PRIMARY SOURCE · ENGLISH READER ORIENTATION
Read Martín Fierro in the original Spanish
José Hernández's poem consists of two books, published in 1872 and 1879, with 46 cantos in all. This English guide helps you navigate the site's original Spanish reader while keeping the source text unchanged.
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Part One — El gaucho Martín Fierro (1872)
The singer introduces his life, loses his home, experiences frontier service and leaves with Cruz.
Part Two — La vuelta de Martín Fierro (1879)
Fierro returns, new speakers tell their stories, and the poem ends with advice and separation.
How to cite a passage
Identify the author, original book title, publication year, canto and stanza, using the displayed stanza number in the reader. Link to the permanent canto and stanza anchor when available. The English study headings are editorial and should not be cited as original poem titles.
The site uses a single structured source corpus shared by the reader, search and editorial commentary. No complete English translation is reproduced here. For textual variants or historical publication details, consult the documentary archive.