Francis Oliva

Francisco Javier Oliva commonly known as Francis Oliva or Paco Oliva (b. Gibraltar, 1962) is a Gibraltarian journalist and published author. He is the news editor of the Gibraltar Chronicle,^[1] where he also regularly writes opinion articles on current affairs. He is also known as Paco or Francis.

Literary work

Francisco has published two books to date The Frontiers of Doubt^[2] which is an in depth critical anaylisis of the Gibraltar question and the relationship between Gibraltar, the United Kingdom and Spain from a non-nationalist perspective. He has also published his first work of fiction The Night Gibraltar Disappeared and Other Stories, subtitled "(A fictional journey through the void)", his first incursion in the field of modern fiction.

The book is a collection of short stories some based on nostalgic recollections of the author's youth, while others explore the darker recesses of the human mind, delving into a sombre universe of introspection where themes like isolation, fear, obsession and the destructive nature of all human relationships, come to the fore.

All the short stories take place in Gibraltar, in its streets, bars, workplaces, urban landscapes and open spaces. As suggested by the book title, even the inner monologues are intimately associated and come to life against and within the dramatic presence of The Rock's jagged topography.

The book contains a tribute to his beloved film director Luis Buñuel called "Exterminating Parliament - homenaje a Luis Buñuel", which combines the infamous 23-F foiled coup d'etat in Spain, with the film "El ángel exterminador" Buñuel's legendary tour de force, in the unlikely setting of Gibraltar's Parliament.

Both books were published by Editorial Acenta 2000. He is currently working on his third book, a science fiction novel.

References