Rafael Solaz Albert was born in Valencia in 1950, in the Carmen District, the neighborhood that would forever shape his view of the city and its history. From childhood, he showed an insatiable curiosity for Valencian culture, a restlessness that would make him one of the most prolific researchers of contemporary Valencian history.
At the age of eleven, he acquired his first book at a secondhand bookstore — The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, purchased with his Christmas money. That gesture sparked a bibliophile passion that would lead him to build a personal library of more than eleven thousand volumes, as well as an extensive collection of documentation and historical graphic archives.
Connected to humanist environments, he studied drawing and painting at the School of Arts and Crafts of Valencia under the direction of master Genaro Lahuerta. He obtained outstanding marks in drawing and honors in coloring, holding several exhibitions between the 1970s and 1990s.
Favorite Son of Valencia
In October 2023, the Valencia City Council awarded him the title of Favorite Son of the city, the highest municipal recognition, in acknowledgment of more than four decades of research work and preservation of Valencian historical memory.
In October 2023, the Valencia City Council awarded him the title of Favorite Son of the city, the highest municipal recognition, in acknowledgment of more than four decades of research work and preservation of Valencian historical memory.