[3] Early on he abandoned a career as an aeronautical engineer and turned to the study of Philosophy and Literature, graduating in 1952 and focusing on American History and Archeology.
During his early years as a dramatist he was identified as a promoter of experimental theatre,[2] while other sources refer to an intention to reinvent the genre, with plays such as "Juicio contra un sinvergüenza" ("Judgment against a rogue") and "Los pobrecitos" ("The poor wretches"), but during the 1950s and 1960s he deferred to the more conservative tastes of theatre audiences in Franco's Spain, writing in a more consciously escapist and entertaining style.
[5] Some years after his death his works were still attracting great interest, and were well received outside Spain, notably in Germany, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Mexico.
He was the first Spanish author to have a live play produced on Broadway in New York, the work in question being El canto de la cigarra (English: Song of the Grasshopper).
A particular admirer was the actor-director José Vilar (actor) [es], who found large audiences for his work on Chilean and Peruvian television during the 1970s and early 1980s.