José Luis Puerto (La Alberca, Salamanca, 1953). He graduated in Romance Philology from the University of Salamanca and completed his doctorate at the University of Seville. He is a high school professor of Language and Literature, and taught in Seville, Segovia and finally in León, until his retirement.
As a poet, prose writer, essayist, ethnographer and art critic, he has spoken and continues to speak at forums in public and private institutions. He has collaborated as an article writer in various media. He is a member of the three study centres of Salamanca (the one in the city itself, the one in Béjar and Ciudad Rodrigo) and was secretary of the poetry courses in the summer courses of the Complutense University, held in El Escorial and Almería.
As a poet, his various works include: The time that weaves us (1982), A garden of oblivion (1987; runner-up for the Adonais Prize), Signals (1997; Gil de Biedma Prize), Trails (1999), From the outdoors (2004), Protecting dwellings (2008), Mapping the safeguard (2012) or the latest so far Protecting the invisible (2017; finalist for the Premio Nacional de la Crítica de Poesía).
As an ethnographer, he investigates and researches aspects such as festivals, rites and beliefs, popular religiosity and oral traditions. His work in this field is abundant. We will mention two titles in the field of legends: Legends of oral tradition in the province of León (2011) and the recently released Legends of oral tradition in the province of Salamanca (2019).
