José Manuel Caballero Bonald (November 11, 1926 – May 9, 2021) was a Spanish novelist, lecturer and poet.

Early life

Caballero was born in Calle Caballeros, Jerez de la Frontera,

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. His father was Plácido Caballero, a Cuban whose mother was of European descent and whose father was from

Cantabria Cantabria (, ; ) is an autonomous community and Provinces of Spain, province in northern Spain with Santander, Cantabria, Santander as its capital city. It is called a , a Nationalities and regions of Spain, historic community, in its current ...

. His mother was Julia Bonald, a descendant of Viscount Louis Gabriel Ambroise de Bonald, a traditional French

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

who settled in Andalucia in the middle of the 19th century.

Education

Between 1936 and 1943, Caballero Bonald studied at the Marianistas de Jerez School. During the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, he spent some time in the Sierra de Cádiz and in Sanlúcar de Barrameda. He read the first books that were to influence him:

Jack London John Griffith London (; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors t ...

, Emilio Salgari,

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

, and José de Espronceda. Between 1944 and 1948, he undertook nautical studies in

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

, and he wrote his first poems. He made friends with members of the Cádiz magazine ''Platero'', namely Fernando Quiñones, Pilar Paz Pasamar, Felipe Sordo Lamadrid, Serafín Pro Hesles, Julio Mariscal, José Luis Tejada, Francisco Pleguezuelo and Pedro Ardoy. Caballero Bonald spent his military service in the Milicia Naval Universitaria and spent two summers sailing in the waters of the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

and Galicia. His military career was curtailed when he contracted a lung illness and travelled to Jerez to recuperate. Between 1949 and 1952, he studied

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and literature in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

. He continued his studies of literature in

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 ...

and worked on the First Biennial Latin-American Art Festival.

Career

Around 1954 Caballero Bonald served as Secretary and later as Deputy Editor of the ''Papeles de Son Armadans'' magazine. In 1959 he began to make friends with and collaborate with poets who would later make up the ''Generation of 1950''. This group of literary figures were united in their political opposition to the dictatorship of

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

. In February 1959 in Collioure (France), he attended the 20th anniversary of the death of

Antonio Machado Antonio Cipriano José María y Francisco de Santa Ana Machado y Ruiz (26 July 1875 – 22 February 1939), known as Antonio Machado, was a Spanish poet and one of the leading figures of the Spanish literary movement known as the Generation ...

, along with Blas de Otero, José Agustín Goytisolo, Ángel González, José Ángel Valente,

Jaime Gil de Biedma Jaime is a common Spanish and Portuguese male given name for Jacob (name), James (name), Jamie, or Jacques. In Occitania Jacobus became ''Jacome'' and later ''Jacme''. In east Spain, ''Jacme'' became ''Jaime'', in Aragon it became ''Chaime'', and ...

, Alfonso Costafreda and Carlos Barral. He moved to

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

, where he taught Spanish literature and

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. There he started his friendship with the Colombian group of the ''Mito'' magazine (composed of Jorge Gaitán Durán,

Gabriel García Márquez Gabriel José García Márquez (; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian writer and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo () or Gabito () throughout Latin America. Considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th centur ...

, Eduardo Cote Lamus, Hernando Valencia Goelkel, Pedro Gómez Valderrama and Fernando Charry Lara, among others). In 1963 he was arrested and fined for political reasons. He returned to Spain and took up several publishing posts. Between 1965 and 1968 he spent time in Cuba and became part of an organization aimed at paying homage to

in Baeza in 1966, which was finally prohibited by government order. He published the ''Narrativa Cubana de la Revolución'' (Cuban Narrative of the Revolution) in 1968, and was again arrested for political reasons, and imprisoned for one month in

Carabanchel Carabanchel is a district of Madrid, Spain. It lies on the southern (right) bank of the Manzanares, spanning southward down to the M-40 ring road. The district is made up of the neighbourhoods of Abrantes, Comillas, Opañel, Puerta Bonita, S ...

jail. In 1971 he began working for the Lexicography Seminar of the

Royal Spanish Academy The Royal Spanish Academy (, ; ) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with national language academies in 22 other Hispanophon ...

, where he stayed until 1975. In 1973 he also started working as literary editor for Júcar Publications, a position which he also occupied until 1975. He gave courses on narrative in several European universities and attended literary symposia. He worked as a Contemporary Spanish Literature Professor at the Centre for Hispanic Studies at

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh language, Welsh: ) is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as a ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

from 1974 to 1978. That year he was appointed President of the PEN Club Español (from which he resigned in 1980). In

