Mauricio Rosencof, born in Florida, Uruguay in 1933, is a writer and journalist. A leader of the Movement for National Liberation (the Tupamaros), he was arrested in 1972 and kept as a hostage in solitary confinement for eleven years, six months and a few days from September 1973. His literary work covers a broad spectrum, including: Los Caballos (The Horses), El Combate del Establo (The Battle of the Stable), Las Ranas (The Frogs), Memorias del Calabazo (Prison Memoirs, in collaboration with Eleuterio Fernández Huidobro), Leyendas del Abuelo de la Tarde (Grandpa's Legends in the Afternoon, children's stories), Conversaciones con la Alpargata (Conversations with a Sandal, poems) and El Bataraz, a novel published by Alfaguara in 1999. He has won prizes in many categories and been translated and published in many languages.