After Germany invaded France in 1914, he moved to Madrid, Spain, and pursued a literary career as journalist, investigator, translator, critic, and writer.
Some of the most famous writers in the Spanish-speaking world: José Martí, Miguel de Unamuno, Eduardo Mallea, José Ortega y Gasset, Rubén Darío, Alfonso Reyes, Jorge Luis Borges, Mario Vargas Llosa and Manuel Mujica Láinez have all appeared regularly in its columns.
Alfonso XIII of Spain | Alfonso X of Castile | Alfonso Cuarón | Alfonso VIII of Castile | Efren Reyes | Alfonso V of Aragon | Alfonso I d'Este | Los Reyes | Alfonso XI of Castile | Severino Reyes | Point Reyes | Alfonso XII of Spain | Alfonso Herrera | Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso | Alfonso II of Aragon | Alfonso XII | Alfonso III of Asturias | Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara | Alfonso d'Este | Alfonso | Raúl Reyes | Nicanor Reyes, Sr. | Manfred Reyes Villa | Kamar de los Reyes | Giovanni Alfonso Borelli | Claudia Reyes | Alfonso Sastre | Alfonso Reyes | Alfonso Mora | Alfonso Fadrique |
Writers and artists such as Miguel de Unamuno, Alfonso Reyes, Manuel de Falla, Juan Ramón Jiménez, José Ortega y Gasset, Pedro Salinas, Blas Cabrera, Eugenio d´Ors and Rafael Alberti were frequent visitors and lodged at the Residencia during their stay in Madrid.
He was especially fond of 15th-century French poet François Villon, but also read much of the work of Alfonso Reyes, Renato Leduc, Efraín Huerta, Jean Nicolas, Arthur Rimbaud, Paul Valéry, Lord Byron, Goethe, André Malraux, and Paul Éluard .
In 2004 Ordorika received the Frank Talbott Jr. Visiting University Chair from the University of Virginia and in 2006 he was awarded the Alfonso Reyes Chaire des Etudes Mexicaines by the University of Paris III (Sorbonne Nouvelle).