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Eduardo Galeano, one of the most celebrated Latin American writers, recently published his latest work, Mirrors: Stories of Almost Everyone. Characterized by poignant accounts of social discontent, Mirrors attempts to paint an alternative and lyrical history of the world. Galeano’s poetic stories “resurrect the lives of the thinkers, the curious, the rebels and lovely lunatics who were and are the salt of the earth,” according to critics. Eduardo Galeano is the recipient of many international awards including the Casas de las Americas prize, The American Book Award, as well as the first Lannan Prize for Cultural Freedom. He lived in exile in Argentina and Spain after being imprisoned and forced to flee his native Uruguay following the 1973 military coup. He returned to Montevideo in 1985 and continues to live there today. His works have been translated into more than 28 languages and made headlines after Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, presented President Obama with a copy of his earlier book, “Open Veins of Latin America,” at the Americas Summit in Trinidad and Tobago.

Eduardo Galeano was on book tour earlier this summer in the US. Today we bring you excerpts of a recent speech.

Make a $50 pledge for the CD or a $100 pledge for the DVD of Galeano’s talk to KPFK at www.kpfk.org.