Camilo José Cela y Trulock, 1st Marquess of Iria Flavia (Spanish: [kamilo xoˈse ˈθela]; 11 May 1916 – 17 January 2002) was a Spanish writer, poet, short story writer, and essayist. He was part of the Generation of '36 movement.

He received the 1989 Nobel Prize in Literature for his rich and detailed writing style, which showed how people can be vulnerable with kindness and care.

Childhood and early career

Camilo José Cela was born on May 11, 1916, in the small village of Iria Flavia, located in Padrón, A Coruña, Spain. He was the oldest of nine children. His father, Camilo Crisanto Cela y Fernández, was from Galicia, a region in Spain. His mother, Camila Emanuela Trulock y Bertorini, was also Galician, with ancestors from England and Italy. The family belonged to the middle to upper class, and Cela described his childhood as "so happy it was hard to grow up."

From 1921 to 1925, Cela lived with his family in Vigo before moving to Madrid. In Madrid, he studied at a Piarist school. In 1931, he was told he had tuberculosis and was taken to the sanatorium in Guadarrama. During his recovery, he used his free time to write his novel Pabellón de reposo. While recovering, he read many works by José Ortega y Gasset and Antonio de Solís y Ribadeneyra.

The Spanish Civil War began in 1936, when Cela was 20 years old and still recovering from his illness. He had conservative political views and fled to the area controlled by the rebels. He joined the military and was wounded, later being hospitalized in Logroño.

Career

The civil war ended in 1939. After the war, Cela was unsure about continuing his university studies and instead began working in a government office related to the textile industry. It was during this time that he started writing his first novel, La familia de Pascual Duarte (The Family of Pascual Duarte), which was published in 1942 when he was 26. The main character, Pascual Duarte, struggles with traditional ideas about right and wrong and commits serious crimes, such as murder, without feeling guilt. This novel was very important because it influenced the direction of Spanish literature after World War II.

In 1943, Cela became a censor in Spain under Franco’s rule. His most famous work, La colmena (The Hive), was written during a time when his writing was closely examined by other censors. The book was published in Buenos Aires in 1951 but was banned in Spain due to its sexual content, which was considered inappropriate. Because of this, Cela’s name could not appear in printed media. The novel includes more than 300 characters and shows the influence of Spanish realism and writers from England and France. Cela’s writing style, which is often sarcastic and includes shocking descriptions, is best seen in La colmena. He remained loyal to Franco’s government and even worked as an informer for the Spanish secret police, reporting on groups that opposed the government and betraying other intellectuals.

Starting in the late 1960s, Cela’s work became more unusual. In 1988, he wrote Christ Versus Arizona (Cristo versus Arizona), a book that tells the story of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in one sentence that is over 100 pages long.

In his later years, Cela became known for making controversial statements. During an interview with Mercedes Milá on Spanish state television, he claimed he could drink large amounts of water through his anus and offered to demonstrate. Earlier, he had already upset Spanish society with his Diccionario secreto (Secret Dictionary, 1969–1971), a collection of slang and taboo words. In 1998, Cela expressed discomfort about the presence of homosexual groups at a celebration honoring Federico García Lorca’s 100th birthday. He said, “For me, I would prefer a more straightforward and less anecdotal commemoration without the support of gay groups. I have nothing against gays, I just do not take it up the ass.”

Distinctions

On May 26, 1957, Cela was named a member of the Royal Spanish Academy and assigned Seat Q. He was later appointed a Royal Senator in the Constituent Cortes, where he had some influence in shaping the wording of the Spanish Constitution of 1978. In 1987, he received the Prince of Asturias Award for Literature.

Cela was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1989 "for a rich and intensive prose, which with restrained compassion forms a challenging vision of man's vulnerability."

In 1994, he was given the Premio Planeta, though some people question the fairness of the awards, and some winners have refused to accept them. Two years later, on May 17, 1996, King Juan Carlos I ennobled Cela, granting him the hereditary title of Marquess of Iria Flavia in the Spanish nobility. After Cela’s death, the title passed to his son, Camilo José Cela Conde.

After winning the Nobel Prize, Cela described the Spanish Cervantes Prize for lifetime achievement as being "covered with shit." In 1995, he was offered the prize and accepted it.

Death

Cela died of heart disease on January 17, 2002, at the Hospital Centro in Madrid, when he was 85 years old. He was buried in his hometown at the parish cemetery of Santa María de Adina.

Cela's will was disputed because he left more of his possessions to his wife and his second wife, Marina Castaño, than to his son Camilo José Cela Conde, who was born to his first wife, Rosario Conde. Camilo José Cela Conde received two-thirds of his father's estate.

