Elena Quiroga

Who was Elena Quiroga?

Elena Quiroga de la Válgoma, was a Spanish writer and winner of the Premio Nadal. She was born in Santander, Cantabria and grew up on her father's estate in Barco de Valdeorras, Ourense. Growing up in the region, she felt intimately linked to Galicia. Her first novel was published in 1949, but it was with her second novel, Viento del norte – which won the Premio Nadal in 1950 – that she became famous. That same year, she married the historian Dalmiro de la Válgoma.

In 1984 Quiroga was made a member of the Real Academia Española. She died on October 3rd, 1995, in La Coruña.