Did you know that Seville is much more than four works of art? This city is the birthplace of Machado, Velázquez, Paz Vega... And many other characters more! In ForSevillaLovers we tell you everything and more about the illustrious characters of Seville Come and meet them!
Illustrious characters of Seville's history
Antonio Machado
Antonio Machado Ruiz was a Spanish poet, the youngest representative of the generation of 98. His initial work, of modernist style, evolved towards a symbolist intimism with romantic features, which matured into a poetry of human commitment, on the one hand, and of almost Taoist contemplation of existence, on the other; a synthesis that in Machado's voice echoes the most ancestral popular wisdom.
Diego Velázquez
Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, known as Diego Velázquez, was a Spanish Baroque painter considered one of the greatest exponents of Spanish painting and a master of universal painting. He spent his early years in Seville, where he developed a naturalistic style of tenebrist lighting, influenced by Caravaggio and his followers. At the age of 24 he moved to Madrid, where he was appointed painter to King Philip IV and four years later he was promoted to chamber painter, the most important position among court painters.
Lope de Rueda
Lope de Rueda (1510-1565) was a playwright, actor and theater director, considered the precursor of the Golden Age of commercial theater in Spain and one of the first professional actors in the country. To write his comedies, farces and entremeses, Lope de Rueda took inspiration from everyday reality, which is why his plays are known for containing customs of the time and for picking up the speech of the street and typical sayings.
Fernando de Herrera
Fernando de Herrera (1534-1597) was a Sevillian writer from the Golden Age, known for his poetic work and nicknamed "El Divino". Among his preserved works are some in prose, such as the Relación de la guerra de Chipre y suceso de la batalla naval de Lepanto and the Elogio de la vida y muerte de Tomás Moro, a portrait of his life with evaluations of his political thought. Among those not preserved are several epic and mythological poems such as La gigantomaquia, about the Titans; El rapto de Proserpina and Gestas españolas de valerosos.
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (1836-1870) was a poet and storyteller from Seville, belonging to the Romanticism movement. He was born in the Barrio de San Lorenzo and descended from a family of Flemish merchants established in the Andalusian capital, the Bécquer or Becker. His most famous work was Rhymes and Legends. Although he managed to earn the title of renowned poet during his lifetime, it was not until after his death that he obtained the prestige that he is recognized today.
Silverio Franconetti
Silverio Franconetti (1831-1889) was a flamenco singer from Seville who was considered a singer of encyclopedic knowledge, as he mastered all the "palos" of Flamenco. He played a great role in the so-called "golden age" of flamenco, in which he began to be considered as a major art.
Juanita Reina
Juanita Reina was born in the neighborhood of La Macarena in 1925 and was a copla singer and actress. When she was only 13 years old she performed in the Cervantes theatre. Although her great debut was at the San Fernando theatre in Seville. She was consecrated in the cinema with the film La blanca paloma and reached her great moment of fame with La Lola se va a los puertos and Lola la Piconera.
Carmen Sevilla
Carmen Sevilla is an artist, Spanish television presenter, actress and dancer. Some of her best known songs are Carmen de España, Cariño Trianero, Cabecita loca, Cera Virgen and Noches de Madrid. She sang with Lolita Flores and participated in the main Spanish television programs: TVE, Antena 3 and Telecinco. She was an actress in numerous films from the 40s to the 70s, one of her most emblematic films starred in 1952 with the popular Luis Mariano, Violetas Imperiales.
Paz Vega
Paz Vega is an actress and model from Seville. She participated in the series Siete Vidas, with which she achieved popularity and won a Goya Award for best new actress after her role in Lucía y el sexo (2001). In recent years, she has acted in Netflix series such as Paquita Salas and La casa de las flores.
