Estela Canto (September 4, 1915 – June 3, 1994)[1] was an Argentine writer, journalist, and translator best known for her relationship with Jorge Luis Borges.

[2] Her brother Patricio Canto was also a writer, and authored the essay El caso Ortega y Gasset about the Spanish philosopher.

[2]Borges' mother Leonor Acevedo Suárez disliked Canto on account of her sexual liberality and casual affairs with men.

It is widely assumed that Canto was the inspiration for the character of Beatriz Viterbo in the central story "The Aleph", the narrator's unrequited love.

[5] Canto sold this manuscript to Sotheby's for thirty thousand dollars, and it was later bought at auction by the National Library of Spain.

In 1999 this book was adapted into a film, directed by Javier Torre and titled Estela Canto, un amor de Borges.