The title of Hijo Predilecto de Andalucía ("Favorite Son of Andalusia") or in the case of a female recipient Hija Predilecta de Andalucía ("Favorite Daughter of Andalusia") is an honorific title granted annually on August 10 according to decree 156/1983 of the Andalusian Autonomous Government, recognizing exceptional merit or distinction in relation to the Andalusian region, through scientific, social or political actions or works that have redounded to the benefit of

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 ...

. It is the highest distinction of the

autonomous community The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Sp ...

of Andalusia.

The nature of the honor

The honor is granted by agreement of the Governing Council of the Andalusian Autonomous Government, based on names proposed by the President of the Government, passed on by the president's office, the Consejería de la Presidencia. The title is strictly honorific, and does not entail any award of money. The names of those given the title are written in a registry known as the '' Libro de Oro de Andalucía'' ("Golden Book of Andalusia"). A medal is awarded with the inscription ''Hijo Predilecto de Andalucía'', along with a

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

plaque stating the reason for granting the award in this particular case. Normally at most ten medals are awarded each year, although the Governing Council may make exceptions to that. (In practice, as of 2009 that number has never been reached.) That count does not include awards given as a courtesy or in reciprocity, nor does it include posthumous awards. The honor is awarded in a public and solemn ceremony presided over by the President of the Government, in the presence of the Governing Council, and if possible coinciding with the regional holiday, the

Andalusia Day The Andalusia Day () is celebrated on 28 February and commemorates the 28 February 1980 referendum on the Statute of Autonomy of Andalusia, in which the Andalusian electorate voted for the statute that made Andalusia an autonomous community of S ...

, 28 February. The honor can be revoked if the recipient behaves publicly in a manner counter to the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, the principles of the 1978 Constitution of Spain or the

Statute of Autonomy of Andalusia The Statute of Autonomy of Andalusia is a law hierarchically located under the 1978 Constitution of Spain, and over any legislation passed by the Andalusian Autonomous Government. During the Spanish transition to democracy, Andalusia was the one re ...

, or prejudicial to the dignity of their basic interests.

List of Hijos Predilectos de Andalucía

* 1983 : Antonio Cruz García ("

Antonio Mairena Antonio Cruz García, known as Antonio Mairena (1909–1983), was a Spanish musician, who tried to rescue a type of flamenco, which he considered to be pure or authentic. He rescued or recreated a high number of songs that had been almost los ...

"), singer, Mairena del Alcor,

Province of Seville The Province of Seville () is a province of southern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It borders the provinces of Málaga and Cádiz in the south, Huelva in the west, Badajoz in the north and Córdoba in the ...

: Rafael Alberti, writer,

El Puerto de Santa María El Puerto de Santa María (), locally known as El Puerto and historically in English as Port Saint Mary, is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain located on the banks of the Guadalete River in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. , the c ...

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 ...

: Vicente Aleixandre Merlo, writer,

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, ...

: Jorge Guillén Álvarez, writer,

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

Andrés Segovia Andrés Segovia Torres, 1st Marquis of Salobreña (21 February 1893 – 2 June 1987), was a Spanish virtuoso classical guitarist. Many professional classical guitarists were either students of Segovia or students of Segovia's students. Segovia ...

, guitarist, Linares, Jaén : Ramón Carande y Thovar, historian and economist,

Palencia Palencia () is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Palencia. Located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, in the northern half of ...

, autonomous community of Castile-Leon * 1984 : Juan Álvarez Ossorio y Barrau, historian, activist * 1985 : Rafael Escuredo Rodríguez, lawyer and politician, Estepa, Seville : María Zambrano Alarcón, writer, Vélez-Málaga,

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

: Antonio Gala Velasco, writer, 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 ...

: Carlos Castilla del Pino, psychiatrist, San Roque, Cádiz : Antonio Domínguez Ortiz, historian, Seville * 1987 : José Antonio Valverde Gómez, zoologist : Manuel Andújar, writer, La Carolina, Jaén : Juan de Mata Carriazo * 1988 : Emilio García Gómez, historian specializing in Arabism,

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 ...