Selected works

• The Family of Pascual Duarte. Madrid: Aldecoa. 1942.
• Rest Home. Translated by Briffault, Herma. Madrid: Afrodisio Aguado. 1943.
• New Adventures and Misfortunes of Lazarillo de Tormes. Madrid: La Nave. 1944.
• The Hive. Buenos Aires: Emecé. 1951.
• Mrs. Caldwell Speaks to Her Son. Barcelona: Destino. 1953.
• La catira. Barcelona: Editorial Noguer. 1955. (Also published as Historias de Venezuela.)
• Tobogán de hambrientos. Barcelona: Editorial Noguer. 1962.
• Vísperas, festividad y octava de San Camilo del año 1936 en Madrid. Madrid: Alfaguara. 1969.
• Oficio de tinieblas 5. Barcelona: Noguer. 1973.
• Mazurca for Two Dead Men. Barcelona: Seix Barral. 1983.
• Christ Versus Arizona. Barcelona: Seix Barral. 1988. ISBN 9788432205828.
• Oficio de tinieblas 5. Barcelona: Plaza & Janés. 1989. ISBN 9788401381485.
• The Cross of Saint Andrew. Barcelona: Planeta. 1994.
• Boxwood. Madrid: Espasa-Calpe. 1999. ISBN 9788423979615.

• The Beautiful Crime of the Carabiner, and Other Inventions. Barcelona: José Janés. 1947.
• The Galician and His Crew. Madrid: Ricardo Aguilera. 1949.
• Deck of Inventions. Valencia: Castalia. 1953.
• The Windmill and Other Short Stories. Barcelona: Noguer. 1956.
• New Retablo of Don Cristobita: Inventions, Imaginations, and Illusions. Barcelona: Destino. 1957.

• Treading the Doubtful Light of Day. Barcelona: Ed. del Zodíaco. 1945.
• Songbook of the Alcarria. San Sebastían: Norte. 1948.
• María Sabina. Palma de Mallorca: Papeles de Son Armadans. 1967.
• The Cost of Hay or The Inventor of the Guillotine. Palma de Mallorca: Papeles de Son Armadans. 1969.
• María Sabina; The Cost of Hay or The Inventor of the Guillotine (2d ed.). Madrid: Alfaguara. 1970.
• Complete Poetry. Barcelona: Círculo de lectores. 1996.
• The Extraction of the Stone of Madness or The Inventor of the Garrote. Barcelona: Seix Barral. 1999.

• Journey to the Alcarria. MadridBarcelona: Revista de Occidente. 1948.
• Ávila. Barcelona: Noguer. 1952.
• From the Miño to the Bidasoa: Notes from a Wandering Journey. Barcelona: Noguer. 1952.
• Wandering Through Castile. Barcelona: Seix Barral. 1955.
• Jews, Moors, and Christians: Notes from a Wandering Journey Through Ávila, Segovia, and Their Lands. Barcelona: Destino. 1956.
• First Andalusian Journey: Notes from a Wandering Journey Through Jaén, Córdoba, Sevilla, Segovia, Huelva, and Their Lands. Barcelona: Noguer. 1959.
• Journey to the Pyrenees of Lérida: Notes from a Walking Journey Through the Pallars, Sobirá, the Valley of Arán, and the County of Ribagorza. Madrid: Alfaguara. 1965.
• New Journey to the Alcarria. Barcelona: Plaza & Janés. 1986.

• Upturned Table. Madrid: Ediciones de los Estudiantes Españoles. 1945.
• The Oddities Box. Madrid: Cid. 1957.
• The Wheel of Leisure. Barcelona: Mateu. 1957.

• Four Figures of 1898: Unamuno, Valle-Inclán, Baroja, Azorín, and Other Spanish Portraits and Essays. Barcelona: Aedos. 1961.

• Secret Dictionary. Madrid: Alfaguara. 1968.
• The Complete Works of Camilo José Cela. Madrid: Ediciones Cátedra. 1983.
• The Secret Dictionary. Madrid: Ediciones Cátedra. 1987.
• The Secret Dictionary. Madrid: Ediciones Cátedra. 1995.
• The Secret Dictionary. Madrid: Ediciones Cátedra. 2002.
• The Secret Dictionary. Madrid: Ediciones Cátedra. 2008.
• The Secret Dictionary. Madrid: Ediciones Cátedra. 2013.
• The Secret Dictionary. Madrid: Ediciones Cátedra. 2018.
• The Secret Dictionary. Madrid: Ediciones Cátedra. 2023.
• The Secret Dictionary. Madrid: Ediciones Cátedra. 2028.
• The Secret Dictionary. Madrid: Ediciones Cátedra. 2033.
• The Secret Dictionary. Madrid: Ediciones Cátedra. 2038.
• The Secret Dictionary. Madrid: Ediciones Cátedra. 2043.
• The Secret Dictionary. Madrid: Ediciones Cátedra. 2048.
• The Secret Dictionary. Madrid: Ediciones Cátedra. 2053.
• The Secret Dictionary. Madrid: Ediciones Cátedra. 2058.
• The Secret Dictionary. Madrid: Ediciones Cátedra. 2063.
• The Secret Dictionary. Madrid: Ediciones Cátedra. 2068.
• The Secret Dictionary. Madrid: Ediciones Cátedra. 2073.
• The Secret Dictionary. Madrid: Ediciones Cátedra. 2078.
• The Secret Dictionary. Madrid: Ediciones Cátedra.