Born in Valladolid, the son of a notary, he grew up in Elorrio (Vizcaya), Morella (Castellón) and Villena (Alicante) where as a child he learned to speak Basque and Valencian.
He studied law at the Universidad María Cristina de El Escorial, History at the University of Valladolid, and Classical Philology in Madrid, Paris and Berlin.
He was president of the University Student Federation (FUE) in Valladolid, a republican-leaning organisation, but in September 1936 after beginning the civil war, he adopted a Falangist attitude influenced by his intimate friend Dionisio Ridruejo, and became one of those responsible for the propaganda of the nationalist government in Burgos, though his disillusionment with the Nationalist faction started.
Following his relationship with Ridruejo and in the orbit of Ramón Serrano Súñer, from December 1940 to April 1941 he occupied the position of Under-Secretary of Press and Propaganda.
[9] This was attended by the rectors of the main universities of the world, who made a memorable parade through the streets of Salamanca with their traditional costumes.
Soon after arriving, there was a student protest, culminating in a demonstration led by Tierno Galván, Aranguren, García Calvo and Montero Díaz.