Rafael Arozarena (April 4, 1923 – September 30, 2009) was a Spanish poet and novelist, born in

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

. He studied medicine and after that he started writing books, because writing was what he liked the most and what he usually did. He spent his youth under the influence of 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) and the post-war. He studied Art so, apart from writing, he can also draw. He joined in a literary group called 'Los Fetasianos' (

Fetasiano group The Fetasiano group were a group of writers from the Canary Islands between the 1950s and the 1970s. It included Rafael Arozarena Rafael Arozarena (April 4, 1923 – September 30, 2009) was a Spanish poet and novelist, born in Tenerife, Canary Is ...

) with some of his friends. His first stories appeared in the 1940s in a magazine called ''Arco''. About ten years later, he started to write for a newspaper and all through his life he published six books: ''Alto crecen los cardos, Aprisa cantan los gallos, El omnibus pintado con cerezas, Silbato de tinta amarilla'' and ''Cerveza de grano rojo''. However, his most important book is ''

Mararía ''Mararía'' (1973) is the most famous novel by the Spanish Canarian writer Rafael Arozarena. Published in Barcelona by Noguer in 1973, it was subsequently turned into a successful film in 1998. ''Mararía'' is considered a classic work of Cana ...

'', which is famous all round the world and which has also be made into a film. In 1988, he received the most important literary prize in the Canary Islands. Until his death in 2009, he lived in Bajamar, La Laguna (Tenerife).

Poetry

*''Romancero Canario'' (1946) *''A la Sombra de los Cuervos'' (1947) *''Aprisa Cantan los Gallos'' (1964) *''El omnibús Pintado con Cerezas'' (1971) *''Desfile Otoñal de los Obispos Licenciosos''(1985) *''Altos Crecen los Cardos'' (1959) *''Silbato de Tinta Amarilla'' (1977) *''Amor de la Mora'' (1989)

Novels

*''

'' (1973) *''Cerveza de grano rojo'' (1984)

Children's novels

*''La Garza y la Violeta'' (1998) *''El Dueño del Arco-Iris'' (2002) {{DEFAULTSORT:Arozarena, Rafael 1923 births Spanish male writers 2009 deaths Spanish poets Spanish novelists