Víctor García de la Concha (born 2 January 1934, Villaviciosa,

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

)"Víctor García de la Concha, Premio Internacional Menéndez Pelayo"
''

El País (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second-most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . is the most read newspaper in ...

'' is a

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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

. He is a past director of the

Cervantes Institute Instituto Cervantes (, the Cervantes Institute) is a worldwide nonprofit organization created by the Spanish government in 1991. It is named after Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616), the author of ''Don Quixote'' and perhaps the most important fig ...

and a past director 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 ...

. He served three four-year terms in that position, from 1998 to 2010. Directors usually serve no more than two terms.

Life and career

De la Concha took his bachelor's degree in philosophy from the

University of Oviedo The University of Oviedo (, Asturian: ''Universidá d'Uviéu'') is a public university in Asturias (Spain). It is the only university in the region. It has three campus and research centres, located in Oviedo, Gijón and Mieres. History Th ...

and in Theology from the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

in Rome. He taught at several institutions and universities, including the

University of Valladolid The University of Valladolid is a public university located in the city of Valladolid, Valladolid province, autonomous region of Castile and Leon, Spain. Established in the 13th century, it is one of the oldest universities in the world. The ...

University of Murcia The University of Murcia () is the primary institute of higher education in Murcia, Spain. With a student population of approximately 38,000, it is the largest university in the Region of Murcia. Founded in 1272 AD, the University of Murcia is ...

and

University of Zaragoza The University of Zaragoza, sometimes referred to as Saragossa University () is a public university with teaching campuses and research centres spread over the three provinces of Aragon (Spain). Founded in 1542, it is one of the List of oldest u ...

, until he obtained the Chair of

Spanish Literature Spanish literature is literature ( Spanish poetry, prose, and drama) written in the Spanish language within the territory that presently constitutes the Kingdom of Spain. Its development coincides and frequently intersects with that of other ...

at the

University of Salamanca The University of Salamanca () is a public university, public research university in Salamanca, Spain. Founded in 1218 by Alfonso IX of León, King Alfonso IX, it is the oldest university in the Hispanic world and the fourth oldest in the ...

. He was one of the scriptwriters for the 1984 TV

mini-series In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

'' Teresa de Jesús'', and had a

cameo role A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking one ...

in one episode, playing the

Archbishop of Seville The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Seville () is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Seville, Spain. The Diocese of Seville was founded in the 3rd century. It was raised to the level of an archdiocese in the 4th century. The curren ...

, who blesses Teresa (while some of his University colleagues hold a canopy over them). In 1987, he became manager of the literary magazine ''Ínsula''. In 1992, he entered the

as an Academic Numerary, occupying seat ''c''. The next year, he became Secretary and, in 1998, Director. In 2000, he was named a

Doctor Honoris Causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

in Letters at Francisco Morazán National Pedagogic University in

Tegucigalpa Tegucigalpa ( )—formally Tegucigalpa, Municipality of the Central District ( or ''Tegucigalpa, M.D.C.''), and colloquially referred to as ''Tegus'' or ''Teguz''—is the capital and largest city of Honduras along with its sister city, Comaya ...

, on the occasion of his visit to the

Academia Hondureña de la Lengua An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the g ...

. In 2009, he received the Lázaro Carreter Prize, and in 2010, King

Juan Carlos I Juan Carlos I (; Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 November 1975 until Abdication of Juan Carlos I, his abdic ...

named him a Knight of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...

.Real Decreto 47/2010, de 22 de enero, por el que se concede el Collar de la Orden del Toisón de Oro a Víctor García de la Concha.
/ref> In 2011, he received the

Menéndez Pelayo International Prize The Menéndez Pelayo International Prize has been awarded since 1987 by the Menéndez Pelayo International University (UIMP) with the objective of honoring those persons whose literary or scientific work has a humanistic orientation and application, ...

, and in January 2012, was named director of the

.El Mundo: Víctor García de la Concha, nuevo director del Cervantes
/ref>

Selected works

* ''La Poesía Española de Posguerra'', Prensa Española (1973) * ''El Arte Literario de Santa Teresa'', Ariel (1978) * ''León Felipe: Itinerario Poético'', Consejeria de Educacion y Cultura (1986) * ''La Poesía Española de 1935 a 1975'', Catedra (1987) * ''Nueva Lectura del Lazarillo'', Castalia (1993) * ''Al Aire de su Vuelo: Estudios Sobre Santa Teresa, Fray Luis de León, San Juan de la Cruz y Calderón de la Barca'', Galaxia Gutenberg (2004) * ''Cinco Novelas en Clave Simbólica'', Alfaguara (2010)

Notes

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Concha, Victor Garcia de la Spanish philologists Members of the Royal Spanish Academy Academic staff of the University of Salamanca Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain 1934 births Living people