Gonzalo Santonja

Gonzalo Santonja Gómez-Agero (born 12 October 1952) is a Spanish writer, politician, professor, and literary critic who, since 2022, has served as Minister of Culture, Tourism, and Sport in the Junta of Castile and León, as an appointee of Vox.

Biography

Born in Béjar, Province of Salamanca, Santonja was active in the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) in his youth, for which he was arrested in the late years of Francoist Spain. He fled to France but moved back soon after, stating that he could not stand the French people.[1] In the 1970s, he also expressed sympathy for Herri Batasuna, the political arm of ETA.[2][3] He was a close friend of communist poet Rafael Alberti and an advisor to his eponymous foundation.[3] He married Dolores Grimau, whose father Julián Grimau was executed by Franco in 1963 for running the PCE's clandestine activities in Spain.[3]

He is a member of the Academia Argentina de Letras, the North American Academy of the Spanish Language and the Philippine Academy of the Spanish Language. He has written over 30 books of essays and five on the history of bullfighting, a practice that he supports.[3][1] He has been a professor at the Complutense University of Madrid and director of the Instituto Castellano y Leonés de la Lengua [es].[1]

In March 2022, he was named Minister of Culture, Tourism, and Sport in the Junta of Castile and León, by Vox, the junior partner in the Second government of Alfonso Fernández Mañueco.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c García Catalán, Santos (29 March 2022). "Gonzalo Santonja al poder" [Gonzalo Santonja in power]. El Español (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  2. ^ Cornejo, Laura (7 April 2022). "Vox defiende a su consejero de Cultura para Castilla y León y critica que "algunos medios" cuenten su pasada simpatía por Herri Batasuna" [Vox defends its Culture Secretary in Castile and León and criticises "some media" for telling of his past sympathy for Herri Batasuna]. ElDiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e "El viaje extremo de Gonzalo Santonja: del comunismo y apoyo de Alberti a consejero de Vox en Castilla y León" [Gonzalo Santonja's extreme journey: from communism and support for Alberti to Vox minister in Castile and León]. Público (in Spanish). 30 March 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2022.