Antonio Gala Velasco (2 October 1930 – 28 May 2023) was a Spanish poet, playwright, novelist, and writer.

Life and career

Antonio Ángel Custodio Gala y Velasco was born on 2 October 1930 in Brazatortas,

Ciudad Real Ciudad Real (, ) is a municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha, capital of the province of Ciudad Real. It is the 5th most populated municipality in the region. It was founded as Villa Real in 1255 as a ro ...

( Castile-La Mancha), although he moved very soon to

Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, the second largest city in Argentina and the capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cord ...

and is widely considered an

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

n. A graduate in law, philosophy, politics, and economics, he wrote in a wide variety of genres, including journalism, short stories, essays and television scripts. He was awarded several prizes, not only within the field of poetry but also for his contributions to theatre and opera. Gala's work is more appreciated by his readership than by the critics, who find it hard to classify due to its particular blend of lyricism and epic. Gala's literature is marked by historic issues, which are used more to lighten the present than to deepen in the past. Among his most successful plays are ''Los verdes campos del Edén'' (''The Green Fields of Eden'', National Theatre Prize "Calderón de la Barca" 1963), ''Anillos para una dama'' (''Rings for a Lady'', 1973), ''¿Por qué corres, Ulises?'' (''Why do you run, Ulysses?'', 1975), ''Petra Regalada'' (1980), ''Samarkanda'' (1985), '' Carmen, Carmen'' (1988) and '' La truhana'' (''The rogue'', 1992). Among his collections of poetry are ''Sonetos de La Zubia'' (La Zubia Sonets), ''Poemas de amor'' (''Love Poems''), ''Testamento Andaluz'' (''Andalusian Will''), ''Enemigo íntimo'' (''Intimate Enemy'', Adonais Prize 1959), and ''El Águila Bicéfala'' (Two-Headed Eagle, 1994). Gala started to write novels late in life, but he obtained an overwhelming success with '' El manuscrito carmesí'' (''The Crimson Manuscript'',

Planeta Prize The Premio Planeta de Novela is a Spanish literary award, literary prize, awarded since 1952 by the Spanish publisher Grupo Planeta to an original unpublished novel written in Spanish. It is one of about 16 literary prizes given by Planeta. Financ ...

1990), ''La regla de tres'' (''The Rule of Three'', 1996) and ''La pasión turca'' (''Turkish Passion'', 1993),

adapted In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the p ...

for the cinema by Spanish director

Vicente Aranda Vicente Aranda Ezquerra (; 9 November 1926 – 26 May 2015) was a Spanish film director, screenwriter and producer. Due to his refined and personal style, he was one of the most renowned Spanish filmmakers. He started as a founding member ...

and ''Más allá del Jardín'' (''Beyond the Garden'', 1995),

Pedro Olea Pedro Olea (30 June 1938, Bilbao) is a Spanish screenwriter, film producer and film director. His films '' A House Without Boundaries'' (1972) and '' Akelarre'' (1984) entered into the 22nd and the 34th Berlin International Film Festival. His ...

. He was also the founder of the Antonio Gala Foundation in the city of Córdoba, Spain. Gala died in Córdoba on 28 May 2023, at age 92.

Political views

During the

Spanish transition to democracy The Spanish transition to democracy, known in Spain as (; ) or (), is a period of History of Spain, modern Spanish history encompassing the regime change that moved from the Francoist dictatorship to the consolidation of a parliamentary system ...

(1976 to the early 1980s) Gala publicly defended leftist political viewpoints while not linked to a specific political party. In 1978 he called for a statute of autonomy for

. In 1981 he was named president of the Spanish–Arab Friendship Association, and fulfilled this role for the first years of existence of this association. Gala was the president of the civic platform that defended the "no" to Spain's permanence in

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

, in the 1986

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

. In July 2014, during Israel's military operation in Gaza, Gala was accused of

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

because of an article published in the newspaper ''El Mundo'' with the following quote:

No matter what the Jews call their civil or military leaders, they end up creating problems for everyone: it is ancient history. Now it is Gaza's turn to suffer their abuses ..It's not strange that they have been so frequently expelled. What is surprising, is that they persist. Either they are not good, or someone is poisoning them. I am not a racist.

