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Renowned experts profile prominent figures –some well known, others not so much– that have contributed in a decisive way to the advancement of Spanish culture.

Spain is a country with a lot to offer, and over the history, it has been one of the most creative countries in the world. Its writers, artists, rulers and thinkers have inspired, and continue to inspire, many people throughout the globe. Welcome to "Major Figures in Spanish Culture", a new podcast that’s coming to you on November 18, produced by Fundación Juan March in Madrid.&nbsp;Each month&nbsp;we will invite a renowned expert to sit down with us for half an hour and share a&nbsp;story about one of Spain’s most prominent figures. We’re bringing you the life and stories of writers,&nbsp;artists, adventurers, writers and more, to expand your knowledge and deepen your appreciation of&nbsp;Spanish culture.&nbsp;

What is Major Figures in Spanish Culture

The general view of Nineteenth Century European narrative is somehow incomplete. The literary critics who set up the canonical banquet table of the XIX century novelists made name tags for only a few: Balzac, Dickens, Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Flaubert, Zola and Henry James. Meanwhile writers of equal talent, like Benito Pérez Galdós —considered the most important fiction writer in Spain after Miguel de Cervantes— were not even contemplated as possible guests. In this episode, Germán Gullón, literary critic, writer and Professor emeritus of Spanish Literature at the University of Amsterdam, presents the life, work and significance of this outstanding figure in Spanish culture. With readings of Galdós by Heilet van Ree.

Benito Pérez Galdós

No one from Spain’s past is more famed, more hated or more misunderstood than Cristopher Columbus. Misplaced vengeance topples Columbus’ statues. Tweets traduce him. He was mendacious, egotistical, irrational, self-righteous, humourless, and mean. But he had virtues to balance his vices—including dazzling bravery, a kind of ingenuous charm, and a confiding nature. He was, moreover, sympathetic towards cultures other than his own, including Native Americans’. In this podcast, Felipe Fernández-Armesto, William P. Reynolds Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame, talks about this outstanding figure in Spanish culture.

Christopher Columbus

Dalí was born in the early years of&nbsp;the&nbsp;twentieth century in a typical bourgeois family from Figueres (Spain). Trained as a classical artist, he soon discovered Surrealism and&nbsp;&nbsp;also&nbsp;became a celebrity in other artistic fields, such as writing, film and design, which cannot be understood without taking into account the creative project he conceived with his wife Gala.&nbsp;In&nbsp;Dali’s Teatre-Museu,&nbsp;in Figueres, his&nbsp;essence is all over the place, just like an old vice or a never negotiated remorse. In fact, this prodigious building is not only Dalí’s museum: it is also his mausoleum.&nbsp;In this podcast, Estrella de Diego,&nbsp;Professor of Art History at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, talks about this outstanding figure in Spanish culture.

Salvador Dalí

Above all a philosopher, José Ortega y Gasset enunciated the seminal idea of his thought &nbsp;in this sentence: “I am myself and my circumstance, and if I don’t save it, I don’t save myself”. In this podcast, &nbsp;Juan Pablo Fusi, Professor Emeritus of Contemporary History at Madrid’s Universidad Complutense, talks about this outstanding figure in Spanish culture that tried to make sense of the most important challenges of 20th century’s humanity.

José Ortega y Gasset

Many Spanish-language poets, from Lorca to Pablo Neruda or Octavio Paz are indebted to the work of Juan Ramón Jiménez, Spanish poet who received the Nobel Prize of Literature en 1956. He is a rare creator of pure, lyrical texts that express the essence of poety. Julio Jensen, Associate Professor in the Department of English, Germanic and Romance Studies at the University of Copenhagen, talks about this outstanding figure in Spanish culture.

Juan Ramón Jiménez

Miguel de Cervantes’ daring in literary experimentation was both perfectly suited to the time in which he lived, and an exponential step forward in literary art, specifically in the genre he perfected, the modern novel. Susan Byrne, Professor of Hispanic Studies and Chair of the Department of World Languages and Cultures at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas introduces in this podcast this major figure in Spanish culture.

Miguel de Cervantes

Antonio Machado was part of the Generation of 1898, a group of writers&nbsp;that were concerned about Spain’s position in the modern world and wrote to inspire people to reassess their values in order to awaken a national consciousness.&nbsp;Unlike his contemporaries, Machado adopted what he called “eternal poetry,” which was based more on reflection and intuition, than on intellect.&nbsp;Nuria Morgado, Associate Professor of contemporary Spanish Literature at the College of Staten Island and&nbsp;the Graduate Center, City University of New York introduces in this podcast this major figure in Spanish culture.&nbsp;

Antonio Machado

A Spanish Civil War exile from 1939 until 1984, María Zambrano was a philosopher and essayist that combined civic commitment and poetic thought. A disciple of José Ortega y Gasset, she received the two highest literary awards granted in Spain: the Prince of Asturias Award in 1981, and the Cervantes Award in 1988.&nbsp;Roberta Johnson, Professor Emerita of the Department of Spanish &amp; Portuguese at the University of Kansas and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at UCLA, introduces us to this major figure in Spanish culture.

María Zambrano

Federico García Lorca is Spain’s best known and perhaps most beloved poet of the 20th century. Born in 1898, Lorca formed friendships in Madrid with a pleiade of young creators in the 1920s at the Residencia de Estudiantes, al of whom would become very influential in Spanish culture. He was killed by Nacionalist forces at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War when he was only 38 years old. Christopher Maurer, professor of Spanish at Boston University introduces in this podcast this major figure in Spanish culture. Recording of Federico García Lorca’s ‘Pensamiento poético’ by Michael Alec&nbsp;Rose.

Federico García Lorca

Catherine Davies, emérita&nbsp;professor of Hispanic and Latin American Studies at the University of&nbsp;London, talks about Rosalía de Castro (1837–1885), one of Spain’s finest lyrical poets, certainly the most loved and admired of the nineteenth century. Rosalía de Castro ushered in a new era of modern poetry in Spain, and left an enduring legacy in Spanish literature. She was, as well, a passionate supporter of Galician culture, environmental protection, and marginalized communities.

Rosalía de Castro

Michael Christoforidis, a Professor of Musicology at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, University of Melbourne, discusses Manuel de Falla (1876–1946), a pivotal figure in Spanish culture during the Silver Age and arguably one of Spain's most renowned composers. He achieved widespread recognition in a country more famous for its literary and visual artists. Falla's music effectively bridged Spanish and French influences, highlighting modernity while preserving a profound connection to Spanish culture, evident in works such as 'La vida breve,' 'Noches en los jardines de España,' and 'El retablo de Maese Pedro.'

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Manuel de Falla

Jonathan Thacker, the King Alfonso XIII Professor of Spanish Studies and a Fellow of Exeter College at the University of Oxford, discusses Lope de Vega (1562–1635), a playwright and poet who played a crucial role in Spanish literature during the Golden Age. He was a contemporary of Cervantes and Shakespeare, and he authored as many as 800 plays and numerous poems, making substantial contributions to the evolution of Spanish theater through works such as 'Fuente Ovejuna' and 'El castigo sin venganza'.&nbsp;

Lope de Vega

Owen L. Rees, a professor of Music at the University of Oxford and a Fellow in Music and Organist (Director of Music) at The Queen's College, University of Oxford, speaks about Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548–1611), a renowned Spanish Renaissance composer celebrated for his choral music, known for its harmonies and profound spiritual expression.&nbsp;

Major Figures in Spanish Culture

Tomás Luis de Victoria