Facundo

Ostensibly a biography of the gaucho barbarian Juan Facundo Quiroga, Facundo is also a complex, passionate work of history, sociology, and political commentary, and Latin America's most important essay of the nineteenth century. It is a study of the Argentine character, a prescription for the modernization of Latin America, and a protest against the tyranny of the government of Juan Manuel de Rosas (1835–1852). The book brings nineteenth-century Latin American history to life even as it raises questions still being debated today—questions regarding the "civilized" city versus the "barbaric" countryside, the treatment of indigenous and African populations, and the classically liberal plan of modernization. Facundo’s celebrated and frequently anthologized portraits of Quiroga and other colorful characters give readers an exhilarating sense of Argentine culture in the making.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.Translated by Mary Peabody Mann with an Introduction by Ilan Stavans

Introduction
Chronology
Suggestions for Further Reading
A Note on the Text

FACUNDO: OR, CIVILIZATION AND BARBARISM

Appendix: Author's Notice from the 1845 EditionAn writer, educator, and activist, Domingo F. Sarmiento was President of Argentina from 1868 to 1874. 

Ilan Stavans is Lewis-Sebring Professor in Latin American and Latino Culture at Amherst College and the author or editor of numerous books.