Galician culture wakes up in mourning: Carlos Fernández Santander has died in A Coruña, early Sunday morning, at the age of 80. A journalist, historian, and documentary filmmaker, he was a highly respected figure whose work spanned the media, books, and screens.
With an extensive career, He left a decisive work on the Civil War and Francoism, while maintaining a constant presence in the Galician press and documentary film. His voice, always rigorous and didactic, influenced several generations of readers and viewers.
Biography and training
Born in A Coruña in 1944, He lost his father as a child and moved to Madrid to study for eight years at the Army Orphanage. That period shaped his discipline and intellectual curiosity.
In the sixties he returned to his hometown and studied nautical science; obtained the title of captain and strengthened a vital bond with the sea that would later emerge in his journalistic and audiovisual work.
A key voice in Galician journalism and historiography
He combined his training with journalism and collaborated with various media outlets: The Galician Ideal (1977-1981), The Voice of Galicia, Radio Voz and Antena 3, among others. He left behind key columns and reports in the local and regional press.
He was the author of more than forty volumes. Among his titles is the critical biography General Franco: A dictator in a time of infamy, published in 1983 and reissued in 2005, the result of decades of research on the regime.
His historiographical work focused on the war and the postwar period, with works such as The 1936 uprising in Galicia, Francoism and political transition in Galicia y The Galician exile of the Civil War. He also directed the commented reissue of Galicia Martyr, a key piece to understanding the repression in Galicia.
Documentary film and awards
In addition to his literary work, he was a prolific documentary filmmaker with 54 works. Among them are The Urquiola disaster y Rise and fall of the Third Reich, examples of his analytical view of historical facts.
His contribution to the genre was recognized last year with a tribute at the eighth edition of the Sellier Film Festival, where several of his pieces were screened and his narrative rigor and technical expertise were highlighted.
Throughout his career he accumulated distinctions such as the Bosch Gold Award, the Castelo d'Ouro Grand Prix, the Army Journalism Award, the Wenceslao Fernández Flórez of the Provincial Council of A Coruña and the Julio Camba, among other recognitions associated with his work in the press and television (TVG).
Sportsmanship and Coruña roots
Passionate about football, he dedicated several titles to the Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña, such as A century-old club. The history of RC Deportivo de La Coruña; He also discussed the history of the club with Vicente Leirachá in later works.
Many of his works were published by Ediciones Arenas. Its editor, Manuel Arenas, expressed his sorrow for the author's loss on social media. remembering him as a close collaborator and member of the jury of the Fernando Arenas Quintela Literary Prize.
In his city he promoted initiatives to preserve memory and, for a time, promoted an association with his name intended to safeguard his legacy, although it was eventually dissolved.
The news of his death has generated condolences in the cultural and journalistic spheres of A Coruña and throughout Galicia; his work remains as a reference to understand the 20th century in Spain from a Galician perspective.
With his death, A Coruña loses an essential chronicler of his time: a professional who combined journalism, history and cinema to explain our recent past and project it into the future through books, articles, and documentaries that new generations will continue to read and watch.
