A Spanish pensioner has published two books and will donate the proceeds to cancer research.

I need writing to express myself, to find my true self, and to communicate with people and the nature around me. Writing is like a sip of fresh water in the heat. I have loved writing since I was young, and this passion was born in the village square, where I interacted with people. It is the village and the people that inspire me to write.

So says Agapito de Cruz Franco, a retired teacher who was born in 1953 in a Spanish village and now lives in Tenerife. The local authorities even made him an honorary resident in 2022. Writing has accompanied him throughout his life, and here is the result – two new books: "Folk Poems" and "Notes from a Mobile Phone." As he himself says, they are "twin brothers," similar but at the same time very different.

All the money from the sale of the books will go to help organizations that fight cancer.

"Folk Poems" is a collection of poems designed by artist Daniela González Yumar (who also did the cover for "Notes from a Mobile Phone"). The book is divided into four parts: "About Nature and Time," "The Belly of a Donkey," "About People from the Village," and "Politics." "These are poems that are born by themselves," the author explains. "They appeared at different times of the year and talk about what worries people, about their conversations. There are poems written by ordinary people for ordinary people."

Agapito recalls the words written on the cover of the book, dedicated to his sister and her husband: "To the druids of the forests, the uneducated bards, the folk poets. To all who sincerely sang and sing for the people in folklore, at carnivals, in churches or at local festivals. Their words are soaked in sweat, and their voices are hardened by the mornings."

In his poems, the author uses various forms: quatrains, romances, sonnets, and free verse. He creates a mosaic of folk poetry, telling about the life of people in the village, about their language, songs, worries, and customs.

There is a poem in the book dedicated to Mafalda, the famous character of the artist Quino, as well as poems about Francisco Ibáñez, the creator of Mortadelo and Filemon. There is also a poem about the book "Candle from the Fountain," written by Pedro Pardo Berbel, in which he retells folk tales and romances.

On the pages of "Folk Poems" you can find an interesting conversation. In 2019, during the Days of Oral Speech, Professor Miguel Rodríguez, versifier Joseíto Bienes, and Agapito de Cruz Franco himself communicated in WhatsApp, but not in the usual language, but in poems.

"Of course, there are also political issues," the author adds. "About what is discussed in the streets, about what people say simply and frankly about events in our country."

The cover of "Notes from a Mobile Phone" shows how this book was created. The photo shows a street in the city of La Orotava, and the author seems to be looking at us from the screen of a mobile phone.

The book is dedicated to Mili Expósito González, his wife, who also wrote an afterword called "Thanks to Life," like in the song by Violeta Parra. And the foreword was written by the young writer Celia Lorenzo Ramos, who published her first novel at the age of 16.

"These books are like twins," says Agapito. "They are similar, but at the same time very different."

"Notes from a Mobile Phone" is a collection of ideas and thoughts that came to me during walks," says De Cruz Franco. "I wrote them down on my phone, and then at home I developed them into full-fledged texts."

The book has sections "Criticism" (social, political, and historical), "Landscapes with History," "Institutional Speeches" (texts that the author gave at various events), and "Sunsets" (poems written in free form).

"Since there are many different topics in the book, I decided to call it exactly as it originated – "Notes from a Mobile Phone," the author explains.

Writer Celia Lorenzo Ramos writes in the foreword: "In this digital repository, Agapito de Cruz Franco stores dozens of grains of spontaneity, waiting to sprout in texts. It is from this careful cultivation that "Notes from a Mobile Phone" are born."

"There is everything: from sharp criticism to beautiful lyrical poems. This book perfectly reflects the halftones that we all keep in our mobile phones," she adds.

According to Lorenzo Ramos, the writing of Agapito de Cruz Franco is always in motion. "When something comes to my mind during a walk, on the beach, in the mountains or in the garden, I write these ideas down on my mobile phone," says the writer. "And then, at home, I develop them. I don't write on a schedule and I don't plan anything in advance. Everything happens very naturally, when the time comes. Although, if I have an unfinished work, I try to finish it, and I can devote many hours to it. But sometimes days or even weeks can pass before I take it up again."

The same applies to the simultaneous publication of "Notes from a Mobile Phone" and "Folk Poems." "Both books were formed in parallel," the writer claims. "I wrote one, then interrupted and took up another, and then returned to the first again."

On October 2 last year, the presentation of "Folk Poems" and "Notes from a Mobile Phone" took place in the city of La Orotava. In addition to the author, the event was attended by the mayor of the city, writer Celia Lorenzo Ramos, and artist Daniela González Yumar.

All the money from the sale of both books will go to support organizations that fight cancer.