Abel Posse
The novelist's father, Ernesto Parentini, a porteño of Italian parents, was one of the founders of Artistas Argentinos Asociados and was the producer of the legendary feature film La guerra gaucha (1942), based on the text by the poet Leopoldo Lugones. The young Abel Posse grew up in the Argentine capital near Rivadavia street, and given his father's profession was exposed to the artistic and cultural milieu this most sophisticated of the South American capitals had to offer. The “Queen of the River Plate”, as Buenos Aires came to be known, fascinated the young man, (4) and his memories are evoked in his novel Los demonios ocultos (1987).
He was able to mingle with the glamorous stars of Argentine show business, like Chas de Cruz, Pierina Dealessi, Ulises Petit de Murat, Muñoz Azpiri, the writer of radioplays which were performed by Eva Duarte (de Perón), as well as the tango composers Aníbal Troilo and Homero Manzi. Such were the family connections to show business that one of his aunts, Esmeralda Leiva de Heredia, better known as “La Jardín”, was an actress friend of Eva Duarte. (5) Growing up in this environment enabled him to obtain an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of the tango repertoire and its culture, (6) which imbues his novel La reina del Plata (1988).
Arvid Mauritz Posse
Posse was born into a noble family, as the son of Count and Lord of the Realm Arvid Erik Posse and his wife, the baroness Catharina Charlotta von Otter. The family was of Jutlandic origin and belonged to the high nobility, having been raised to countship in 1706. Posse received his education at Lund University. He went on to work at Göta Court of Appeal and later became an assessor at the Svea Court of Appeal in 1816. Prior to his appointment as Prime Minister for Justice, Posse had served as governor of Skaraborg County as well as director-general of the Swedish Customs Service.