Sady Zañartu

Sady Zañartu (May 6, 1893 – March 5, 1983) was a Chilean writer who created foundational works in the genres of Criollismo, historical anecdote, and patriotic valorization of the nation.

His parents, Víctor Zañartu de la Cruz and Edelmira Bustos Frías,[1] were farmers in the Copiapó Valley who also worked for a good part of their lives as miners.

[2] Although he did not go on to a college career, Zañartu dedicated himself to research, and he always remained close to the intellectual circles of the era, such as the salons held by Delia Matte.

[2] Zañartu received the Chilean National Prize for Literature in 1974, but his selection raised suspicion and controversy on Chile's intellectual and political left.

The historical context of the award was the first years of Chile's military dictatorship under Augusto Pinochet, and the opinion spread widely that the writer, who was considered by some to be a minor author, was only given the National Prize because he was one of the few intellectuals who were close to the newly installed regime.

Left-leaning critics protested against the awarding of the prize to Zañartu and, the following year, to Arturo Aldunate Phillips, the author of essays on popular science.