Paz Rojas Baeza Publishes Memoir About Her Father, Chilean Writer Manuel Rojas

Paz Rojas Baeza, the youngest daughter of renowned Chilean writer Manuel Rojas, has published a new book titled "Manuel, una vida con mi padre" (Manuel, a Life with My Father) as her father would be nearing 100 years old. The book offers a historical perspective on Chile's progressive middle class, featuring notable figures from recent Chilean history. Manuel Rojas, born in Argentina around 1896 to a Chilean father, was largely self-taught after completing preparatory school. He worked various jobs, including managing the printing press at the University of Chile, where he was involved with the publication of its Annals. His prose is considered among the most extraordinary in 20th-century Spanish literature, comparable to that of English-language giants like Joyce or Faulkner. His famous short story, "El vaso de leche" (The Glass of Milk), is lauded as a masterpiece exploring complex human nature, depicting a dignified but impoverished man who receives an unexpected gift of milk. The memoir also touches upon Rojas's family life, portraying him as a disciplined and methodical patriarch, characteristic of a stern generation that expressed affection through words and stories rather than physical embrace. Paz Rojas Baeza presents her father through his daughter's critical yet loyal lens, akin to Cordelia in Shakespeare's play. The book details Rojas's marriages: first to María Luisa Baeza, a poet and professor who died in 1936, and then to Valerie López Edwards, who provided a stable influence. Later, Rojas left Valerie for a student he met in the United States, whom he married in Mexico. Paz Rojas Baeza delicately addresses these personal complexities, notably defending her former stepmother.