Manuel
Altolaguirre
poeta, impresor y cineasta (1905-1959)
1905-1923
Manuel Altolaguirre Bolín is born in Malaga, on June 29, 1905. He studies secondary school in a Jesuit school.
1923-1932
He starts his first publishing enterprise with José María Hinojosa and José María Souviron, the journal Ambos, which publishes texts and drawings by Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau and Ramón Gómez de la Serna, among others. He and Emilio Prados found the periodical Litoral, one of the main publications dedicated to promote the new generation of Spanish poets and artists. He publishes his first poetry book, Las islas invitadas y otros poemas. After a short stay in Paris, he moves to Madrid. He publishes Soledades Juntas, Garcilaso de la Vega, and his first play, Amor de dos vidas.
1932-1944
He marries Concha Méndez in 1932. They will share their life in Madrid, London, Havana, and México City.
(See Soledades juntas. Manuel Altolaguirre y Concha Méndez (1932-1944).
1944-1949
After his separation from Concha Méndez, he starts a love relationship with María Luisa Gómez Mena. He publishes Poemas de las islas invitadas as the first supplement of Litoral, the periodical that had a brief new life in Mexico with the collaboration of Emilio Prados, José Moreno Villa, Juan Rejano, and Francisco Giner de los Ríos. He and María Luisa Gómez Mena found Ediciones Isla, which publish both classical and contemporary authors, such as Bergamín, Moreno Villa, Unamuno, and the Mexican writer Elías Nandino.
He closes down Ediciones Isla and starts a new company with printer Roberto Barrié, who commissioned his anthology, Presente de la lírica mexicana. He publishes two issues of his own periodical, Antología de España en el recuerdo. He begins to work as scripwriter for the production company Panamerican Film that goes bankrupt a year later after it was founded. He travels with his film projector showing movies throughout Mexico and writes for the Mexican newspapers Excélsior and El Nacional. His book of poetry, Fin de un amor, is his last work as both printer and publisher.
1950-1959
In January, he and María Luisa Gómez Mena found the film production company Producciones Isla. Their film, Subida al cielo, directed by Buñuel and written by Altolaguirre, wins the Critics Award for best vanguard film in1951. After the screening of his film El cantar de los cantares (Song of songs) at the San Sebastián Film Festival, he and Gómez Mena died as a result of a car accident in July. Cernuda writes the prologue for the posthumous edition of Altolaguirre’s Poesías completas (1926-1959) in 1960.
