José María Gabriel y Galán (1870-1905) was a Spanish writer and poet, whose work was based on the exposition of rural customs and traditions. He focused his writings on Castilian Spanish, which originated in Castile, and also on the Extremadura dialect, an unofficial dialect of Extremadura..
Gabriel y Galán's work was characterized by being realistic, with a large load of rhythm and melody. His poetry was intended to keep alive the emotions and feelings of the Spanish people regarding values and traditions..
Gabriel y Galán was not a prolific poet, that is, his work was not abundant; he managed to publish only about seven books of poetry. It has been considered The Castilians one of his most representative works. Scholars of his work consider that he has been one of the most widely read poets, thanks to his closeness to the people.
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José María Gabriel y Galán was born on June 28, 1870 in the town of Frades de la Sierra, Salamanca. The writer came from a family of farmers and landowners. His parents were Narciso Gabriel and Bernarda Galán.
Gabriel y Galán's mother liked poetry, hence perhaps the poet's taste and passion for poetry. The poet had four brothers.
Gabriel y Galán's first years of teaching were spent in Frades de la Sierra. In 1885, when he was fifteen years old, he went to Salamanca to study as a teacher at the Normal School. After completing the first three years, the writer moved to Madrid to continue his academic preparation.
His first verses are from those years as a university student. In 1889, at the age of nineteen, he graduated with the title of Master of Higher Education. To celebrate he went with a friend to Galicia, and his impression of the landscape was so great that he was inspired to write The Cowgirl Fountain Y Goodbye.
After returning from his trip to Galicia, José María was entrusted to practice his profession in the town of Guijuelo, near Salamanca. After three years, in 1892 and until 1898, he was assigned to the province of Ávila, specifically Piedrahíta.
At that time, Gabriel y Galán, apparently, did not feel very comfortable with their profession, or with their lifestyle. In fact, the correspondence he had with his friends he signed as "The Lonely One." His poems were based on his sensitive, nostalgic and believing personality..
During his years as a teacher in Piedrahíta, Gabriel y Galán met Desideria García Gascón, the daughter of some landowners. After several years of courtship, the lovers were married on January 26, 1898. With the marriage, the poet's life took a 180 degree turn..
After getting married, José María made the decision to no longer practice as a teacher. So, with his wife, he settled in Cáceres, more specifically in Guijo de Granadilla, where he was in charge of one of his in-laws' farms. The place was ideal for the writer to unleash his poetry.
The same year they got married, Gabriel y Galán experienced the joy of being a father after the birth of their son Jesus. Inspiration was on the surface, so he wrote one of his best-known Extremadura: The blessed Christ. That was also the time of his contact with the writer Miguel de Unamuno.
Gabriel y Galán met Unamuno thanks to the introduction of his brother Baldomero, the family lawyer, and who, in addition, also liked poetry. Miguel de Unamuno was delighted with José María's poetic exhibition. From that meeting the poet began to open doors in the literary field.
The popularity of José María in the field of poetry began to occur when, in 1901, he won "The natural flower" at the Floral Games of Salamanca, with the poem "The soul", dedicated to his mother after her death. Later, the poet obtained the same award in other locations.
In 1902 the writer was consolidated with the publication of his books Poetry Y Castellanas. At that time, the Madrid Athenaeum extended an invitation to him to give a recital, which was received with good criticism. The following year, Guijo de Granadilla named him Adoptive Son.
Just at the moment when the poetry of José María Gabriel y Galán began to take hold and be recognized, life began to fade. On December 31, 1904, he felt broken in health, and on January 6 of the following year he died in Guijo de Granadilla..
Among the causes of the poet's death, some have considered it to be pneumonia, others appendicitis. The truth is that, without knowing a specific cause, his talent quickly faded, he was thirty-four years old. Apart from his first-born Jesus, the poet orphaned three more children.
Although the departure of Gabriel y Galán was premature, their work remains current. At the time of his death, his brother Baldomero was in charge of keeping his poetry alive, both in Salamanca and Madrid, through editions, promotions and truthful information about his life..
His house in Frades de la Sierra became a museum, as well as that of Guijo de Granadilla. Also, in 1929, by Royal Order, his surname was perpetuated, that is, it was approved that his descendants could wear the Gabriel and Galán. Some of his relatives were recognized poets.
The literary style of José María Gabriel y Galán was focused on the customs and traditions of the countryside. For this he used a simple, clear and precise language. Also, in his eagerness and desire to connect the people with poetry, he expressed himself with the jargon of Extremadura..
The poetry of Gabriel y Galán was realistic, he did not show interest in the current of modernism. Its purpose was to express and keep peasant life alive, to make its people, beliefs and landscapes known in a sensitive and nostalgic way..
The poet's work was influenced by the Salamanca poetry of the writers José de Espronceda and José Zorrilla. That is, it was simple in expression, it also enjoyed naturalness and simplicity as a way of being closer to the reader, and also used assonance and consonant rhymes, as well as short stanzas.
Finally, the poet made a particular and abundant use of adjectives. In many cases the adjectives were double, with the aim of giving greater expressiveness and depth to the characteristics of the landscapes and themes in general. Not surprisingly, and despite the briefness of his work, he is still one of the most widely read poets.
Gabriel y Galán's work was proportional to his life. Perhaps, if he had managed to live many more years, his literary creation would have been one of the most abundant, because he had the talent, passion and recognition necessary. However, he only managed to publish the following:
- Poetry (1902).
- Castellanas (1902).
- Extremadura (1902).
- Just for my place (1903).
- Peasant women (1904).
- New Castilian (1905).
- Religious (1906, posthumous edition).
- Complete works (1909, posthumous edition).
It was one of the first poems of the poet, in which he exposed the precarious life of the peasants of his time, specifically those of Salamanca. The poet's observation of the situation was expressed as fatigue and lack of struggle for better conditions.
In addition, Gabriel and Galán's sensitivity was reflected in the treatment they gave him at the end of life, also showing their beliefs and religiosity. All this he achieved by expressing that life could be more pleasant and bearable only by having faith in God.
"Eyes blind, ears deaf,
the mute tongue and the soul sleepy,
wandering he goes through the bare wasteland
behind twenty goats
that the sadness of silence deepen
with the opaque music
of the clatter of its gray hooves
on gray fragments of slates ".
In the case of this book of poems by Gabriel y Galán, the author did not stray from his usual theme: peasant traditions and customs. However, the language he used was that of Extremadura slang, sometimes vulgar and crude, in order to strengthen ties between the people and poetry..
"Asín jablaba the madri
and thus the son spoke:
the Ajogao son of Aginos,
the madri ajogá of tears
he jechao and she shrugged
at the side of the bed ".
This work by the Spanish poet was religious in nature, hence its title. Through sensitivity and emotions, José María wrote about the importance of religion in everyday life. In the same way, he expressed personal experiences and the roots of the peoples of his time with this topic..
“How well you live like this; how good my gosh!
Nor does the farce steal my agency,
nor does he have to shake my honorable hand
the hand of the thief and the wicked
at the same time as that of the honest and healthy man.
How well one lives only God loving,
in God living and for God working! ".
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