Antonio Gala, the renowned playwright, novelist, poet, and essayist, passed away this Sunday at the age of 92. A statement from the Antonio Gala Foundation Board of Trustees and the family confirmed the news.
The funeral chapel will be set up in the foundation’s meeting room and will be open to visitors from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm on Monday for those who wish to pay their respects.
From a very young age, Gala demonstrated a prodigious literary talent. He wrote a short story at five and produced his first play at seven. When he was fourteen, he delivered a lecture at the Círculo de la Amistad in Córdoba, signaling the arrival of a formidable voice in Spanish letters.
In 1951, at the age of 15, he began studies in Law at the University of Seville, later pursuing Philosophy and Literature and Political and Economic Sciences in Madrid. During his university years, he published his early poems in journals such as Escorial, Platero, and Cántico, and co-founded two literary journals, Aljibe and Arquero de Poesía, together with Gloria Fuertes and Julio Mariscal Montes.
After graduation, Gala pursued the path of a state attorney in keeping with his father’s legacy, but he left the track in his second year. He spent time in Jerez de la Frontera and Córdoba, and upon returning to Madrid, he taught Philosophy and Art History at various schools to sustain himself. A year-long sojourn in Italy in 1962 broadened his horizons and fed his later work.
During this period Gala produced his poetry collection Intimate Enemy in 1959 and earned second prize at the Adonais Poetry Prize. In the spring of 1963, upon his return to Spain, he received the Las Albinas award for Solstice de Verano. In July, the Calderón de la Barca National Award recognized his comedy Los Verdes Campos del Edén, marking the start of a prolific phase as a playwright. Works such as Anillos para una dama, premiered in 1973, and Petra Regalada, written in 1980, underscored a long and productive theatrical career that would define a generation.
Gala also wrote widely for newspapers, contributing columns to Pueblo, Sábado Gráfico, Actualidad Española, El País, and El Mundo. He later collaborated in El Mundo’s column La Tronera, with a collection published in 1996. Many of his essays and notes later appeared in book form, among them Talks with Troylo (1981) and In His Own Hands (1985). Autumn Lady’s Notebook followed in 1985, with pieces dedicated to Tobias in 1988, and Sound Loneliness in 1991, culminating in Who Goes with Me in 1994. These writings reflect a voice that moved across genres with ease and confidence, always tethered to a deep literary sensibility.
Beyond his work as a columnist, Gala lectured extensively on literary subjects, with a particular emphasis on theater. His titles Teatros de hoy, teatro de mañana (1978) and El mito de la libertad (1992) are among the milestones that accompany his career in pedagogy and criticism. He earned the Planeta Prize for his first novel, The Red Manuscript, in 1990, a turning point that opened doors to a wider readership. The Turkish Passion (1994) followed, then Beyond the Garden (1995) and The Rule of Three (1996). The Outskirts of God (1999), The Impossible Oblivion (2001), and The Garden Guest (2002) arrived as part of a sustained literary arc. Later works included The Owner of the Wound (2003) and The Pedestal of Statues (2007). His curiosity about Andalusian culture produced compilations like Granada de los Nazaríes and Andaluz and Córdoba de Gala in 1993, with further editions in 1994, reflecting a lifelong affinity for the region he loved.
His poetic oeuvre at a formative pace included early collections such as Intimate Enemy, Cordoba Poems (1994), The Two-Headed Eagle: Love Texts (1994), and Love Poems (1997). Later, Tobias’s Soulless Poem appeared in 2005, among other works. Gala’s honors extended beyond the Adonais, Planeta, and Calderón de la Barca prizes; he received multiple recognitions, including the City of Barcelona Award (1965), the Theater Forum Award (1971), and the National Literary Award in 1972, along with the Audience and Critics prizes. The Golden Quixote Award (1972–73) and the Antena de Oro Prize were among the other distinctions that punctuated a career marked by versatility and sustained output across genres, media, and themes.
Source: Antonio Gala Foundation.