11:59 | Chiclayo, Mar. 13 (ANDINA).
Peruvian authorities in the northern Lambayeque region have declared 2011 as the celebration year of 100th anniversary of the birth of Peruvian writer and ethnographer Jose Maria Arguedas.
According to an ordinance published today in state newspaper El Peruano, all official documents must contain the phrase "Centennial Year of Jose Maria Arguedas Altamirano's Birth."
Arguedas was born on January 18, 1911, in Andahuaylas, Peru. His father was an itinerate lawyer who traveled the countryside, and Arguedas's mother died when he was three.
Arguedas is less well-known than contemporaries like Gabriel García Márquez or his friend Mario Vargas Llosa, but his deep understanding of Peru's indigenous people has established his place among Latin America's most respected writers.
Arguedas chronicled the social, economic, cultural and linguistic transformations wrought by urbanization and the massive migrations of highland Indians to Peru's coastal cities.
Arguedas's fiction drew heavily from his accomplishments in ethnography and his intimate knowledge of Peru's history and geography.
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Publicado: 13/3/2011