La herencia discreta de Juan Gil-Albert

La caja de letras Caja Cervantes received the «In Memoriam» legacy of the poet Juan Gil-Albert (Alcoy, 1904-Valencia, 1994) on Tuesday, which includes his glasses, several manuscripts, and issues of the magazine «Canelobre», one of them from 1996 dedicated to the author, published by Alicante de la cultura.

Luis García Montero, director of the Cervantes Institute, and Antonio Pérez, president of the Provincial Council of Alicante. García Montero praised the «discreet memory and creativity», which also meant «a great example of cultural dialogue» between Mexico and Spain.

«His figure is essential to remember his exile and Spanish importance,» said García Montero, who recalled the writer’s departure from Alicante to Mexico on the ship Sinaia due to the civil war.

The Cervantes director said that Gil-Albert’s work at this moment «represents very well his ethical and intellectual figure, the best of the responses that could occur in the critical years of the war.» «He stood against the coup, was able to reflect in an elegiac tone, and was part of the entire cultural movement that took place in Valencia from the literary and cultural commitment,» he added.

The legacy, which coincides with the 121st anniversary of the birth of the essayist from Alicante, was deposited in box number 1601. The handwritten poems included are «Epithalamium for a sister», dated 1935; «Farewell to a year», dated 1936, and «My Nostalgia, homage to Jáiva», from 1964, all distributed by his granddaughter, Claudia Simón Aura.

Also included were commemorative postcards and a photo of the poet. For the President of Alicante Diputacia, Antonio Pérez, this is a legacy that «confesses to this great author» and ensures that his work «remains for future generations.»

Pérez celebrated Juan Gil-Albert’s «silent dignity» and requested that it «remain in use» to disseminate his work. At the end of the event, a reading of the work «Valentín» by Gil-Albert took place in the theatrical version written by Juan Ramón Torregosa and performed by the actor Toni Mamó.