(1901-1999) Rafael Alberti Merello was a Spanish poet member of the Generation of '27. Alberti published his first books of poetry towards the end of the 1920s. The establishment of the Second Spanish Republic in 1931 pushed Alberti towards Marxism and he joined the Communist Party of Spain. After the Spanish Civil War, Alberti fled to Argentina following the victory of Franco in 1939. His work in exile is full of nostalgia for Spain. After living in various European cities, he returned to Spain in 1977. Shortly after his return, Alberti was elected deputy for Cadiz in the constituent Congress of the Spanish parliament on the Communist Party Ticket.