Among people born in our region and reached excellence and reputation in their professional field, if there is one that leaves no one indifferent, that's Camilo Jose Cela. He was a journalist, censor under Franco, rapporteur for travel within Spain, one of the responsibles of modernization Spanish novel at the postwar time, senator on first democratic parliament after the dictatorship, Literary Nobel Prize and, finally, the first Marquis of Iria Flavia, title created expressly by King Juan Carlos I.
Camilo Jose Cela left its mark on Iria Flavia. The writer wanted to remain tied to the land where he was born and today we can visit their former homes, now housing the headquarters of the Camilo José Cela Foundation.
The building was originally one of the houses enabled the priest whom officiated in the ancient church of Santa María Adina. It is a building of granite stone and very sober up in the eighteenth century. The horizontal lines and the breadth of its walls are the main feature, as they should be humble before the collegiate located opposite.
Camilo Jose Cela added to cover the badge of his Marquis, crowned with the motto that accompanied him throughout his life: "He who resists, wins". A declaration of intent that outlines the nature and tenacious survivor writer.
A visit to the foundation will bring us to a unique era of Spanish letters: to rid the country after the civil war, the publishing industry had to get up again but a large number of writers had positioned in favor of the Republic. In this situation of deprivation, Camilo Jose Cela was able to highlight and his literary talents to the new Spanish publishing industry. His is the merit, among others, to connect with the Hispanic letters short and crude realism of the American writer John Dos Passos.
The foundation collects all his work, manuscripts, private collections and remnants of his own life, which account for the great stylistic diversity and insight into the literary portrait crop the Marquis of Iria Flavia.
The museum has a total area of 11,000 square meters; It has a library of over 45,000 volumes, an art gallery with more than 700 original paintings a 178-seater auditorium, classrooms and exhibition halls, and a large garden area.
In the various rooms visitors can see many of the decorations that were imposed to the writer during his lifetime, as the Nobel (1989), Cervantes (1995) Prize and the Prince of Asturias (1987) as well as collections and objects Camilo Jose Cela was gathered throughout his life, and that its richness and variety, are of particular interest.
A visit to this area of stone and letters gives us some idea of the literary wealth of our region. If it is true that writing was invented about the same time that agriculture is not surprising that a land so fertile orchard as Iria, which is also in illustrious writers.
In the next posts talk about other great writers of the lands of Iria and Macías O Namorado, Juan Rodriguez de la Cámara or the famous poet Rosalia de Castro.
