José Manuel Castañón (February 10, 1920 – June 6, 2001) was a Spanish writer born in Pola de Lena, Asturias.[1] Although he fought in Francisco Franco’s 1936 military uprising, he later distanced himself from Franco's regime and in 1957 left for a 20-year exile to Venezuela. His best-known novel Moletu-Voleva, published in Madrid in 1956, a story about lust for money.
José Manuel Castañón was born in Pola De Lena, Asturias. He was the third of seven children of Guillermo Castañón, a lawyer, and Berta de la Peña. He was very much influenced by his father. He had a happy childhood life, liked to read books in his father’s library, and at a very young age began to feel the calling to be a writer.
At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, he left secretly his parents' home, and enlisted himself in the Infantry. He was severely injured (he lost the use of his right hand) but Castañón still had the strength to return to the front. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and in 1941 volunteered in the Blue Division. He returned to conclude his studies and became a lawyer like his father. In 1942 he married his first-cousin Nieves Escalada; they had five children. In 1945 he graduated from Law School at the University of Oviedo. Castañón worked as a lawyer in private practice for some years in Oviedo. Unwilling to be part of the Franco’s regime due to the unfair treatment of defeated Republicans and to discriminatory legal procedures, he started expressing his discontent. He protested openly against the dictatorship, calling for a just treatment to family members of Republicans killed in the war and to War Disable Republican fighters and their families. As a result he was imprisoned, in 1953.
In prison he wrote his first novel Moletu-Voleva or "The insanity for the lust of dollars", a tragic-comic satire, inspired by the personality of one of the jail recluses and his mad pursuit for easy-coming money. The book, published in 1956, received very warm critics and it was considered full of originality and transcendence. In 1957 he also published Bezana Roja.
By that time, he had already decided going into self-exile, considering incompatible his profession as a freelance writer with Franco's dictatorship. In 1957, he resigned his infantry captain rank and addressed a letter to the Spanish Government requesting that his War Veteran's pension be paid to a War Disable Republican, and fled to France. From there he went to Caracas, Venezuela. Two years later his family joined him. In Venezuela he sustained his family working exclusively as a writer. Most of his literary work was published in Caracas. In 1987 he received de Andres Bello Order from the Government of Venezuela.
José Manuel Castañón was a passionate lover of poetry. He had an astounding ability to memorizing poems; he knew an extraordinary number of poems by heart, and enjoyed reciting them to audiences. He wrote a book about his beloved Peruvian poet Cesar Vallejo: Passion for Vallejo. In 1983, he was named adoptive son of Santiago de Chuco, Vallejo's birthplace.
While in the Blue Division he had kept a diary, which remained unpublished for many years. The book was published in 1991 under the title The Diary of an Adventure. He wrote, as well, books on his ideology, political beliefs, and his inner struggle. In 1977, he returned to Madrid, when in Spain had already disappeared all vestige of the dictatorship. He died June 6, 2001.
Castañón was predeceased by his wife and a son, and is survived by four daughters.
Major worksEdit
Moletu-Voleva (1956)
Bezana Roja (1957)
Andres Cuenta su Historia (1962)
Encuentro con Venezuela (1962)
Confesiones de un vivir absurdo (1959)
Una Balandra encalla en Tierra firme (1958)
Cuba hablo contigo (1989)
Cuba sigo Hablando contigo(1993)
Pasion por Vallejo (1963)
Entre dos Orillas (1975)
Me Confieso Bolivarianamente (1982)
Cuentos Vividos (1976)
Diario de una Aventura (1991)
En mi sentir revuelto (1992)
Mi Padre y Ramon Gomez de la Serna (1975)
ReferencesEdit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to José Manuel Castañón.
^Eaude, Michael (2001-07-11). "Obituary: José Manuel Castañón". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
October 22, 2023
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Jose Manuel Castanon news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message Jose Manuel Castanon February 10 1920 June 6 2001 was a Spanish writer born in Pola de Lena Asturias 1 Although he fought in Francisco Franco s 1936 military uprising he later distanced himself from Franco s regime and in 1957 left for a 20 year exile to Venezuela His best known novel Moletu Voleva published in Madrid in 1956 a story about lust for money Jose Manuel CastanonBorn 1920 02 10 February 10 1920Pola de Lena Asturias SpainDiedJune 6 2001 2001 06 06 aged 81 Madrid SpainOccupationWriter lawyerSpouseMaria de las Nieves Castanon EscaladaGalicia October 1937 At the hospital Biography EditJose Manuel Castanon was born in Pola De Lena Asturias He was the third of seven children of Guillermo Castanon a lawyer and Berta de la Pena He was very much influenced by his father He had a happy childhood life liked to read books in his father s library and at a very young age began to feel the calling to be a writer At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War he left secretly his parents home and enlisted himself in the Infantry He was severely injured he lost the use of his right hand but Castanon still had the strength to return to the front He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and in 1941 volunteered in the Blue Division He returned to conclude his studies and became a lawyer like his father In 1942 he married his first cousin Nieves Escalada they had five children In 1945 he graduated from Law School at the University of Oviedo Castanon worked as a lawyer in private practice for some years in Oviedo Unwilling to be part of the Franco s regime due to the unfair treatment of defeated Republicans and to discriminatory legal procedures he started expressing his discontent He protested openly against the dictatorship calling for a just treatment to family members of Republicans killed in the war and to War Disable Republican fighters and their families As a result he was imprisoned in 1953 In prison he wrote his first novel Moletu Voleva or The insanity for the lust of dollars a tragic comic satire inspired by the personality of one of the jail recluses and his mad pursuit for easy coming money The book published in 1956 received very warm critics and it was considered full of originality and transcendence In 1957 he also published Bezana Roja By that time he had already decided going into self exile considering incompatible his profession as a freelance writer with Franco s dictatorship In 1957 he resigned his infantry captain rank and addressed a letter to the Spanish Government requesting that his War Veteran s pension be paid to a War Disable Republican and fled to France From there he went to Caracas Venezuela Two years later his family joined him In Venezuela he sustained his family working exclusively as a writer Most of his literary work was published in Caracas In 1987 he received de Andres Bello Order from the Government of Venezuela Jose Manuel Castanon was a passionate lover of poetry He had an astounding ability to memorizing poems he knew an extraordinary number of poems by heart and enjoyed reciting them to audiences He wrote a book about his beloved Peruvian poet Cesar Vallejo Passion for Vallejo In 1983 he was named adoptive son of Santiago de Chuco Vallejo s birthplace While in the Blue Division he had kept a diary which remained unpublished for many years The book was published in 1991 under the title The Diary of an Adventure He wrote as well books on his ideology political beliefs and his inner struggle In 1977 he returned to Madrid when in Spain had already disappeared all vestige of the dictatorship He died June 6 2001 Castanon was predeceased by his wife and a son and is survived by four daughters Major works EditMoletu Voleva 1956 Bezana Roja 1957 Andres Cuenta su Historia 1962 Encuentro con Venezuela 1962 Confesiones de un vivir absurdo 1959 Una Balandra encalla en Tierra firme 1958 Cuba hablo contigo 1989 Cuba sigo Hablando contigo 1993 Pasion por Vallejo 1963 Entre dos Orillas 1975 Me Confieso Bolivarianamente 1982 Cuentos Vividos 1976 Diario de una Aventura 1991 En mi sentir revuelto 1992 Mi Padre y Ramon Gomez de la Serna 1975 References Edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jose Manuel Castanon Eaude Michael 2001 07 11 Obituary Jose Manuel Castanon The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 2020 02 10 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jose Manuel Castanon amp oldid 1181268731, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
