SOURCE: Bach, Caleb. “Poet of Shadows on the Pampa.” Américas 54, no. 5 (September-October 2002): 14-21.

In the following essay, Bach explores the biography of Don Segundo Sombra by examining its author, Ricardo Güiraldes, and its inspiration, Segundo Ramirez.

No one could forget his courtesy; it was the unsought, first form of his kindness, the lasting measure of a soul clear as the day. Nor can I forget his bizarre serenity, the fine, strong face, the lights of glory and of death. His hand questioning the guitar as in the pure dream of a mirror (You are reality and I its reflection). I see you conversing with us in Quintana. You are there, magic and dead. Yours now, Ricardo, is the open field of yesterday, the dawn of the stallions.

That is how Jorge Luis Borges paid homage to his friend, the writer Ricardo Güiraldes, in Elogio de...