, the National Drama Center performed his version of ''Abre el Ojo'' (Open Your Eye), by Rojas Zorrilla. Between 1985 and 1988 he once again spent some time in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In 1989 a high school bearing his name was inaugurated in Jerez. A public library bearing his name was inaugurated in Marbella in 1992. In 1993 he was appointed corresponding member of the North American Spanish Language Academy. The National Classic Theatre Company performed his version of ''Don Gil de las Calzas Verdes'' (Sir Gil of the Green Stockings) by Tirso de Molina. The Sanlúcar de Barrameda Town Council named a street after him. In 1997 the Antonio Gades Company performed his ballet adaptation of Fuenteovejuna. The Jerez City Council created the Caballero Bonald Foundation. He was awarded the title of Favourite Son of Andalucía. In 1999 he was awarded the title of Favourite Son of the Province of Cadiz. He received the Golden Medal of the Fine Arts Circle and the Julián Besteiro Award for Arts and Literature. In 2004 he was awarded a Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Cádiz. He also won the Queen Sofía Latin American Poetry Award. In 2012, he was awarded the

Miguel de Cervantes Prize The Miguel de Cervantes Prize () is awarded annually to honour the lifetime achievement of an outstanding writer in the Spanish language. The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' calls it "most prestigious and remunerative award given for Spanish-languag ...

for his achievements in Spanish literature. His birthplace in calle Caballeros in Jerez is now the site of his Foundation. He died on May 9, 2021, at the age of 94 in Madrid after a long illness.

Bibliography

*''Mendigo'' (Beggar) (1950) *''Las Adivinaciones'' (The Prophecies) *''Memorias de Poco Tiempo'' (Memories of a Little While) (1954) *''Anteo'' (1956) *''Las Horas Muertas'' (The Dead Hours) (1959) *''El Papel del Coro'' (The Choir's Role) (1961) *''Dos Días de Setiembre'' (Two September Days) *''Pliegos de Cordel'' (Sheets of String) (1963) *''Narrativa Cubana de la Revolución'' (Cuban Narrative of the Revolution) (1968) *''Vivir para Contarlo'' (Live to Tell It) (1969) *''Archivo del Cante Flamenco'' (File of a Flamenco Singer) (1969) *''Ágata Ojo de Gato'' (Agatha Cat's Eyes) (1974) *''Luces y Sombras del Flamenco'' (Lights and Shades of Flamenco) (1975) *''Descrédito del Héroe'' (The Discrediting of a Hero) (1977) *''Poesía, 1951-1977'' (1977) *''Breviario del Vino'' (Wine Breviary) (1980) *''Toda la Noche Oyeron pasar Pájaros'' (They Heard Birds Passing By All Night) (1981) *Anthology of Góngora's poems (1982) *''Selección Natural'' (Natural Selection) (1983) *''Laberinto de Fortuna'' (Maze of Fortune) (1983) *''Los Personajes de Fajardo'' (The Fajardo Characters) (1986) *''De la Sierra al Mar de Cádiz'' (From the Mountain Range to the Cadiz Sea) (1988) *''En La Casa del Padre'' (In the Father's House) (1988) *''Doble Vida'' (Double Life) (1989) *''Andalucía'' (1989) *''Sevilla en Tiempos de Cervantes'' (Seville at the Time of Cervantes) (1992) *''Campo de Agramante'' (The Agramante Field) (1993) *''Tiempo de Guerras Perdidas'' (Time of Lost Wars) (1995) *''El Imposible Oficio de Escribir'' (The Impossible Profession of Writing) (1997) *''Diario de Argónida'' (1997) *''Poesía Amatoria'' (1999) *''Copias del Natural'' (Copies of the Natural) (1999) *''La Costumbre de Vivir'' (The Custom of Living) (2001) *''Mar Adentro'' (The Sea Inside) (2002) *A study on José de Espronceda (2002) *250 programs of the documentary series ''Andalucía de Cine'' (2003) directed by Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón and produced by Juan Lebrón, for the Andalusian Radio and Television. *''Somos el Tiempo que nos Queda'' (We are the Time We Have Left) (complete works, 2004)

Acclaim

*Platero Poetry Award - ''Mendigo'' (1950) * Adonais Prize for Poetry (runner-up) - ''Las Adivinaciones'' (1951) *Boscán Award - ''Las Horas Muertas'' (1959) * Critics' Prize - ''Las Horas Muertas'' (1959) * Premio Biblioteca Breve - ''Dos Días de Setiembre'' (1961) *National Album Award - ''Archivo del Cante Flamenco'' (1969) *Barral Award (rejected) - ''Ágata Ojo de Gato'' (1975) *Critics' Prize - ''Ágata Ojo de Gato'' (1975) *'Pablo Iglesias' Literatura Award - ''Poesía, 1951-1977'' (1977) *Critics' Prize - ''Descrédito del Héroe'' (1978) *Ateneo de Sevilla Prize - ''Toda la Noche Oyeron pasar Pájaros'' (1981) *Plaza y Janés Award - ''En La Casa del Padre'' (1988) *Andalucía Literature Award - ''Campo de Agramante'' (1993) *Queen Sofia Award for Latin American Poetry (2004) * Spanish Literature National Prize (2005) *''

'' (2012) - lifelong achievement in Spanish literature.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caballero Bonald, Jose Manuel 1926 births 2021 deaths Writers from Andalusia Spanish poets Spanish people of Cuban descent Spanish people of French descent Spanish male poets People from Jerez de la Frontera Premio Cervantes winners