Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano was honored last Tuesday with a post mortem honorary doctorate degree from the National University of Misiones (UNaM), in Argentina. A special mention for social and cultural merit was also made in celebration of the 50th anniversary of his most famous publication "The Open Veins of Latin America".

The UNaM awarded the highest distinction, only 18 people have received this honor. "In this special case for the legacy that Galeano has left us with a very important literary production that is still in force," said the rector of the UNaM, Alicia Bohren. The person in charge of receiving the award on behalf of Galeano, who died in 2015, was the director of the Siglo XXI Argentina publishing house and Galeano's publisher, Carlos Díaz. Symbolically, he received the diploma at the virtual event.

"He (Galeano) thought and spoke just as he wrote: concise, to the point, with clarity and without the need for an overly complex use of language to put on airs. This is his award, his recognition, an embrace dedicated to him," said Diaz as he accepted the award. During the ceremony, the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences paid tribute to the lucidity of his ideas and the work of the writer.  

"...From the intellectual point of view, Galeano made a great deconstruction of critical thinking, and allowed us to see that in reality we are not descended from ships, but that we are part of a Latin American, Creole, Latin, mestizo whole, and that is what permeates us as a people."

The tribute was held in honor of "The Open Veins of Latin America", one of Galeano's best known books, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary and remains relevant to the reality of the continent. His work summarizes the history of the region from its colonization to the contemporary era, as well as the history of the exploitation of Latin America's natural resources by the colonial empires of the United Kingdom and the United States.

The ceremony took place on Tuesday, June 15 virtually through the UNaM Transmedia channel and is now available on the UNaM Digital Contents Youtube.