Cástor Méndez Brandón, Baritone and Folk-Song Poet Born in Xinzo
Cástor Méndez Brandón (Xinzo de Limia, 1864 – Celanova, 1920) was a lawyer, baritone at the Teatro Real in Madrid, poet and mayor of Celanova, and promoted Galician song.
Cástor Méndez Brandón was born in Xinzo de Limia in 1864 and died in Celanova on 29 January 1920. He was a lawyer, poet, baritone and politician, and the xinzodelimia.eu page describes him as one of the precursors of Galician music, a distinguished singer and promoter of our music, and a poet of folk songs [1][2].
Life
He studied law in Madrid. He made his debut as a lyric singer in 1892 and as a baritone at the Teatro Real in Madrid in 1895 [1]. He published poems in La Voz de Celanova. He was substitute judge of Celanova (1914), editor of El Eco de Celanova and mayor of Celanova in 1919; he died there the following year [1].
Work
Wikipedia and xinzodelimia.eu list these titles [1][2]:
- Canciones y poesías gallegas (1908).
- Conferencia dada en el Ateneo de Madrid sobre Canciones gallegas (1908).
- Os meus lurciños (1908).
- Frangullas (1910).
- Celanoverías (1913).
A doubt about the year
Wikipedia gives 1864 as his year of birth [1]. The xinzodelimia.eu page reproduces an article by Alfredo Fernández (Nan de Allariz) in which he says that both were born in the town of Xinzo, were baptised at the same font by the same priest, and that Cástor was five years ahead of him; to the quotation it adds the year 1869, which, going by the page devoted to Nan, appears to be Nan’s birth and not Cástor’s [2]. The sum 1864 plus five agrees with 1869, but the other sources on Nan give 1874 or 1875, so the question remains open (see Alfredo Nan de Allariz).
Links
Sources
- «Cástor Méndez Brandón», Galician Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cástor_Méndez_Brandón (references: La Región, 30/01/1920; El Orzán, 04/02/1920; Paz Gago, 2004, Celanova e a escola poética de Curros)
- «Castor Méndez Brandón», xinzodelimia.eu (Wayback capture). http://www.xinzodelimia.eu/castor_mendez_brandon.htm
You may also like
Notable personAiras Vasques, Bishop of Lisbon Born in Xinzo de Limia (13th Century)Airas Vasques (Xinzo de Limia, c. 1170 – Lisbon, 1258) was Bishop of Lisbon from c. 1241, archdeacon of Santiago, founder of the collegiate…
Notable personAlfredo Nan de Allariz, Poet and Playwright from Xinzo in HavanaAlfredo Fernández, «Nan de Allariz», was born in Xinzo de Limia (1874 or 1875) and died in Madrid in 1927; poet, playwright and composer,…
Notable personÁlvaro de Oca y Zúñiga, the Jurist from Celme Who Became Viceroy of NavarreÁlvaro de Oca y Zúñiga (Celme, Rairiz de Veiga, 16th century – Pamplona, 1638) was a professor at Salamanca, judge, regent of the Royal…
Notable personAna Prieto, pharmacist and MP born in Xinzo de LimiaAna Prieto Nieto (Xinzo de Limia, 1965) is a pharmacist, was president of the Lugo Pharmacists' Association (2009-2015), deputy mayor of…
Notable personÁngel Cocho Ferrero, Headmaster of the Colexio Santa Mariña in XinzoÁngel Cocho Ferrero (A Coruña, 1914) ran the Colexio Santa Mariña in Xinzo from 1953, the town's educational landmark of the 1950s–70s. In…
Notable personAntón Riveiro Coello, Writer from Xinzo de LimiaAntón Riveiro Coello (Xinzo de Limia, 1964) is one of the most translated Galician novelists: author of «As rulas de Bakunin», «Laura no…
