Prize of Uruguay or the Narrative Criticism Prize.
In 1993, his last novel was published: Cuando ya no importe, in which he closes the universe created around Santa María.
Onetti died in Madrid in 1994.
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