: Manuel Castillo Navarro, composer and pianist, Seville : Manuel Rivera Hernández, painter,

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

: Pablo García Baena, poet, Córdoba : José Manuel Rodríguez Delgado, physician and neurophysiologist,

* 1989 : Rafael Montesinos Martínez, poet, Seville, Seville : José Muñoz Caballero, painter,

Huelva Huelva ( , , ) is a municipality of Spain and the capital of the Huelva (province), province of Huelva, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. Located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, it sits betwee ...

: Luis Rosales Camacho, poet, Granada, Granada * 1990 : Javier Benjumea Puigcerver, businessman, founder of Abengoa, Seville :Dolores Jiménez Alcántara " Niña de La Puebla", singer, La Puebla de Cazalla, Seville : Francisco Ayala y García Duarte, writer, Granada, Granada * 1991 : José Rodríguez de la Borbolla y Camoyán, lawyer and politician, Seville, Seville * 1992 : José Antonio Muñoz Rojas, poet,

Antequera Antequera () is a city and municipality in the Comarca de Antequera, province of Málaga, part of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is known as "the heart of Andalusia" (''el corazón de An ...

, Málaga, Málaga * 1993 : Manuel Losada Villasante, scientist, Carmona, Seville * 1994 :S.A.R. Doña María de las Mercedes de Borbón y Orleans, mother of the King Juan Carlos, Madrid * 1995 : Miguel Rodríguez-Piñero Bravo-Ferrer, jurist, professor, magistrate and president of the

Constitutional Court of Spain The Constitutional Court () is the supreme interpreter of the Spanish Constitution, with the power to determine the constitutionality of acts and statutes made by any public body, central, regional, or local in Spain. It is defined in Part I ...

, Seville, Seville * 1996 :

José Manuel Caballero Bonald 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. His father was Plácido Caballero, a Cuban whose mothe ...

, poet and essayist,

Jerez de la Frontera Jerez de la Frontera () or simply Jerez, also cited in old English-language sources as , is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Sp ...

, Cádiz, Cádiz * 1997 :No award given. * 1998 :

Felipe González Márquez Felipe is the Spanish language, Spanish variant of the name Philip (name), Philip, which derives from the Greek adjective ''Philippos'' "friend of horses". Felipe is also widely used in Portuguese language, Portuguese-speaking Brazil alongside Fili ...

, lawyer and politician,

Dos Hermanas Dos Hermanas (, "two sisters") is a town and municipality in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It is part of the Seville metropolitan area, lying south of the city of Seville. With a population of 140,430 as of 2024, it is the second ...

, Seville, Seville * 1999 : Manuel F. Clavero Arévalo, lawyer and politician, Seville, Seville * 2000 : Carlos Amigo Vallejo,

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of Seville, Medina de Rioseco, Valladolid * 2001 :,

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

, Granada, Granada. (Posthumous.) : Pedro Cruz Villalón, president of the

, Seville, Seville * 2002 : Manuel Jiménez de Parga, president of the Tribunal Constitucional, Granada, Granada * 2003 : Emilio Lledó Íñigo, professor of philosophy, Seville, Seville : Christine Ruiz-Picasso, daughter-in-law of

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

, philanthropist,

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 ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

* 2004 : Francisco Márquez Villanueva, professor of medieval literature, Seville, Seville : Leopoldo de Luis, poet, Córdoba, Córdoba * 2005 : María Victoria Atencia García, poet, Málaga, Málaga : Julia Uceda Valiente, poet, literary critic, and professor of literature, Seville, Seville * 2006 : María del Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart y Silva, 18th Duchess of Alba, (Madrid) : Carlos Edmundo de Ory, poet, Cádiz, Cádiz * 2007 :

José Saramago José de Sousa Saramago (; 16 November 1922 – 18 June 2010) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese writer. He was the recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature for his "parables sustained by imagination, compassion and irony ith which ...

, writer, Azinhaga">ith which ...

The nature of the honor

List of Hijos Predilectos de Andalucía

Acceptance speeches

Notes

External links