The Spanish writer Almudena Grandes died this Saturday in Madrid, due to cancer. The world of politics and culture mourned his death. The winner of various literary awards leaves an indelible legacy as one of the best writers of the last stretch of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st in Spain.
This Saturday, November 27, the Spanish writer Almudena Grandes passed away. He left at his home in Madrid at the age of 61, due to cancer. Throughout her career, who is considered one of the most relevant authors of recent generations, received various awards.
In a column she wrote on October 10 for the newspaper El País, the Madrid writer said that she had been diagnosed with a malignant tumor in a routine check-up just over a year ago, when she was hospitalized for an intestinal problem.
He titled it ‘Pull a fence’: “I will continue to be here, writing an article on this same page every two weeks, and on the back cover of the newspaper every Monday. That space, sacred to me, because it allows me to keep in touch with my readers in any circumstance, it will allow us to meet, to know about ourselves, to stay together, “he wrote.
The world of politics and culture regretted the departure of Almudena Grandes
Pedro Sánchez, current president of the Government of Spain, spoke about it on his Twitter account. “We lose one of the leading writers of our time. Committed and brave, who has narrated our recent history from a progressive perspective. Your memory, your work, will always be with us, Almudena Grandes. A hug to her family and loved ones” , wrote.
We lose one of the leading writers of our time. Committed and brave, she has narrated our recent history from a progressive perspective.
Your memory, your work, will always be with us, Almudena Grandes.
A hug to your family and loved ones. pic.twitter.com/m8N7qlBNKr
– Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) November 27, 2021
For its part, the Spanish Socialist Workers Party stated that “we deeply regret the death of Almudena Grandes, one of the most relevant figures in the literary scene in our country. Thank you for keeping alive the memory of so many men and women who fought for freedom. Your stories will always be with us. “
Salvador Illa Roca, current Head of the opposition of Catalonia and deputy to the Parliament of Catalonia for the province of Barcelona, assured that “the world of literature is in mourning. Today Almudena Grandes, one of the best writers in our country, has left us and one of the most important figures in Spanish literature. His works will always accompany us. My deepest condolences to his family, friends and relatives. “
“Today the Spanish letters and the progressives are in mourning. My condolences to Luis García Montero”, wrote Miquel Iceta Llorens, current Minister of Culture and Sports of Spain since 2021.
The singer Alejandro Sanz also sent his condolences. “Today we all have a frozen heart. Your being, your words, your novels … make you eternal. Thank you for everything you have given us. A hug to all the loved ones of Almudena Grandes,” said Sanz.
Finally, the singer Rozalén expressed her pain through her Twitter account. “What a great sadness I feel inside … Ay! How much he has cared for me and taught me. Eternal Almudena Grandes”, it reads.
Who was Almudena Grandes?
Almudena Grandes was born in the Chamartín neighborhood of Madrid on May 7, 1960. She studied Geography and History at the Complutense University of Madrid. Immediately afterwards, she began to work in the publishing world as a proofreader and author of texts for encyclopedias and popular books.
In 1989, the wife of the poet Luis García Montero, director of the Cervantes Institute and with whom he has a daughter, published his first novel, entitled “The ages of Lulú.” His work earned him the Vertical Smile Award for erotic literature. It was translated into more than twenty languages and made into a movie a year later by the Spanish director Bigas Luna. “The ages … gave me the possibility of living the life that I wanted. I will never be able to pay off that debt,” he commented years later.
In 1991 he published “I’ll call you Friday”, his second novel. But it was in 1994 when she consolidated as a writer with her work “Malena es un nombre de tango”, another literary success, which also reached the big screen thanks to the Spanish Gerardo Herrero.
In 2007, he won the Novel Prize from the Juan Lara Foundation and the Madrid Booksellers Guild for his book “The frozen heart.”
In 2010 he published “Ines and joy”, the first title of the series “Episodes of an interminable war”, in which he recounted the anti-Franco resistance after the Civil War and until 1964. With this work he won the Madrid Critics Award, the Elena Poniatowska Ibero-American Novel Prize in Mexico City and the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize. It was a work inspired by Benito Pérez Galdós, the most important writer of his life, according to Grandes.
“The Julio Verne reader” (2012), “Manolita’s three weddings” (2014) and “Doctor García’s patients” (2017) -National Narrative Award in 2018 in Spain and Jean Monnet Award for European Literature in 2020 – and “The mother of Frankenstein” (2020) were the next titles in the series, which finally leaves incomplete, in the absence of a title.
In 2012 he was part of the Open Left, a party integrated into the United Left. In 2020 she was named an honorary doctorate by the National Distance Education University (UNED) in Spain. That same year he won the 2020 International Journalism Award from the International Press Club.
Almudena Grandes portrayed the spirit of a time where the desire and sexuality of women were in full transformation. The writer was also committed to feminism and left-wing political struggle.
She leaves the world as one of the most consolidated Spanish narrators and with the greatest international projection. His legacy is indelible and will remain in the memory of lovers of literature.
With EFE and local media
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