Roberto Payró

Roberto Jorge Payró (Mercedes, Buenos Aires, April 19, 1867–Lomas de Zamora, April 8, 1928) was an Argentine writer and journalist.

Payró founded the newspaper "La Tribuna" in the city of Bahía Blanca, where he published his first newspaper articles. He then moved to the city of Buenos Aires where he worked as an editor at the newspaper "La Nación". During this time he had the opportunity of frequently traveling both inside and outside of Argentina.

In 1895, he published a compilation of his articles in the book "Los italianos en la Argentina" ("The Italians in Argentina"). His diaries of travel and impressions gave rise to his novels: "La Australia Argentina (Excursión periodística a las costas patagónicas)" ("Southern Argentina – a Journalist’s Excursion to the Shores of Patagonia"); "Tierra del Fuego e Islas de los Estados" ("The Land of Fire and Islands of the States"); and "En las tierras del Inti" ("In the Lands of the Inti"). He also wrote for "Caras y Caretas", the literary Journal of Fray mocho.

Payró was a correspondent in Europe during the First World War. He participated fervently in meetings with other socialist writers including Leopoldo Lugones, José Ingenieros and Ernesto de la Cárcara.

In Payró's novels one can appreciate the unique ironic language style of the period. He utilized typical people and related common situations, showing the lives of the Italian immigrants ('the feisty creoles'). In his "Divertidas aventuras del nieto de Juan Moreira" ("Amusing Adventures of the Grandson of Juan Moreira") he tells the story of a provincial and his political career.He also wrote historical novels such as "El falso Inca, una serie de cuentos publicados bajo el nombre de Pago Chico" ("The False Inca, a series of accounts published under the name of Pago Chico"). A posthumous work, "Nuevos cuentos de Pago Chico" ("New Tales of Pago Chico"), was published the year following his death.

Novels

* Canción trágica (A Tragic Song), 1900
* Sobre las ruinas (On the Ruins), 1904
* Marco Severi, 1905
* El casamiento de Laucha (The Marriage of Laucha), 1906
* El triunfo de los otros (The Triumph of the Others, 1907
* En las tierras del Inti (In the Lands of the Inti), 1909
* Divertidas aventuras del nieto de Juan Moreira (The Amusing Adventures of the Grandson of Juan Moreira), 1910
* Vivir quiero conmigo (I Wish to Live With Me), 1923
* Fuego en el rastrojo (Fire in the Stubble), 1925
* Alegría (Happiness), 1928
* Mientraiga (As long as we have some), 1928

Historical novels

* El falso Inca (The False Inca), 1905
* El capitán Vergara (Captain Vergara), 1925
* El mar dulce (The Sweet Sea), 1927

Stories

* Pago Chico, (Little Pago), 1908
* Violines y toneles (Violins and kegs), 1908
* Historias de Pago Chico (Stories of Little Village), 1920
* Nuevos cuentos de Pago Chico (New Stories of Little Village), 1929

Journalistic articles

* Los italianos en la Argentina (The Italians in Argentina), 1895, a collection of articles
* La Australia Argentina (Southern Argentina), 1898