Award-winning Spanish Writer Dies
Umbral wearing his thick black glasses
One of the most respected Spanish writers has died on Tuesday, the 28th of August, at the age of 72. After suffering from pneumonia in the beginning of August, the clinic that treated him has said he died of respiratory and heart failure.
Francisco Umbral, whose real name is Fransisco Perez Martinez wasn't only a writer, but a journalist and a critic too. He wrote over 80 essays, novels and biographies. His most popular works are "Madrid Trilogy", "A Mortal Spring" and "Las Ninfas". He was widely known, not only for his work or thick black glasses and a white scarf he used to wear, but also for his sense of humour and irony. He was prone to publicly criticizing well-known people and walking out on interviews if the focus wasn't his newest book. He started out as a journalist for a local newspaper, but died as "the best contemporary newspaper columnist" as Pedro J. Ramirez, the founder of the daily newspaper he worked for, had called him.
He received two awards for his work; the prestigious Prince of Asturias prize in 1996 and the Cervantes Prize in 2000.
His wife Maria Espana is the only person he left behind, since he hadn't had any children. He was cremated on Wednesday, the 29th of August.
