Xesús Lorenzo Varela Vázquez (August 10, 1917 in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

– November 25, 1978 in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

) was a Galician

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

Life

Varela was born in a boat, while his parents, emigrants from Galicia, were going to Havana, Cuba. Some people consider it to be a kind of prophecy, as Varela lived in exile for most of his life. Varela returned to Galicia and grew up in

Lugo Lugo (, ; la, Lucus Augusti) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province of Lugo. The municipality had a population ...

. He was an active member of the

Federación de Mocedades Galeguistas The Federación de Mocedades Galeguistas (FMG, ''Galicianist Youth Federation'' or ''Galician Nationalist Youth'' Federation in English language) was the youth organization of the Partido Galeguista, which was formed in January 1934, bringing toge ...

(Federation of Galician Youth). In 1934 Varela moved to

, where he contacted with the group PAN (Poetas Andantes y Navegantes, literally Walking and Sailing Poets — note that the abbreviation makes reference to Pan, a

Greek god The following is a list of gods, goddesses, and many other divine and semi-divine figures from ancient Greek mythology and ancient Greek religion. Immortals The Greeks created images of their deities for many purposes. A temple would house the ...

, and is also the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

and Galician word for

bread Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made f ...

) and with Misións Pedagóxicas (Pedagogic Missions). He also joined the

Communist Party of Spain The Communist Party of Spain ( es, Partido Comunista de España; PCE) is a Marxist-Leninist party that, since 1986, has been part of the United Left coalition, which is part of Unidas Podemos. It currently has two of its politicians serving as ...

(Partido Comunista de España or PCE). After the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

(1936–1939), Varela left Spain, exiling himself first in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and then, in May 1939, in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. He moved to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

in 1941, where he made contact with other exiled Galicians and emigrants from Galicia. He would publish most of his poetry, in the Galician language, while in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. In May 1976, after the death of

caudillo A ''caudillo'' ( , ; osp, cabdillo, from Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise definition of ''caudillo'', which is often used interchangeably with " ...

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

, Varela decided to return to Spain. He finally settled in Madrid, where he lived until his death two years later. The ''

Día das Letras Galegas Galician Literature Day ( gl, Día das Letras Galegas) is a public holiday observed in Galicia, Spain. It is a celebration of the Galician language and its literature which was inaugurated by the Royal Galician Academy (''Real Academia Galega' ...

'' ("Galician Literature Day") was dedicated to him in 2005.

Works

* Catro poemas galegos pra catro grabados, 1944 * Lonxe, 1954 * Federico García Lorca. Canciones y Poemas. Selection of poems by

García Lorca García or Garcia may refer to: People * García (surname) * Kings of Pamplona/Navarre ** García Íñiguez of Pamplona, king of Pamplona 851/2–882 ** García Sánchez I of Pamplona, king of Pamplona 931–970 ** García Sánchez II of Pampl ...

read by Lorenzo Varela. Recording by

Discos Qualiton Discos Qualiton was a record label, published by the recording studio Fonema S.A. A garage experiment in Rosario, Argentina in 1961, Qualiton would later become a major independent record label influencing a generation of artists, writers, musicia ...

QH-2000/2001 * Poesías, 1979 * Poesía galega, 1990 1917 births 1978 deaths Writers from Havana Galician diaspora Galician poets Cuban people of Galician descent Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in Argentina Spanish expatriates in Argentina Spanish expatriates in Uruguay Galician-language writers 20th-century Spanish poets Spanish male poets Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in France Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in Mexico 20th-century Spanish male writers {{Galicia-writer-stub