LiberPress Camins Award 2009

José Antonio Labordeta (Zaragoza, 1935) is a writer and singer-songwriter. A popular and well-loved character, he is a symbol of Aragon today, considered the most important Aragonese singer-songwriter and one of the most decisive individuals in the recovery of Aragonese regional awareness. José Antonio Labordeta Subías was born on 10 March 1935 in Zaragoza. He founded and directed the magazine Orejudín (1958-1959) and published work in Papageno (1958-1960). He graduated in philosophy in 1960 and went to work as a Spanish lector in Aix en Provence. There he heard the songs of Brassens, Brel, Léo Ferré, etc., for the first time and wrote the Sonata ibérica, a poetic work influenced by Machado. He began to sing in November 1968. His first record, Andros, a four-song EP, was seized by the authorities but reissued in 1971 as a complement to Cantar y callar, his first LP.

In 1975 he released Tiempo de espera, which includes his best known song, Canto a la libertad, written in Villanúa. Co-founder of the magazine Andalán and of the Aragonese Socialist Party, he was finally elected a member of the Chunta Aragonesista de las Cortes between 1999 and 2000 and was a member of Congress from 2000 to 2008, when he retired. During the period he spent in Madrid he formed part of the mixed group in Congress and stood out for his coherence and solidarity. His many books include Los amigos contados, Banderas rotas, En el remolino, Cuentos de San Cayetano, Dulce sabor de días agrestes, Tierra sin agua and Memorias de un beduino en el Congreso de los Diputados, as well as a number of travel books.