Valencian personalities

Vicente Blasco Ibanez

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foto del valenziano Blasco Ibañez
Vicente Blasco Ibanez, writer, journalist, politician, writer and director from Valencia to whom the city has devoted a large tree-lined avenue, was born in 1867. His Parents were from Aragon. He wrote his works in Spanish with a little bit of Valencian to discribe the daily life in the region of Valencia.

He has a degree in law of Valencia, but has never practiced as a lawyer. He preferred to devote himself to politics, journalism, literature and women. Before being considered as a man of letters, he was a man of action. During the First World War he was in France, he was a Freemason and a Republican. He spread his ideas through a Republican newspaper he founded in 1894, "El Pueblo". In 1896 he was arrested and sentenced to several months in prison. Between 1898 and 1907, he represented the Republican Party in Parliament, then joined another Republican party because of internal differences.

In 1916, the French President Raymond Poincare personally asked to him to write a book on war. Ibanez then wrote "The Four Horsemen of the apocalyspse". The book was a huge success, especially in the United States and in the world of cinema where his movie version starred Rudolph Valentino.

The author has written different kinds of fiction. His work like Arroz y Tartana (1894) Flor de Mayo (MayFlower) (1895), Barraca (The cabin) (1899) ; Sonnica the cortesana (Sonnica the courtesan ) (1901), Cañas y Barro (reeds and mud) (1902) were telling about social analysis.





He also wrote some historical books and the topic of the war will inspire a trilogy: Los Cuatro del Jinetes Apocalipsis (The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse) in 1916, Mare Nostrum (Our sea) in 1918; Los Enemigos de la mujer (The Enemies of Women) in 1919. Blasco Ibáñez died in his villa in Menton and the following year his last two novels were brought out : El caballero de la Virgen (The Knight of the Virgin) and En busca del Gran Kan (The Wonderful Adventures of Christopher Columbus: In Search of the Great Khan).

The Argonauts may be considered as a historical work as it is an autobiography and history about the Spanish colonization in America. In the shadow of the Cathedral is a rather detailed description of the Cathedral of Toledo.

The Valencian writer, died in France and his remains were returned to Spain during the Civil War, the man was not given the recognition he deserved.

Balsco Ibañez was the owner of a villa on the beach Malvarrosa in Valencia, which he used to meet friends and intellectuals of the time. This house, now restored, is the Museo Casa Vicente Blasco Ibañez.

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