Rafael Squirru, Argentine author, Died at 90

  Writers

Rafael Squirru was born on March 23, 1925, and died on March 5, 2016.

He was an Argentine poet, lecturer, art critic and essayist.

After founded the Buenos Aires Museum of Modern Art in 1956, Rafael Squirru went on to champion the cause of Argentine and Latin American art as Director of Cultural Affairs (1960) in the government of Arturo Frondizi.

Among his many actions of that period, Alicia Penalba’s sculptures and Antonio Berni’s etchings were sent to the Sao Paolo and Venice Biennales respectively, both artists obtaining First Prize.

He was the Cultural Director of the Organization of American States (OAS) in 1963 with headquarters in Washington, D.C., he continued his task of promotion of North and Latin American culture until his resignation in 1970.

During that, he supported the construction of the impressive memorial monument to U.S. President John F. Kennedy by Uruguayan artist Lincoln Presno in Quemú Quemú, a vast deserted plain in the Argentine province of La Pampa; his outspoken inauguration speech as official representative of the OAS, pronounced during the military government of General Juan Carlos Onganía, won public acclaim while provoking angry reactions on the part of the authorities present, earning him the local government’s condemnation as persona non grata, revoked a few years later.

Rafael Squirru passed away at 90 yrs old.