Antonio Gala Velasco is a Spanish poet, playwright, novelist and writer.
Life and career
Gala was born in Brazatortas, Ciudad Real, although he moved very soon to Córdoba and is widely considered an Andalusian. A graduate in law, philosophy, politics and economics, he has written in a wide variety of genres, including journalism, short stories, essays and television scripts. He has been awarded several prizes, not only within the field of poetry but also for his contributions to theatre and opera. Gala's work has been more appreciated by his readership than by the critics, who find it hard to classify it due to its particular blend of lyricism and epic. Among his most successful plays are Los verdes campos del Edén, Anillos para unadama, ¿Por qué corres, Ulises?, Petra Regalada, Samarkanda, Carmen, Carmen and La truhana. Among his collections of poetry are Sonetos de La Zubia, Poemas de amor, Testamento Andaluz and Enemigo íntimo. He started to write novels late in life, but he obtained an overwhelming success with El manuscrito carmesí, Águila Bicéfala, La regla de tres and La pasión turca, adapted for the cinema by Spanish director Vicente Aranda andMás allá del Jardín, adapted by Pedro Olea. Gala's literature is marked by historic issues, which are used more to lighten the present than to deepen in the past. He is the current president of the International Theatre Institute.
Political views
During the Spanish transition to democracy Gala publicly defended leftist political view points while not linked to a specific political party. In 1978 he called for a statute of autonomy for Andalusia. In 1981 he was named president of the Spanish-Arab Friendship Association, and fulfilled this role for the first years of existence of this association. Around the same time he joined the Spain-USSR Friendship Society. He was the president of the civic platform that defended the "no" to Spain's permanence in NATO, in the 1986 referendum. He is the president of the Antonio Gala Foundation in the city of Córdoba, Spain.
