Antonio Buero Vallejo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Most Excellent Antonio Buero Vallejo
Born	Antonio Buero Vallejo (1916-09-29)29 September 1916 Guadalajara, Spain
Died	29 April 2000(2000-04-29) (aged 83) Madrid, Spain
Occupation	Playwright
Spouse(s)	Victoria Rodríguez
Seat X of the Real Academia Española
In office 21 May 1972 – 29 April 2000
Preceded by	Antonio Rodríguez-Moñino [es]
Succeeded by	Francisco Brines

Antonio Buero Vallejo (born September 29, 1916 – died April 29, 2000) was a very important Spanish writer of plays. He is known as the most significant Spanish playwright from the time of the Spanish Civil War. He was part of a group of artists called the Generation of '36.

About Antonio Buero Vallejo

Antonio Buero Vallejo won many important awards during his life. He received the National Theater Prize three times (in 1957, 1958, and 1959). He also won a special National Theatre Prize for his whole career in 1980. In 1996, he got the National Literature Prize. His biggest award was the Miguel de Cervantes Prize in 1986. This is Spain's highest honor for writers. From 1971 until he passed away, he was a member of the Real Academia Española, which is like a special club for important Spanish writers and language experts.

Early Life and War Experience

From 1934 to 1936, Antonio studied art and painting in Madrid. This was at a school called San Fernando Escuela de Arte. During the Spanish Civil War, he worked as a medical helper for the Republican Army. After the war ended, he faced difficulties and spent some time in prison.

Becoming a Famous Playwright

After he was released, Antonio wrote a play called Story of a Stairway in 1949. This play showed a clear picture of what life was like in Spain after the Civil War. It won a major award, the Lope de Vega Prize. This made Buero Vallejo one of the most important writers in Spain.

Many other writers left Spain to avoid strict government rules about what they could publish. But Buero Vallejo chose to stay. He used clever ways, like symbolism, in his plays to talk about problems in the government. In 1971, he was chosen to join the Royal Spanish Academy. Later, in 1994, he received two more special awards: the Gold Medal of Merit in Fine Arts and the Gold Medal of the Society of Authors of Spain.

Antonio Buero Vallejo passed away on April 29, 2000, when he was 83 years old.

Themes in His Plays

A common idea in his plays was the challenges Spain faced during and after the time of Franco's rule. Even in his sad plays, there was always a feeling of hope for the future. He often used ideas related to the senses in his works. For example, he might describe a "fiery darkness" where a character cannot see. This was a way to show the difficult situation Spain was in.

Awards and Honors

Antonio Buero Vallejo received many important awards:

• Miguel de Cervantes Prize (1986)
• National Theater Prize (1957, 1958, 1959, 1980 for his career)
• National Literature Prize (1996)
• Gold Medal of Merit in Fine Arts (1994)
• Gold Medal of the Society of Authors of Spain (1994)

Plays by Antonio Buero Vallejo

Here are some of the plays Antonio Buero Vallejo wrote:

• Historia de una escalera ("Story of a Stairway") (1949)
• En la ardiente oscuridad ("In The Burning Darkness") (1950)
• La tejedora de sueños (1952)
• La señal que se espera (1952)
• Casi un cuento de hadas (1953)
• Madrugada (1953)
• Irene o el tesoro (1954)
• Las cartas boca abajo (1957)
• Hoy es fiesta (1955)
• Un soñador para un pueblo (1958)
• Las Meninas (1960)
• El concierto de San Ovidio ("The concert at Saint-Ovide Fair") (1962)
• Aventura en lo gris (1963)
• El tragaluz ("The basement window") (1967)
• La doble historia del doctor Valmy ("The double-case history of Doctor Valmy") (1968)
• El sueño de la razón ("The Sleep of Reason") (1970)
• La detonación ("The Shot") (1977)
• Llegada de los dioses (1971)
• La Fundación ("The Foundation") (1974)
• Jueces en la noche ("Judges in the Night") (1979)
• Caimán (1981)
• Diálogo secreto (1984)
• Lázaro en el laberinto (1986)
• Música cercana ("The music window") (1989)
• Las trampas del azar (1994)
• Misión al pueblo desierto (1999)

See Also

In Spanish: Antonio Buero Vallejo para niños

• Café Gijón (Madrid)