Julio Cortázar was born in Brussels in 1914. The son of an Argentinian diplomat, he returned to Argentina with his family in 1918. He wrote his first novel aged nine years old and also started writing poetry from a very early age. He trained to be a teacher and obtained his diploma in 1932. He was due to pursue studies in philosophy and literature, but was forced to start work as teacher and abandon his degree due financial difficulties. His first book, a collection of sonnets, was published in 1938 under a pseudonym. In 1951, he left his country for political reasons and settled in Paris, working as an independent translator for the UNESCO. He wrote a number of works, includin novels, poetry, articles and short stories. He travelled to Italy, the United States and Cuba. In the 1970's and 80's , he frequently travelled to Latin America, supporting causes such as the Sandinist revolution in Nicaragua. In 1981, he was given the French nationality by the new government led by François Mitterrand. That same year he was diagnosed with leukemia. He finally returned to Argentina in 1983 following the fall of the dictatorship to visit his mother. He died in Paris on 14 February 1984, shortly after having completed his last trip to Nicaragua, where he received the "Order of Cultural Independence".