Luís Espinal Camps

• Name — Luís Espinal Camps • Born — 2 February 1932 • Birthplace — Sant Fruitós de Bages, Spain • Died — 21 March 1980 • Place of death — La Paz, Bolivia • Other Names — Lucho Espinal Lluís Espinal i Camps • Occupation — Jesuit priest, poet, journalist, filmmaker, film critic • Years Active — 1962-1980

Luís Espinal Camps was born on 2 February 1932 in Sant Fruitós de Bages, Catalonia, Spain. He aspired to be a priest even as a child. Espinal was educated at the minor seminary of San Jose in Roquetes, Baix Ebre between 1944 and 1949. He joined the Society of Jesus of Veruela, Zaragoza in 1949, made his perpetual vows in 1951, and studied Humanities and Greco-Roman Literature (1951–53) there. He studied Philosophy at the Facultad Eclesiástica of San Cugat del Vallés from 1953 to 1956. While doing another licenciate course in Philosophy at the Universidad Civil de Barcelona, Espinal gave classes of Greek literature and Latin poetry to Jesuits. He studied Theology (1959–63) at the Facultad Eclesiástica of San Cugat del Vallés, and was ordained priest in 1962. He later obtained a degree in film and television from the Italian Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (1964–65).

In 1968, Espinal moved to La Paz, Bolivia, as a missionary. There, he lived alongside the families of miners during the dictatorship of Luis García Meza. Becoming a human-rights activist, he co-founded the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights. He gained Bolivian citizenship in 1970. Beyond priest and activist, Espinal was also a poet, journalist, and filmmaker. He had worked for a brief period in Spanish television. In December 1967, he left Spain in protest against Francisco Franco's dictatorship censorship of him and his program channel, TVE. In Bolivia, he directed the social issues-themed Cuestión urgente ("Urgent Issue"). In Bolivia, he directed a similar program, En carne viva (lit. "In living flesh"), a series of 20-minute documentaries for Televisión Boliviana (TVB). The show lasted from 1970 to 1971, when Espinal was sent off from TVB because he interviewed the Ñancahuazú Guerrilla. Espinal was a film professor at the Higher University of San Andrés and the Universidad Católica Boliviana, and worked for Radio Fides. Espinal was a film critic for the newspapers Presencia, Última hora and Aquí, a member of film company Ukamu, and author of ten books on cinema. He was one of the most informed critics of film, television and radio in the country.

In 1980, a Bolivian-government death squad murdered Espinal in La Paz. In the headquarters of the newspaper Presencia Espinal joined a December 1977 hunger strike led by Domitila Chúngara, requesting amnesty for exiled labour and political leaders. Espinal was killed by a right-wing paramilitary death squad in March 1980. He was kidnapped by the paramilitaries on 21 March and was tortured. His bounded and gagged body was only found by peasants the next day on the road to Chacaltaya. Some sources say Espinal was killed because he would publicize the cocaine traffic done by military personnel. Other say that the reason was that he informed against efforts to censor a public exhibition of Jorge Sanjinés's film El coraje del pueblo, a documentary that denounced the massacre of 67.

• En carne viva (1970–1971) segments: • La Cárcel • La prostitución • La droga • La violencia • Inmigración • Hijos sin nombre • Educación sexual • Madre soltera • Alcoholismo • Sacerdotes obreros • Delincuencia juvenil • Inferioridad femenina

The authorities additionally record the headings Luis Espinal and Lluís Espinal i Camps. His recorded languages were Catalan and Spanish. His recorded confession was Catholicism.

Luís Espinal Camps worked in poetry, journalism, essay, film and history. He belonged to Society of Jesus.