Espina, Concha (1869–1955)

Spanish writer. Name variations: Concha Espina de Serna. Born Concepción Jesusa Basilisa Tagle y Espina in Santander, Spain, in 1869; died in 1955; seventh child of Víctor Espina and Ascensión Tagle; married Ramón de la Serna, in 1892 (separated 1908); children: Ramón; Víctor; José; Josefina de la Maza ; Luis.

Concha Espina was born in Santander, Spain, in 1869, the seventh child of Víctor Espina and Ascensión Tagle . Raised in a solidly middle-class home and educated in convent schools and by private tutors, she married Ramón de la Serna in 1892. Shortly thereafter, they moved to Chile where he represented family business interests. Neither the business nor the marriage prospered, although Espina eventually had five children. During the three years before they returned to Europe, she began earning a small income by writing and publishing poetry. Back in Spain, her husband resented her independence, and they eventually separated in 1908.

Espina moved to Madrid and became a full-time author, the first Spanish woman to support herself from her writing. Among Espina's best works were the novel La esfinge maragata (Mariflor, 1914) and a play entitled El jayón (The Foundling). El metal de los muertos (Metal of the Dead), an epic novel that depicts social conditions among miners in the Río Tinto district, brought her a nomination for the Nobel Prize. Although many of her works are mediocre, some parts are first-rate. Curious and observant, Espina traveled and lectured widely through the Americas and Europe. She served as a Spanish cultural emissary to the Caribbean and as vice-president of the Hispanic Society of New York City in 1943 and received many awards in Spain, including the great cross of Alphonso the Wise. King Alphonso XIII presided at the unveiling of Espina's statue in her native land. Despite her achievements, some Spanish male authors and literary critics belittled her. She suffered from blindness in old age and died in 1955.

sources:

Bretz, Mary Lee. Concha Espina. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1980.

Maza, Josefina de la. Vida de mi madre, Concha Espina. Madrid: Magisterio Español, 1969.

Kendall W. Brown , Professor of History, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah