


Hernández's fiction often explores the secret vitality contained in inanimate objects. This fact can be seen in a letter by Cortázar to Hernández entitled "Letter In One's Own Hand" in which the younger Cortázar praises Hernández for the trail he blazed. Hernández is considered to be the forefather of magic realism, predating writers such as Gabriel García Márquez, Italo Calvino and Julio Cortázar, who all note Hernández as a major influence. A selection of his papers is stored in the archives of American University in Washington, D.C. He died of complications related from leukemia.

Hernández, at the age of 23, became a pupil of Guillermo Kolischer. By the age of 20, Hernández began to perform in public recitals, including works of his own creation on his programs. Due to economic hardship, Hernández began to teach piano himself and accompany silent films at the age of 16. Later, Hernández was taught composition and harmony by Clemente Colling. His father, Prudencio Hernández, was from Tenerife, Canary Islands his mother, Juana Silva, was born in Rocha, Uruguay.Īt the age of nine, Hernández began to study piano. Hernández was born the eldest of four children in the Atahualpa neighborhood of Montevideo, Uruguay. Felisberto Hernandez (Octo– January 13, 1964) was an Uruguayan writer, composer, and pianist.
