EGREM/Casa de las Américas (cover designer: unknown), "Palabra de esta América No. 2: Mario Benedetti poemas y cuentos," circa 1970s. Vinyl record.

Palabra de esta América was an important spoken word recording series produced by Casa de las Américas through their Centro de Investigaciones Literarias and Centro de Estudios del Caribe, with recordings produced by EGREM (Empresa de Grabaciones y Ediciones Musicales). The series documented Latin American writers reading their own works, preserving the authentic voices of the continent's most significant literary figures.

This release, number 2 in the series, features Mario Benedetti (1920-2009), one of Uruguay's most important and beloved writers. Born in 1920, Benedetti created a vast literary body that began with a torn writing style—rage and love, irony and pain—expressing the anxieties and frustrations of the Montevidean middle class. His work progressively opened toward Latin American political reality, making him the most widely read national author among Uruguayans. His poetry was collected in Inventario 70 (1970), while his major narrative works included Montevideanos (1959), La tregua(1960), Gracias por el fuego (1965), La muerte y otras sorpresas (1968), El cumpleaños de Juan Ángel (1971), and the essay El país de la cola de paja (1960).

Benedetti spent years in exile during Uruguay's military dictatorship (1973-1985), living in Argentina, Peru, Cuba, and Spain, which deepened his commitment to social justice and Latin American solidarity. His poetry and fiction combined accessibility with profound emotional and political depth, making him one of Latin America's most popular writers.

The album cover uses the series' signature concentric square design, here rendered in rich purple and turquoise blue tones that create a sophisticated, contemplative visual field. The record features Benedetti reading five poems on Side A ("A la izquierda del roble," "Habanera," "Consternados, rabiosos," "Quemar las naves," "Desinformemonos") and two poems plus three short stories on Side B ("El surco," "Credo," "Los bomberos," "La expresión," "La imaginación de las ardillas"), offering a comprehensive survey of his literary voice and range.