University of Arizona

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Spanish Poems, Ballads and Proverbs

Poem, undated

Antonio Machado y Alvarez (1846-1893) was a writer, folklorist and Spanish anthropologist born in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, and better known by his pseudonym Demófilo. His sons were Generation of '98 poets Manuel and Antonio Machado.

The collection includes 385 handwritten leaves of poems, ballads and proverbs from Spain, which were collected by Antonio Machado y Alvarez, in the late nineteenth century. The largest grouping is titled Poesia Popular, Coplas, Refranes; his titles on the other sections are Buenaventuras, Miscelaneas, Oldivnanza, Supersticiones, Coplas, Tradiciones, Romances populares, and Juegos Infantiles. They may have been materials for the 11-volume work he edited, Biblioteca de las Tradiciones Populares Españoles. Also included is an 1885 printed four-page leaflet entitled "Exposición" discussing the Professor Machado y Alvarez, his work, folklore societies in Spain, and the importance of folklore in general.