The Life and Works of Álvaro Cunqueiro: A Literary Journey Through Galician Culture
Statute of Autonomy and the Civil War
On April 14, 1931 filed in the Second Spanish Republic. Thus began a stage characterized by intense political activity and a great cultural development.
On July 18, a part of the army, led by General Franco, rose against the legitimate government of the Republic.
It began a civil war so full of cruelty and hardness, which lasted three years and left a toll of over a million dead.
The war ended in April 1939 with the defeat of forces loyal to the Republic. The Franco established a dictatorship that then lasted for about forty years.
Post-war: Repression TIME
The ideology that supported the victorious forces of the Civil War was contrary to democracy, and had many points in common with the regimes of Hitler in Germany and Mussolini in Italy. This ideology, and advocate an authoritarian organization of society, based on an idea of Spain is based on traditional Catholicism and a more idiomatic and cultural uniformity.
As a result, banned political parties and trade unions, were closed several newspapers and magazines, installed the censorship and civil liberties were severely restricted. This repression has mainly affected the left-wing organizations and the nationalists. And entrenched cultural expression in languages other than Castilian to be taking the view that ran counter to the uniform design imposed by the dictatorship in Spain.
From the first moment, the forces related to the Franco government unleashed a harsh crackdown from the sectors that are distinguished in the defense of the Republic and among those who argued that they considered contrary ideas. Special mention must be followed against the teachers from the Masters for academics
PORTUGAL YEARS postwar
In the forties were very hard for the Portuguese population.
Many basic necessities were rationed. Decreased the little industry that has established itself and had a subsistence economy linked to the primary sector (agriculture and fisheries).
Most of the population still had the Galician language as usual, but we tried not to use it in public.
The consequences for cultural life that is expressed in Galician have been dramatic. Clausuráronse the editorials, magazines and newspapers, were shot people related to the world of Galician culture, as Anxeles couple.
Others saw the obligation to go into exile and others were finally separated from his work and had no choice but to remain mute, in a dramatic interior exile.
Only over the years, very timidly, began to publish some books in Galician, always of poetry, and without any content that might upset the Francoist authorities.
The “rebirth” editorial
By the fifties appear publishing companies that give the book the necessary continuity and Galician broken after the Civil War. The publisher Monterrey, the collection Benito Soto.
In the sixties founded Editions Castro, linked to the figure of Isaac Díaz Pardo and the ceramics factory Sargadelos.
Of them all stands the publisher Galaxia, which is founded in the fifties.
A life marked by the literature
Alvaro Cunqueiro was born in 1911. He studied in Rio de Janeiro in the early thirties.
He then began his literary work, formed of three major books of poetry: Tuesday northeast (1932), Poems and sin not (1933) and new Cantiga called Riviera (1933).
When he founded the publishing Galaxia Cunqueiro, began writing fiction texts in Galician. A result of this activity are Merlin and Family (1955), The Chronicles of sochantre (1956) and if the old Sinbad return to the islands (1961).
In the sixties he settled in Vigo, having worked in the newspaper Faro de Vigo. It was at this stage when he published three books of short stories, Menciñeiros School (1960), People here and there (1971) and the other merchants (1979).
He died in Vigo, in 1981. In 1991 he was devoted to the Day of Galician Literature.
THE WORLDS narrative Cunqueiro
In the novels and short stories by Alvaro Cunqueiro orixinalísima find a mixture of reality and fantasy. In each of his books coexist with fantastic characters and other facts that might well be part of everyday life.
The characters of his works are in many cases the old myths of other cultures. So in Merlin and family, the protagonist is the same wizard Merlin who accompanied the King Arthur legends in their adventures. If in the old Sinbad return to the islands main character is the same Sinbad of The Thousand and One Nights.
And it makes the Norse myths or the Greek literature.
Humour is another essential characteristic of narrative Cunqueiro.
His poetry and theatrical
Cunqueiro not stopped writing poems at any stage of your life.
Poetic activity in the pre-war súmanselle other books later.
After the war, published Owner lean body, Herb here or there.
He also wrote dramas. Stresses the night is like a river, the uncertain Sir Don Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.
But the work of Cunqueiro would be incomplete without quoting his work as an essayist.