Spanish archivist, archaeologist, journalist, painter and filmmaker.

Juan Lafita was born on 23 June 1889 in Seville (Spain), and passed away in the same city on 17 April 1967. Son of the painter José Lafita Blanco and María de la Salud Díaz Noa, and brother of the sculptor José Lafita Díaz.

He attended Colegio Santa Teresa in Alcalá de Guadaira until 1898, and earned a baccalaureate degree at the Escolapios school in his hometown, where he remained until 1904. He enrolled in the science department at the Universidad de Sevilla, initially planning to study architecture, although he later switched to the history degree programme in the liberal arts department. At the same time, he was attending the university art school, where the painter Gonzalo Bilbao took him under his wing. In 1910 he moved to Madrid to study at the Escuela de Diplomática. That year he began to draw, and Lafita's illustrations, caricatures, cartoons and posters soon came to the attention of newspapers and magazines.

In 1911 he passed the exam to enter the Corps of Archivists, Librarians and Archaeologists, and was assigned to the Archivo de Hacienda in Málaga. The following year he obtained a post at the Archivo General de Indias, and in 1925 he became director of the Museo Arqueológico Provincial de Sevilla, where he worked until the Spanish Civil War. As Inspector-General of Archaeological Museums, he was involved in moving the Museo de Sevilla into the fine arts pavilion in María Luisa Park. He served as secretary of the provincial monuments committee, and supervised several digs, most notably at the archaeological site of Orippo in the province of Seville.

Member of the Ateneo de Sevilla since 1910, Lafita was secretary, and later president of the fine arts section, and oversaw the installation of the "History of the Kingdom of Seville" section at the 1929 Ibero-American Exhibition. Well-known in Seville art circles, he was acquainted with all the leading artists of his day, including the composer Manuel de Falla, a close friend whom he helped on several occasions. In 1916 he supplied the documents that would allow flamenco dancer Félix Fernández García, "El Loco", to travel to London with Serge Diaghilev's company for the premiere of "The Three-Cornered Hat" (1917-1919).

In 1921 he began writing for the Seville press, especially "El Correo de Andalucía", under several pseudonyms: "Bemoles" (as a music critic), "Bambalina" (as a theatre critic), "Juan Hispaleto" (as an art critic), "Don Objetivo" (as a film critic), "Jatifal" (as a society reporter), "Fuselaje" (as an aviation critic) and "Percaline" (as a fashion critic). He drew portraits for the daily "ABC" and the magazines "Bética" and "Andalucía", earning the sobriquet "Lápiz Kodak" (Kodak Pencil) for his ability to rapidly capture a person's likeness.

He worked as an art director on films, like "Currito de la Cruz" (1926), "Carmen la de Triana" (1938) and "Eugenia de Montijo" (1944). After the Spanish Civil War, he was blacklisted but not sanctioned, and therefore was able to maintain his official status until 1959, when he retired and was named honorary director of the Museo Arqueológico de Sevilla by the Real Academia de Bellas Artes.

In 1964, Seville City Council awarded him the Silver Medal of the City, and the President of Lebanon made him a Commander in the National Order of the Cedar. Lafita was a member of the fine arts section of the Academia de Santa Isabel de Hungría (Seville, Spain), the Real Academia de la Historia (Madrid, Spain) and the Real Academia de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales (Venezuela), honorary member of the Stockholm one; Officier d'Accadémie of France; and member of the Comisión Provincial de Monumentos Históricos y Artísticos of Sevilla. In addition, he was a Commander in the Order of Alfonso X the Wise, and served as consul and honorary vice-consul of Colombia on several occasions.