Rafael García Serrano

Rafael García Serrano (11 February 1917 – 12 October 1988) was a Spanish writer and journalist who held a Falangist ideology. As a teenager he joined the Spanish Falange and participated as a combatant on the Nationalist side in the Spanish Civil War.

Throughout his career he worked with multiple media outlets, writing novels themed around the Spanish Civil War and travel diaries. Serrano had an active role during the Franco dictatorship, overseeing operation of Arriba España,

García Serrano never repented of his Falangist past. Despite this, he is still well regarded in Spain for the quality of his writing.

Biography Rafael Garcia Serrano was born in Pamplona, Spain in 1917. He studied Philosophy and Letters at the University of Madrid and joined the Spanish Falange, part of the Federación Universitaria Escolar, in January 1934. He was also a founding member of the Spanish University Union (SEU), working with pre-war Falangist publications and writing texts inspired by Ernesto Giménez Caballero, whom he admired.

At the start of the Spanish Civil War, Rafael García Serrano joined the insurgent troops of General Emilio Mola in Pamplona. He held various positions such as journalist, columnist, and director at Falangist publications including Arriba España,

Known as a prolific writer, Serrano's works largely focus on the Civil War, a conflict he himself experienced in his youth. He was hospitalised after falling ill with tuberculosis during the Battle of the Ebro and subsequently published "Eugenio o proclamación de la primavera", a work dedicated to Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera, the founder of the Falange. This was followed by "La fiel infantería" which won him the National Novel Prize in 1943, though its publication was later revoked owing to its subjection to religious censorship by the primate archbishop of Toledo. with his wife, Araceli García, having died in 1983 at the age of 54 due to pneumonia. Rafael García Serrano himself died in Madrid in 1988.

War Novels Serrano's unique literary style has been acknowledged by critics as highly characteristic, combining literary discoveries with a barracks vocabulary to form a 'torn and fighting', 'bronco and castizo' style.

His novel "La fiel infantería" is noteworthy for its pronounced avant-garde features, such as a multiplicity of situations with a non-linear plot and a triple narrative point of view. Expression is concise, condensed, and elliptical, filled with bold metaphors and allusions, sometimes obscure to the military context - echoing Valle-Inclán and Ramón Gómez de la Serna. This work exalts the fraternal spirit of camaraderie and heroism, particularly of those fighting on the frontlines.

Subsequent works, such as "Eugenio o proclamación de la primavera", while adhering to more traditional canons, still feature the common trait of conveying characters proud to pursue a just cause, though possibly not without creating a certain apologia for barbarism. This same piece, combines qualities of idealistic Renaissance poetry with a lack of ideological component.

Filmography Serrano established a substantial body of work comprising 22 fiction feature films, 9 commercialized documentaries, and 12 television scripts. Included within this cinematographic legacy are: La fiel infantería (1960), which was directed by Pedro Lazaga and not based on a novel of the same name.

Other works include the script of Ronda española (1952), directed by Ladislao Vajda; La patrulla (1954), in which he appeared in as a cameo; The economically weak (1960), directed by Lazaga; The house of the Troy (1959); You and I are three (1961); Boyfriends of death (1975); The sailor with the golden fists (1968); and the legion likes women...and women like the legion (1976), by Rafael Gil.

In 1965, together with José María Sánchez Silva, he co-wrote the script for the documentary Morir en España (1965), directed by Mariano Ozores. He also directed Los ojos perdidos (1966), a film based on his own novel. The film was considered socially controversial due to its portrayal of events from the Civil War, during a period in which Spanish society attempted to move on from the conflict.

Selected filmography

Screenwriter Spanish Serenade (1952) College Boarding House (1959) The Invincible Gladiator (1961) The Sailor with Golden Fists (1968) Death's Newlyweds (1975)

Director Lost Eyes (1967)