From 1971 until his death he was a member of the Real Academia Española.

During the civil war he joined the Communist Party of Spain and served as a medical aid in the Republican Army.

This work presented a graphic picture of Spain after the Civil War and won the Lope de Vega Prize, establishing Vallejo as one of the foremost authors in Spain.

He died due to a stroke on April 29, 2000, aged 83.

[3][4] A common theme in his work is Spain's problems during and after Franco.