Dionisio Ridruejo | |
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| Born | Dionisio Ridruejo Jiménez (1912-10-12)12 October 1912 |
| Died | 29 June 1975(1975-06-29) (aged 62) |
| Occupation | Poet |
| Known for | Political activist |
| Notable work | Cara al Sol, Escrito en España |
| Political party | Falange |
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Dionisio Ridruejo Jiménez (12 October 1912 – 29 June 1975) was a Spanish poet and political figure associated with theGeneration of '36 movement and a member of theFalange political party. He was co-author of the words to the Falangist anthemCara al Sol.[1] In later years he fell from favour with the Francoist State and eventually became associated with opposition groups.
Ridruejo was born inBurgo de Osma-Ciudad de Osma. A close friend ofRamón Serrano Suñer, his tireless work as apropagandist, as well as his short stature and swarthy appearance, earned him the early nickname of the "SpanishJoseph Goebbels".[2] Under Serrano Súñer's influence he was appointed as Minister of Propaganda to the cabinet ofFrancisco Franco in 1938.[3] A strong Falangist and as a result sometimes in conflict with the military tendency within Francoism, he was censured during theSpanish Civil War by GeneralÁlvarez-Arenas for producing propaganda leaflets in theCatalan language, with the military elite deciding that Spain's minority languages should be crushed rather than courted.[4]
Ridruejo's uneasiness with theconservative military elements of Franco's government was to prove his undoing. Thus his dismissal from the post of Propaganda Minister was secured in 1941 by his Cabinet colleague ColonelValentín Galarza Morante after Ridruejo had published an article inArriba condemning the hold that he felt the Colonel had over Franco. Galarza used his influence to ensure the dismissal of Ridruejo and he would not return to government thereafter.[5] He was also damaged by the fact that he had been active in support ofNazi Germany as other pro-Nazis such asSancho Dávila y Fernández de Celis andPedro Gamero del Castillo were dismissed at the same time.[6] Ridruejo volunteered for the SpanishBlue Division sent to fight as part of the German Army on the Eastern Front in Russia. He served from 1941 to 1942 before being invalided out.[7]
In 1955 the disillusioned Ridruejo set up a semi-clandestine club bringing together 'authentic' Falangists withcommunists,socialists anddemocrats (such asEnrique Múgica, Fernando Sánchez Dragó, Ramón Tamames, José María Ruiz Gallardón, and others) in a loose alliance united only by opposition toFrancoist Spain.[8] His opposition activity saw him jailed briefly the following year and again in 1957 when he told theCuban radical journalBohemia that he was active in the illegal opposition.[8] By this point he had become involved with thePartido Social de Acción Democrática, an illegal opposition group that supported democratisation and a liberal cultural outlook, as well as left-wing economic ideas.[9]
By the early 1960s Ridruejo's opposition activity saw him living in exile in South America.[10] He published his autobiography,Escrito en España inArgentina in 1962 with the book also detailing his conversion from Falangism tosocial democracy which had occurred around this time.[11] He returned to Spain late in life and died in Madrid in 1975.
Ridruejo was a devotee of classical Spanish literature, as well asDante andPlutarch and he produced poetry in a number of forms, ranging fromGarcilaso de la Vega-styled sonnets toblank verse.[12] In the 1940s he was particularly noted for the religious tone of much of his poetry, often giving praise to God for His mercy.[13] His later works are marked by a growing theme ofexistential angst, inspired by his disillusionment with Franco and his increasingly impoverished circumstances due to his fall from grace.[9]
