The writer Antonio Gala, author of ‘The Turkish Passion’, dies at the age of 92

He novelistpoet and playwright Antonio Gala has passed away this Sunday in Córdoba at 92 years of age and with his loss we say goodbye to the last great icon of Spanish literature of the 20th century.

Originally from Brazatortas, in the province of Ciudad Real, Antonio Gala entered the University of Seville at the age of 15 to study Law, and in turn enrolled in two other courses at the University of Madrid: Philosophy and Letters and Sciences. Political and Economic.

He started in the theater with ‘The green fields of Eden’ (1963), which was followed by works such as ‘Rings for a Lady’, ‘Why are you running, Ulysses?’ and ‘Petra gifted’, among other. And, although his arrival in the novel was somewhat late, in the 90s, his are successes such as ‘The Crimson Manuscript’awarded the Planet Award in 1990, ‘The rule of three’ and ‘The pedestal of the statues’.

A life linked to the cinema

He also highlighted his role as screenwriter, in most cases of his own works adapted to film and television. Among them, his association with the filmmaker deserves a special mention. mario camussigning the script of ‘Whatever they say’the musical comedy starring raphaeland the drama ‘That woman’a film to show off Sara Montiel.

The comedy ‘The lost good days’ would be adapted in 1975 by Raphael Gil and with Juan Luis Galiardo and Teresa Rabal in the leading roles, however, its most popular (and also controversial) adaptation would be drama with erotic overtones ‘The Turkish Passion’ (1994) by Vincent Aranda and starring Ana Belena love story taken to the extreme that got 12 nominations at the Goya Awards, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Leading Actress.

Two years later, Pedro Olea would premiere the melodrama ‘Beyond the Garden’one of those great films that were undervalued in its time, which had a script signed by Mario Camus and which presented the story of a middle-aged woman who must rethink the meaning of life, a fascinating female portrait starring a huge shell velascowhich earned her a nomination for Best Leading Actress at the Goya Awards.

Despite his death, this year we will be able to enjoy the series ‘The Turkish Passion’ starring Maggie Civantos in ATRESplayer PREMIUM, a new twist on the novel by Antonio Gala that will be directed by the director Iñaki Peñafiel, who stood out in ‘La cocinera de Castamar’, an adaptation of the novel by Fernando J. Múñez and one of the best series of time of Netflix that hook.

From PHOTOGRAMS, our most sincere condolences on the loss of an exceptional author.