Adelaida Las Santas Loureiro (Villarejo de Salvanés, 22 July 1918 â Madrid, 15 November 2006) was a Spanish journalist, poet, and co-founder of the literary gathering Versos con faldas.
She was born in Villarejo de Salvanés (Madrid), but moved to the capital of Spain at a very young age.
In August 1936 she remained living in Madrid, and she helped her friend, the Falangist Luis Carmona, who had escaped from the Modelo prison.
On 4 September, anarchist militiamen from the FAI showed up at her home to arrest her for helping him, but Las Santas refused to cooperate. Despite her denial, Carmona was arrested and disappeared.
In 1950 she earned a degree in Journalism and began writing for various newspapers in Madrid. At the same time, she wrote poetry which she presented at several literary gatherings that were common at the time. In April 1950 she participated in the tribute to Emilio Carrere. In 1951 she created the literary circle âÂÂâÂÂVersos con faldasâÂÂâ together with Gloria Fuertes and MarÃÂa Dolores de Pablos, acting as secretary. She took part in numerous recitals, either alone or accompanied by some of her colleagues from the group.
In 1955 she married the writer Guillermo Osorio (1918âÂÂ1982), who, according to Mery Varona, was: <blockquote>"Guillermo was a bohemian and âÂÂcursedâ writer. He had taken part in the war in a tank unit of the Republican army. Later, he went through French prisoner camps and through Spanish prisons and concentration camps. In 1950 he settled in Madrid, where he drifted from tavern to literary gathering, writing short stories and sonnets, a member of the so-called âÂÂethylic generationâ of Café Varela, where his friendsâÂÂManuel Alcántara, Eduardo Alonso, Alejandro Carriedo, Manuel MartÃÂnez RemisâÂÂmet. ThatâÂÂs how Adelaida found him, took charge of him, sheltered him, and tried to put some order in his life, as much as Guillermo allowed, which was not much."</blockquote> Las Santas was responsible for publishing her husbandâÂÂs work, not only during his lifetime but also after his death, releasing two posthumous poetry collections.
Throughout her life she remained closely linked to literature: in April 1957 and May 1960 she participated in two recitals at the Centro Asturiano with some of her "Versos con faldas" colleagues. In 1957 she took part in the sixth Saturday of GalerÃÂas Cascorro, along with Gloria Clavo, MarÃÂa Paz Viloria and Acacia Uceta. The following year, she also took part in the twentieth Saturday of the same literary circle, held in March. She gave lectures and directed a sonnet series at the Ateneo.
In 1959 she directed âÂÂâÂÂAguacantos,âÂÂâ a poetic gathering she described as an âÂÂoral newspaper.âÂÂ
Adelaida Las Santas died in Madrid on 15 November 2006.
In the poetry circle she founded with Gloria Fuertes and MarÃÂa Dolores de Pablos, Las Santas served as secretary, but in practice she acted as director, since Gloria FuertesâÂÂthe nominal directorâÂÂfully trusted her:
<blockquote>"I value your drive, your energy and will. IâÂÂll help by giving you the completed programs so you can notify the people.â She was the one who financed the programs and effectively managed the gathering. The group came to an end in 1953 when the General Directorate of Security banned poetry readings and café gatherings".</blockquote>
In 1983 she published the first anthology of "Versos con faldas." Years later, in 2019, based on Las Santasâ previous work, the publishing house Torremozas released another anthology that included introductory studies, biographies of the members, period photographs, and more.