JOSEFINA DE LA TORRE: BIOGRAPHY AND WORKS - LITERATURE - 2024

Josefina de la Torre (1907-2002) was a Spanish woman who worked as a poet, novelist, opera singer, theater, radio, film and television actress. Her person is closely linked to the generation of 27 in Spain in the 20th century.

He was part of the illustrious group of poets of 1927. This group includes authors such as Juan José Domenchina, Concha Méndez, Ernestina de Champourcín and Carmen Conde. They, all Spanish, rose to fame for their desire to experiment with art, literature and poetry in an avant-garde way.

The albums of Josefina de la Torre: The last voice of 27. By Diario de Madrid, via Wikimedia Commons

He started his artistic career from a very young age. It not only developed in the poetic field, but also in other literary disciplines.

Biography

Early years

Josefina de la Torre Millares was born in 1907, although the exact date of her birth is unknown. Her mother brought her to the world in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. She was the youngest of six siblings, daughter of businessman Bernardo de la Torre y Comminges, and of Francisca Millares Cubas.

He was born to a family highly linked to art; his maternal grandfather was the historian, novelist and musician Agustín Millares Torres. His uncle, Néstor de la Torre Comminges, was a long-time interpreter in the Canary Islands; it was he who first introduced her to the musical world.

On the other hand, he had the influence of his brother Claudio; an important novelist and playwright of the time who received the National Prize for Literature in 1924.

Between the ages of seven and eight, he composed a couple of verses in homage to Benito Pérez Galdós and the Canarian poet Alonso Quesada. Then, at the age of thirteen, he made a few literary publications in magazines in his hometown.

When her brother won the National Literature Prize, Josefina managed to make several contacts with writers in the Spanish capital, which helped her recognition. It was at that moment when she met the writer Pedro Salinas.

Beginning of his artistic career

When he moved to Madrid, he took the opportunity to perfect his vocal technique as a soprano at the Dahmen Chao School.

In 1927 he wrote his first collection of poems, Verses y stamps. Later, in 1930, he wrote a book entitled Poems on the Island. These two texts had characteristics of a light and stylized poetry. Later, in 1934, his poems were included in Gerardo Diego's work entitled Antología de la Poesía.

That same year she began working as a Spanish dubbing actress for the voice of the German actress and singer Marlene Dietrich, for the Paramount studios, France.

From 1935 on, he devoted himself fully to his career as a soprano and his theatrical vocation. That same year she performed a concert in the city of Madrid, accompanied by Cipriano Rivas Cherif on the piano.

In addition to that concert, Josefina managed to mount on other platforms as a singer and songwriter. It was presented at the San Isidro Institute in Madrid, at the Lyceum for women and at the Madrid Student Residence. Josefina was not only an interpreter of innumerable pieces of music, but also composed her own scores.

His other disciplines

When the Spanish Civil War began, he returned to the Canary Islands, where he published his first novels under the pseudonym "Laura Comminges". The work consisted of serials entitled La Novela Ideal. These novels were her economic sustenance during the war.

Between 1940 and 1945, she worked as an actress, assistant director, columnist and screenwriter. In fact, she wrote several columns for the film magazine Primer Plano. In addition, she made several performances in radio soap operas on Radio Nacional, and even participated in several films directed by renowned public figures.

Her first relevant role as an actress was in Claudio de la Torre's film First love. In addition, she played other relevant roles in the films: La blanca Paloma, Misterio en la maisma, El camino del amor, La vida en un thread, among others. Years later, she published a novel titled Memories of a Star.

He performed a few times at the María Guerrero Theater in Madrid in the 1940s, debuting with the play La rabia, by Pedro Calderón de la Barca and directed by Luis Escobar.

Four years later, he became part of a group of actors and actresses at RNE's Invisible Theater. She remained in this theater until she participated in La Voz de Madrid, in 1957.

Recognitions

In 2000, she was named an Honorary Member of the Canarian Academy of Language. A year later, the Associated University Press in New York published an essay by Catherine Bellvev titled Absence and Presence. In that publication, Josefina was recognized as one of the most relevant Spanish poets between 1920 and 1930.

Between May 4 and 15, 2001, an exhibition was held in honor of Josefina de la Torre at the Madrid Student Residence. The exhibition was titled The Albums of Josefina de la Torre: The Last Voice of 27.

Death

Josefina attended the inauguration of the event with her 93 years, I feel this her last appearance in the media. She passed away a year later, on July 12, 2002, when she had just turned 95 years old.

Plays

Verses and stamps

In 1927, Josefina de la Torre wrote her first work entitled Versos y stamps. The writer Pedro Salinas was the one who wrote her prologue.

Verses and Prints is a collection of poems characterized by simplicity and lyricism. It also plays with a sincere tone, with a description of the island landscape, the memory of her childhood, evokes youth. It is written simply, completely moving away from all pomposity.

Poems on the island

This collection of poems written in 1930 is the collection of poems with the greatest influence of the generation of '27. It is characterized by being a much more stylized and abstract poetry. His poetic voice is said to be reminiscent of pure poetry.

The avant-garde influence is noticeable at first glance with the use of some metaphors, in which it evoked the sentimental.

The ideal novel

Although her prose work is much smaller, Josefina wrote a series of romantic novels whose collection was titled The Ideal novel. The novels were written in the early 1940s, during the Spanish Civil War.

The play was directed by his brother Claudio de la Torre and his wife, Mercedes Ballesteros. They published it under the pseudonyms Laura Comminges, Rocq Morris and Sylvia Visconti.

Memories of a star

In 1954, Josefina published the work Memories of a star, a novel that tells the story of an actress who left the cinema when her success began. This novel is part of a compendium of works entitled The Saturday novel.

References

1. Generation of 27, Characteristics Portal, (nd). Taken from characteristics.co
2. Josefina de la Torre, poet and actress linked to the Generation of 27, Portal de El País, (2002) dies. Taken from elpais.com
3. Josefina de la Torre, Spanish Wikipedia, (nd). Taken from wikipedia.org
4. The women of the Generation of 27, Editores de Historia.com, (2016). Taken from es.historia.com
5. Josefina de la Torre, Miguel de Cervantes Virtual Library Portal, (nd). Taken from cervantesvirtual.com
6. Josefina de la Torre, Portal Academia Canaria de la Lengua, (nd). Taken from academiacanarialengua.org