María del Amparo Alvajar López Jean, most commonly known as Amparo Alvajar, (August 11, 1916 - May 1998) was a Spanish journalist, dramatist, and writer from Galicia, as well as a translator for international organizations. Amparo Alvajar was born in

A Coruña A Coruña (; ; also informally called just Coruña; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality in Galicia, Spain. It is Galicia's second largest city, behind Vigo. The city is the provincial capital of the province ...

on August 11, 1916. She was the daughter of Republican politician

César Alvajar Cesar or César may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''César'' (film), a 1936 French romantic drama * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt Places * Cesar, Portugal * Cesar Department, Colombia * Cesar River, in Colombia * Cesar R ...

and Amparo López Jean. Her siblings included

Ana María Alvajar L. Jean Ana or ANA may refer to: People * Ana (given name), a list of people with the name * Ana people or Atakpame people, an ethnic group of West Africa * ana (gamer), Anathan Pham, an Australian professional ''Dota 2'' player known as ana Places * A ...

, María Teresa Alvajar López, and Javier Alvajar López. She excelled in musical and intellectual pursuits from a young age. She studied commerce in A Coruña. In the Second Republic, she worked in the city of A Coruña and was secretary of Casares Quiroga. With the victory of the Popular Front, she relocated to

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

to work for the Secret Services of the Ministry of the Interior which was under the direction os Casares Quiroga. After the revolt of July 18, 1936, she moved to

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

where she married Arturo Cuadrado. Later, she moved with the government to

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

where her only daughter, Silvia, was born. She went into exile in France, then traveling from

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. Amparo lived in Argentina in 1955, where she published articles and essays on the theater and Galicia, as well as working on Spanish translations. She also published the dramatic comedies ''Amada y Tu'' and ''Un balcón para los Lester''. She later married an Argentine lawyer with whom she moved to Mexico. Years later, she moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, working as a translator at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. Afterwards, she relocated to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where she worked as a translator for ''Correo da

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

''. In 1961, she was the director of the translation team at the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is one of the firs ...

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, and was also a translator in the Disarmament Committee, the Atomic Energy Organization and during the conference on European security. She retired in

Monção Monção (; ) is a municipality in the district of Viana do Castelo (district), Viana do Castelo in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 19,230, in an area of 211.31 km2. The current mayor is the Social Democrat António Barbosa. The municip ...

where she died in May 1998.

Work

In Buenos Aires, she performed in two plays, ''El Balcon de los Lester'' (''The Balcony of the Lesters'') and ''Amada y tú'' (''Amada and you'') which she wrote in Spanish in collaboration with Agustín Caballero. ''Amada y tú'' consists of three acts that take place in an old house where three men fall in love with the ghost of a teenager. In Geneva, she directed plays including ''El mejor alcalde, el Rey'' ('' The Best Mayor, The King'') by

Lope de Vega Félix Lope de Vega y Carpio (; 25 November 156227 August 1635) was a Spanish playwright, poet, and novelist who was a key figure in the Spanish Golden Age (1492–1659) of Spanish Baroque literature, Baroque literature. In the literature of ...

, ''Las cartas boca abajo'' (''Cards Face Down'') by

Antonio Buero Vallejo Antonio Buero Vallejo (September 29, 1916 – April 29, 2000) was a Spanish playwright associated with the Generation of '36 movement and considered the most important Spanish dramatist of the Spanish Civil War. Biography During his career ...

, and ''El sí de las niñas'' ('' The Maidens' Consent'') by

Leandro Fernández de Moratín Leandro Fernández de Moratín (; 10 March 1760 – 21 June 1828) was a Spanish dramatist, translator and neoclassical poet. Biography Moratín was born in Madrid the son of Nicolás Fernández de Moratín, a major literary reformer in ...

Acknowledgments

In 1961, Alvajar was named Knight of the Order of the Spanish Republic, which is why he was called "Knight".

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alvajar, Amparo 20th-century Spanish writers 20th-century Spanish women writers 1916 births 1998 deaths 20th-century Spanish journalists Spanish women journalists Spanish translators Women writers from Galicia (Spain) People from A Coruña 20th-century Spanish translators