Antonio Cillero Ulecia (Navarrete, La Rioja, June 13, 1917 - Logroño January 16, 2007),Antonio Cillero Ulecia, a poet of return, El País, 17/01/2007. was a Spanish writer with a broad and varied body of work that encompassed the genres of essay, poetry, novel, and, above all, theatre. Author of around 250 literary works, he was considered the "patriarch of Rioja literature" at the time of his death.Antonio Cillero Ulecia, dean of Rioja literature, dies at 89, La Rioja, 17/01/2007.

Biography Literature, and especially theatre, was the vital core of Antonio Cillero. He premiered his first play in 1940 and by 1942 he was already a member of the General Society of Authors of Spain.

Between 1943 and 1948, theatre companies of Antonio Navarro, Guzmán-Franco, and Ernesto Gómez performed his plays, such as Con ese hombre no me caso, El señorito, and Como una madre, among other theatrical companies.Antonio Cillero Ulecia, Rioja writer, dies at 89 in Madrid, El Correo 17/01/2007.

In 1949, he left Spain with part of his family, heading to Buenos Aires. There he premiered, among others, the plays El Bobalicón, El pan del año, and Tierra sedienta.

In 1965, he returned to Spain. He premiered, at the Ateneo de Madrid, Confesión pública, a satirical monologue in two acts, which would be performed in several Ibero-American countries. In 1969, he premiered La gran mascarada in Madrid.

In 1970, he promoted the declaration of Navarrete as a Historical-Artistic Ensemble, being the first municipality in La Rioja to achieve this distinction.

In 1973, he published two poetry books Mi sentir y mi canción and El llanto de las fuentes. In 1975, he edited the essay Una cuenca desconocida. El Najerilla, paying tribute to his Rioja land.

In 1998, he donated his artistic legacy to the University of La Rioja, which included ten works of art, 2,880 bibliographic volumes, as well as lithic tools, bones, ceramics, fossils, coins, and banknotes of various origins. In recognition, the University of La Rioja awarded him the Patronage Medal in 2007.

In 2017, his heirs donated 45 manuscripts of Antonio Cillero Ulecia's works to the University of La Rioja in order to "make them accessible to students and researchers who wish to delve into his work," and a commemorative event was organized for the centenary of his birth.

In 2021, the City Council of Navarrete and Editorial Buscarini promoted the re-edition of his novel 'Pascasio y Vinagre' as a testimony of "remembrance, admiration, and gratitude" on the 50th anniversary of the declaration of the town as a Historical-Artistic Ensemble.

Awards and Recognition

Awards Among others:

2007 Patronage Medal of the University of La Rioja

Prizes Among others:

1995 Finalist Premio Nadal 1972 Finalist Alfaguara Prize. 1969 Finalist for the Lope de Vega Prize

Recognitions Among others:

Member of the Argentine Society of Writers, the Club of Letters, the Ibero-American Society of Writers, and the Argentine Hispanic Institute. Member of the Royal Hispanic-American Academy and the Royal Burgense Academy of History and Fine Arts.

Works

Theatre He wrote more than 120 works of theatre. Among others:

Testigo de una pasión (Buenos Aires, 1960). Confesión pública. Satirical monologue in two acts (Escélicer, Madrid, 1963).

Narrative Among other works:

1980 Pascasio y Vinagre (reissued in 2021) 1981 Vida y desventura de Tiago Hernáez, finalist for the Alfaguara Prize in 1972. 1975 Ajuste de cuentas (unpublished) finalist for Premio Nadal. 1969 La libertad encadenada, finalist for the Lope de Vega Prize in 1969.

Poetry Among other books:

El Cisne del Najerilla El llanto de las fuentes (1973) Mi sentir y mi canción (1973) Mi lanza y mi condena (2006)Antonio Cillero receives the last farewell surrounded by friends and colleagues, El Correo, 18/01/2007.

Notes and References