Antonio Gala, successful Spanish writer and poet, dies at the age of 92

Spanish writer and poet Antony Galaa bestseller at the end of the last century in his country, died this Sunday at the age of 92, announced the Planeta publishing house.

“We regret to inform you that our dear author and friend Antonio Gala, one of the most outstanding writers of Spanish literature, has passed away today”tweeted the publisher, which published his books.

“We will always remember him for his literary legacy and for his support of young creators”, added Planet.

“Rest in peace, your work remains forever”, the Spanish Minister of Culture, Miquel Iceta, tweeted on his side.

Neither the minister nor the publisher detailed the causes of death, but local media indicated that the author suffered from health problems.

Gala, who created a foundation to promote the work of young writers, had withdrawn from public life after announcing in 2011 that he had colon cancer. Born in Ciudad Real (downtown) in 1930, he published since the late fifties books of poems and plays, but it was in 1990 when he rose to fame with his first novel, “El manuscript crimson”, which won The Planet Award.

Three years later he published another popular novel, “La pasión turca”, a story that was made into a film by director Vicente Aranda, starring actress Ana Belén, and which was a box office success in Spain.

In addition to novels and poetry books, gala also wrote television scripts and essays, and was a columnist for various media, such as the newspaper El País. Since the beginning of the 2000s, he has promoted the Antonio Gala Foundation for Young Creators, which annually grants fifteen candidates.

The young people who have passed through the foundation “have won more than two hundred national and international awards in their respective disciplines, some of them really important, such as the National Narrative Award,” according to the foundation’s website.

Gala spent her last years at the foundation’s headquarters, in Córdoba (Andalusia, south).

With information from AFP