Alfredo Iriarte

Alfredo Iriarte
Born	1932
Died	2002
Occupation	Historian, Writer
Ethnicity	Colombian

Alfredo Iriarte (1932–2002) was a Colombian historian and writer, author of many short historical and fiction novels and essays. Among his books can be mentioned "Lo que lengua mortal decir no pudo" (1979), "Bestiario tropical" (1986), “Episodios Bogotanos” (1987), “Espárragos para dos leones”, “Batallas y batallitas en la historia de Colombia” (1993), “Abominaciones y denuestos” (1994), “Muertes Legendarias” (1996), and “El jinete de Bucentauro” (2000), his last novel.

Besides his books, Iriarte also made valuable contributions to the correctness and proper idiomatic use of the Spanish language in his newspaper column “Rosario de perlas”, published periodically in the Colombian daily El Tiempo for more than 25 years. He was also a frequent commentator of historical and literary ephemera in the local cultural radio station HJCK.

For his profound knowledge of Spanish and his prolific use of uncommon terms within a particularly rhythmic, hilarious and delightful grammatical correctness (which makes his books difficult to translate), he was recognized as one of the best exponents of an almost vanished and unique vice-regal Bogotano heritage (usually known as “cachaca” society), proud of an erudite literacy and genteel lifestyle and characteristic of the old-fashioned and well-educated Bogotano society of the latter part of the 19th and first half of the 20th century.