Jose Rubia Barcia; Author, Translator of Spanish Literature

Jose Rubia Barcia, 82, winner of the National Book Award for translation. Born in Spain, Barcia fought against the Franco forces in the Spanish Civil War and afterward fled to France, then moved to Cuba and eventually the United States. Educated at the University of Granada, Barcia took a teaching position for a year at Princeton. In 1944, he moved to Los Angeles, where he first dubbed Spanish for films at Warner Bros.; then, for 38 years he taught Spanish language and literature at UCLA. He was also a prolific writer, publishing 10 books and more than 200 scholarly articles and translating others. He shared the prestigious National Book Award with Clayton Eschleman in 1979 for their translation of “Cesar Vallejo: The Complete Posthumous Poetry.” Barcia in 1994 earned the Premio Jose Vasconcelos, a prize awarded annually in Mexico City to scholars who have made a distinguished lifetime contribution to Hispanic culture. A cultural center in his native El Ferrol, Spain, was also named in his honor. On Sunday in Los Angeles.