Ramón Otero Pedrayo (alternative spelling ''Outeiro Pedraio'') ( Ourense, Galicia, 1888 – Ourense, 1976) was a Galician

geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...

, writer and intellectual. He was a key member of the Galician cultural and political movement '' Xeración Nós''.

Biography

Otero Pedrayo taught

Geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

and

History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

in Burgos and Santander (Spain), before he went back to his natal city of Ourense. In 1918 he becomes a member of the Galicianist organisation '' Irmandades da Fala''. He was a member of the Spanish parliament during the time of the

Spanish Second Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII. It was dissol ...

representing the '' Partido Galeguista'' (Galicianist Party) and the Republican Nationalist Party of Ourense. He was the first

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of Geography at the University of Santiago de Compostela. Apart from being considered the person who first introduced modern Geography in Galicia, he also was an accomplished writer as he demonstrates in his numerous essays, novels, plays and poems. He was also renowned as a great

orator An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled. Etymology Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14 ...

with a charismatic voic

In 1933, he addressed a speech at a rally during the Aberri Eguna, Basque Fatherland Day organized by the Basque Nationalist Party at

San Sebastián San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián (, ), is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from the France–Spain border ...

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa ( , ; ; ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiqu ...

(picture above). Some of his famous novels are ''Os camiños da vida'' and ''O mesón dos Ermos'', where he provides a meticulous description of Galician rural life. In fact, his non-scientific works are often taken as historical sources, since they are quite accurate and rigorous in terms of localization, description and context. It must also be mentioned ''Arredor de si'', a novel often considered to be a veiled

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

. Among his vast scientific production the encyclopaedia ''Historia de Galiza'' (first published in 1962) stands out as a colossal project. Yet, in his many works he depicts with precision the history, geography, folklore and anthropology of Galicia. He is the first geographer to define Galicia as an ''Atlantic country'', that is, of Atlantic and not Mediterranean culture. And together with archaeologist Florentino López Cuevillas he is one of the first researchers embarking in a systematic scientific study of Galicia's Celtic past. There is a foundation named after him, which preserves and promotes his work

Partial bibliography

(in Galician language, Galician)

*''Pantelas, home libre'' (short stories) (1925) *''O purgatorio de don Ramiro'' (short stories) (1926) *''Síntesis xeográfica de Galicia'' (geography) (1926) *''Escrito na néboa'' (short stories) (1927) *''Os camiños da vida'' (novel in three books) (1928) *''A lagarada'' (theatre play) (1928) *''Arredor de si'' (novel) (1930) *''Contos do camiño e da rúa'' (short stories) (1932) *''Fra Vernero'' (novel) (1934) *''Teatro de máscaras'' (theatre play) (1934) *''Devalar'' (novel) (1935) *''O mesón dos ermos'' (short stories) (1936) *''O desengano do prioiro'' (theatre play) (1952) *''Entre a vendima e a castiñeira'' (short stories) (1957) *''Bocarribeira. Poemas pra ler e queimar'' (poetry) (1958) *''Rosalía'' (theatre dialogues) (1959) *''O señorito da Reboraina'' (novel) (1960) *''Historia de Galiza'' (historical/geographical encyclopaedia, 1962) *''Síntesis histórica do século XVIII en Galicia'' (history) (1969) *''O fidalgo e a noite'' (theatre dialogues) (1970) *''Noite compostelá'' (theatre dialogues) (1973) *''O Maroutallo'' (short stories) (1974) *''Os rios galegos'' (geography) (1976)

(in Spanish)

*''Guia de Galicia'' (geography) (1926) *''Paisajes y problemas geográficos de Galicia'' (geography) (1928) *''Historia de la cultura gallega'' (history/anthropology) (1939) *''Las palmas del convento'' (novel) (1941). *''Vida del Doctor Don Marcelo Macías y García'' (novel) (1943) *''Adolescencia'' (novel) (1944). *''La vocación de Adrián Silva'' (novel) (1949). *''Las ciudades gallegas'' (geography) (1955) *''Geografía de España: presencia y potencia del suelo y del pueblo español'' (geography) (1955) *''Galicia: una cultura de Occidente'' (geography) (1975)

External links

Fundación Otero PedrayoProfile at the ''Biblioteca da Cultura Galega'' (in Galician)Otero Pedrayo giving a speech

Biography

Partial bibliography

(in Galician language, Galician)

(in Spanish)

External links

See also