Veteran's pension be paid to a War Disable Republican, and fled to France. From there he went to Caracas, Venezuela. Two years later his family joined him. In Venezuela he sustained his family working exclusively as a writer. Most of his literary work was published in Caracas. In 1987 he received de Andres Bello Order from the Government of Venezuela. José Manuel Castañón was a passionate lover of poetry. He had an astounding ability to memorizing poems; he knew an extraordinary number of poems by heart, and enjoyed reciting them to audiences. He wrote a book about his beloved Peruvian poet Cesar Vallejo: Passion for Vallejo. In 1983, he was named adoptive son of Santiago de Chuco, Vallejo's birthplace. While in the Blue Division he had kept a diary, which remained unpublished for many years. The book was published in 1991 under the title The Diary of an Adventure. He wrote, as well, books on his ideology, political beliefs, and his inner struggle. In 1977, he returned to Madrid, when in Spain had already disappeared all vestige of the dictatorship. He died June 6, 2001. Castañón was predeceased by his wife and a son, and is survived by four daughters. Major works Moletu-Voleva (1956) Bezana Roja (1957) Andres Cuenta su Historia (1962) Encuentro con Venezuela (1962) Confesiones de un vivir absurdo (1959) Una Balandra encalla en Tierra firme (1958) Cuba hablo contigo (1989) Cuba sigo Hablando contigo(1993) Pasion por Vallejo (1963) Entre dos Orillas (1975) Me Confieso Bolivarianamente (1982) Cuentos Vividos (1976) Diario de una Aventura (1991) En mi sentir revuelto (1992) Mi Padre y Ramon Gomez de la Serna (1975) References 1920 births 2001 deaths People from Asturias Spanish male novelists University of Oviedo alumni 20th-century Spanish novelists 20th-century Spanish male writers