Juan Filloy was son of illiterates but from very early in life he was accompanied by literature. He mastered seven languages, one of which was Greek, and was perhaps the most notable Hellenist of his day in Argentina. An excellent swimmer, dedicated boxing referee and talented caricaturist, he practised as a judge in the small town of Río Cuarto 200 kilometres from Córdoba, where he spent nearly the whole of his life. Of biblical longevity, he died at the age of 106. He cultivated the novel, poetry, essay, short story, theatre and other genres of his own devising. A world champion palindromist, he made use of the entire dictionary in his books, coined new words and used only seven letters in all the titles of his works. He was a pioneer and the importance of his work has not gone unnoticed in the most watchful circles. His writing displays wisdom, courage, imagination, irony, a critical sense and an ethical mind. As such it has been a decisive influence on authors such as Julio Cortázar, who mentions Filloy in Rayuela, or Alfonso Reyes, who considered him a founding father. He received various distinctions during his lifetime and was nominated for the Nobel Prize.