later on by catastrophical political events; the splendor of Argentina, was eroded mainly by those unfortunate political events. Among them (and as a parallel between real life and fiction which Brau's work reflects perfectly), are the military coups that shook the nation in the period 1930-1980. In the novella, the coup d´état which overthrew President Perón in 1955 was the beginning of the end for Ferrari's fabulous work, for his Casablanca —which had already been “hurt” by the flood and the hoof-and-mouth disease—. In real life, the beginning of the end for that other “Casablanca”, Argentina, took place some years earlier, in 1930 (when José Félix Uriburu led a military coup against President Hipólito Yrigoyen), and the signs of decadence were revealed more slowly. The novella has an open ending. The same thing sometimes happens in real life. Translation into English The translation of Casablanca by Andrea G. Labinger was finalist in 2007 Pen USA Literary Award in the category of Translation. See also History of Argentina References The Washington Post: “For the first time in English, the Argentine labyrinths of Edgar Brau”, by Michael Dirda. Sunday, January 7, 2007. Ilan Stavans, Donald A. Yates: A Mode of Truth: A Conversation on Biography between Ilan Stavans and Donald A. Yates. Michigan Quarterly Review. Vol. XLVIII, Nº 4, Fall 2009. Donald A. Yates: “About Edgar Brau”. Casablanca and Other Stories. MSU Press, September 2006. Martina Rolandi Ricci. “De lo que dura a lo que pasa” (Interviews with Edgar Brau). Edgar Brau Web Page. External links Edgar Brau Web Page Argentine books 2003 novels American novellas Casablanca (film)