The Department of Spanish and Portuguese, and the Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies will host two events highlighting the work of the Spanish author Miguel Delibes (1920-2010) and his impressive contributions to Spanish cultural life and journalism. The events are jointly organized by the Department and the Miguel Delibes Foundation in Valladolid, Spain.
On Wednesday, November 6, Los santos inocentes (The Holy Innocents), 1984 will be screened in Integrative Learning Center (ILC) 120 at 4:00 p.m. The film garnered numerous international awards and is based on the Delibes novel of the same name. It deals with the precarious existence of agricultural workers in western Spain still subsisting under semi-feudal conditions even after the restoration of democracy in Spain in the 1970s. The noted Spanish director, Mario Camus, garnered numerous international awards. Professor Agustín Cuadrado, from Texas State University, who is a native of Valladolid and an expert on Delibes and his work, will introduce the film, which has English subtitles. It is free and open to the public.
Agustín Cuadrado earned a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Film from the Universidad de Valladolid. He holds an M.A. in Spanish from Bowling Green State University, and M.A. in Spanish as a Second Language from the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares and a Ph.D. in Spanish Literature from the University of Arizona. He serves as Spanish undergraduate Advisor, and is co-Director of Letras Hispanas.
On Thursday, November 7, there will a panel discussion on Delibes’ life and work. It features presentations by the writer’s daughter, Elisa Delibes, the Director of the Delibes Foundation, Fernando Zamácola Feijoo, and the noted Spanish scholar Ramón González from the University of Valladolid. Professor Cuadrado will moderate the panel. The presentations will be in Spanish. The event will take place in Harvill 101 at 3:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public.
Miguel Delibes began his career as the Editor of the Norte de Castilla, one of Spain’s most important newspapers. When the strict censorship imposed by the Franco dictatorship precluded his writing in defense of the values of civil society, he turned to fiction and the essay to get his message out which he did through his through his twenty-six works of fiction, seventeen volumes of essays and six travel books. Among his most famous novels are The Road, The Holy Innocents and Five Hours with Mario. These and others have garnered the writer numerous awards. His works have been translated into many languages, and several have become movies or stage productions.
The Miguel Delibes Foundation was founded in 2011. Its goals are to preserve the writer’s literary legacy, to disseminate information about his life and work and to foment and support the study of the writer’s work. Extensive information about the Delibes Foundation and its many activities can be found at its website http://www.fundacionmigueldelibes.es/presentacion/
