Biography

Francisco "Paco" Madrid (24 February 1900 – 8 January 1952) was a Spanish (Catalan) journalist, writer and screenwriter. A native of Barcelona, Francisco (Francesc) Madrid worked as a journalist in Barcelona, Paris, Geneva, Madrid, and Buenos Aires. He wrote essays, novels, and plays. He was also active in Catalunyan politics. In 1931, he was appointed Secretary of the Civil Government of Barcelona. In Madrid, he was the vice-editor of the daily La Voz. Like many supporters of the Spanish Republic, he left Spain in 1936 for Argentina.

In Buenos Aires, Francisco Madrid worked as a journalist, most notably for the newspapers Noticias Gráficas, La Prensa, and the magazine El Hogar. But, his major contribution in Argentina was to the Argentine film industry. He wrote or co-wrote seven screenplays, among them the classic La cabalgata del circo (1945), co-written with Mario Soffici.

In Buenos Aires, he wrote Cine de hoy y de mañana, published in 1945, and Cincuenta años de cine. Crónica del séptimo arte, published in 1946. The later is considered a pioneering work, with a full chapter describing the origins and history of the then incipient Latin American movie industry.