GABRIEL y GALÁN, JOSÉ MARIA. - Spanish poet, b. 28 June 1870 at Frades de la Sierra, d. at Guijo de Granadilla on 6 Jan. 1905. A profound Christian feeling and sympathy for country people, among whom he lived and whom he loved during his brief life, informed his work, with its simple themes and adherence to traditional forms.
In some of his books of poetry he adopted the dialect of Extremadura. In the poem El amo he depicted the type of the honest and religious Castilian woman, such as the poet’s mother was. He wrote: Castellanas (1902), Extremorías (1902), Campesinas (1904), Nuevos Castellanas (1903). Among his religious lyrics, noteworthy is that entitled El Cristo de Velázquez. His poems were first disseminated by Tomás Cámara, bishop of Salamanca.