Tana de Gámez papers

1969-1974

Tana de Gámez was a Spanish-American author, editor, musician, actress, and radio host. She was born in southern Spain and moved to New York with her family at the age of five. After leaving high school early to support her family, de Gámez toured the United States singing and playing the guitar. She won a scholarship to the Institute of Theatre Arts in Hollywood, and appeared in several motion pictures in the United States and Mexico. She also toured with the Spanish dancer Argentinita.

During World War II, de Gámez became a freelance writer and reporter for several American Spanish-language publications. She then joined the Office of War Information where she wrote and translated for the government. After the war, de Gámez wrote travel books and founded the Gres Art Gallery in Washington, D.C. She published her first novel Like a River of Lions, in 1967. She is also the author of The Yoke and the Star: A Novel of the Cuban Revolution (1966) and Alicia Alonso: At Home and Abroad (1971). De Gámez hosted the radio program Latin American World on WBAI New York in the 1960s. She retired in New York City.