Born Today January 9: Luis Coloma

1851-1915

Spanish writer Luis Coloma was born on this date in Jerez de la Frontera.  He would go on to study at the University of Seville, where he focused on law.  He eventually graduated from there with a master's in law, though he never actually practiced.  He began writing in the 1880's, starting with a well known political satire of Madrid high society prior to the Bourbon Restoration for a newspaper in Madrid. Despite being widely criticized at the time of it's publication, and pronounced to have no lasting importance, it remains one of his most well known works.  He would go on to be a prolific writer of short stories, and longer complete works in the fields of history and biography.  Ironically, Coloma had a dislike for the novel form, believing them to be overly sentimental on the subject of religion and a medium through which human life was idealized; ironic because it was one of his few novels that was first used for source material in the world of the motion picture.  His novel, simply entitled Boy, was first adapted for the screen in 1926.  The film was directed by Benito Perojo, a Spanish director and producer, who also personally adapted the work into the screenplay for the film.  The film is sadly amongst many from the 1920's that is lost.  The Internet Movie Database page can be found here.  His story, "Pequenecas" was made into a television series in Mexico in 1971.  The last adaption (so far) came in a Spanish television series entitled  Novela, which adapted famous Spanish works into television films; in 1976 they adapted that same story into a made to TV film.  Coloma died in his adopted city of Madrid in 1915 at the age of 64.  He is buried in Madrid's Sacramental de San Justa cemetery.

Poster for Boy lost film from 1926 Spain.

IMDb

Leave Virtual Flowers @ Find A Grave

Wikipedia (English language bio)

Biografia page (in Spanish, can be translated by Google)