The Comunidad Judía de Madrid (Jewish Community of Madrid) filed a lawsuit against him for discrimination, incitement to hatred and insult to the feelings of the members of a religious community and slander.

Work

Drama

* ''Los verdes campos del Edén'' (1963) * ''El caracol en el espejo'' (1964) * ''El sol en el hormiguero'' (1966) * ''Noviembre y un poco de hierba'' (1967) * ''Spain's strip-tease'' (1970) * '' Los buenos días perdidos'' (1972) * ''¡Suerte, campeón!'' (1973) * ''Anillos para una dama'' (1973) * ''Las cítaras colgadas de los árboles'' (1974) * ''¿Por qué corres, Ulises?'' (1975) * ''Petra regalada'' (1980) * ''La vieja señorita del paraíso'' (1980) * 'El cementerio de los pájaros'' (1982) * ''Trilogía de la libertad'' (1983) * ''Samarkanda'' (1985) * ''El hotelito'' (1985) * ''Séneca o el beneficio de la duda'' (1987) * '' Carmen, Carmen'' (1988) * ''Cristóbal Colón'' (1989) * '' La truhana'' (1992) * '' Los bellos durmientes'' (1994) * ''Café cantante'' (1997) * ''Las manzanas del viernes'' (1999) * ''Inés desabrochada'' (2003)

Narrative

* '' El manuscrito carmesí'' (1990) * ''

La pasión turca ''The Turkish Passion'' () is a 1994 Spanish erotic drama film, written and directed by Vicente Aranda adapted from a popular novel by Antonio Gala. It stars Ana Belén and Georges Corraface. The film is an erotic drama, an exploration of female ...

'' (1993) * ''Granada de los nazaríes'' (1994) (crónica histórica) * ''Más allá del jardín'' (1995) * ''La regla de tres'' (1996) * ''El corazón tardío'' (1998) (relatos) * ''Las afueras de Dios'' (1999) * ''Ahora hablaré de mí'' (2000) (autobiografía) * ''El imposible olvido'' (2001) * ''Los invitados al jardín'' (2002) (relatos) * ''El dueño de la herida'' (2003) (relatos) * ''El pedestal de las estatuas'' (2007) * ''Los papeles de agua'' (2008)

Poetry

* ''Enemigo íntimo'' (1959) * ''La deshora'' (1962) * ''Meditación en Queronea'' (1965) * ''11 sonetos de la Zubia'' (1981) * ''Testamento andaluz'' (1985) * ''Poemas cordobeses'' (1994) * ''Poemas de amor'' (1997) * ''El poema de Tobías desangelado'' (2005)

Articles

* ''Texto y pretexto'' (1977) * ''Charlas con Troylo'' (1981) * ''En propia mano'' (1985) * ''Cuadernos de la Dama de Otoño'' (1985) * ''Dedicado a Tobías'' (1988) * ''La soledad sonora'' (1989) * ''Proas y troneras'' (1993) * ''A quien conmigo va'' (1994) * ''Carta a los herederos'' (1995) * ''Troneras'' (1996) * ''La casa sosegada'' (1998)

References

External links

Antonio Gala's Official Site

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gala, Antonio 1930 births 2023 deaths 20th-century Spanish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Spanish LGBTQ people 20th-century Spanish male writers 20th-century Spanish novelists 20th-century Spanish poets 21st-century Spanish dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Spanish LGBTQ people 21st-century Spanish male writers 21st-century Spanish novelists 21st-century Spanish poets Bisexual male writers Bisexual dramatists and playwrights Bisexual novelists Bisexual poets People from Ciudad Real Spanish bisexual men Spanish bisexual writers Spanish LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights Spanish LGBTQ novelists Spanish LGBTQ poets Spanish male dramatists and playwrights Spanish male novelists Spanish male poets