This paper focuses on a unique experience lived by João Guimarães Rosa and the translator of his works into Italian, Edoardo Bizzarri. Reading the letters exchanged between them while the translation of Corpo de baile was in progress, it is possible to find a testimony of the construction of meanings by the translator as he proceeds in his craft and deals with the challenges imposed by it, and by the author as well, who is led to reflect on his own writing.