Christians – Pensamientos

A Christian hero warrior who lived among Arabs, a book review.

Pérez Reverte, Andrés. Sidi. Un relato de frontera (Miami: Alfaguara/Penguin Random House, 2019), pp. 371.

[Spanish below] El Cid Campeador, Spain’s favorite Christian warrior, appears here with the Arabic name that his own comrades in arms gave him, according to the author. And, indeed, it is a frontier tale, as the subtitle claims, referring to the imaginary line in the Iberian Peninsula that separated the Christian Goths from the Islamic Moors in the eleventh century, before Spain emerged.

The author warns us that Sidi “is a fictional story… that combines history, legend and imagination.” And, for me, that combination was satisfying because I think I can understand something of the past, trusting that he investigated enough before executing the final drafts. He relied on his understanding of the historical trends that slowly unfolded over centuries serving as a background for the actions of his characters. There is no doubt that integrating in the twenty-first century events from the eleventh century with legends embellished by the imagination demands certain caution for us readers. Worse in this case when historians warn of us of how little documentation remains of this warrior who continues to enjoy mythical glory. Perez Reverte includes gory descriptions of throat slicing and beheadings but medieval history in general confirms the enormous sacrifices of life that occurred often enough in the name of loyalty to man and god.

But the fact is that, despite the fiction woven into his tale, I have been able to confirm, for example, more than anything else, the social intertwining that must have existed between Christians and Muslims at that time. The fact that Pérez Reverte baptized his novel with the Arabic name of the famous warrior says a lot. I believe he hit the mark in choosing the title for his novel. I think that this social and economic intertwining represents the main argument in this book, better than a historical essay. It was a very good read. An English version is quite probable.

El Cid Campeador aparece aquí con el nombre árabe que sus propios compañeros en armas le pusieron, según el autor. Y, efectivamente, es un relato de frontera, como reza el subtítulo, la línea imaginaria en la península ibérica que separaba los godos cristianos de los moros islámicos en el siglo once, antes de que surgiera una España. Pérez Reverte incluye descripciones sangrientas de cortes de garganta y decapitaciones, pero la historia medieval en general confirma los enormes sacrificios de la vida que ocurrieron con bastante frecuencia en nombre de la lealtad al hombre y a dios.

El autor nos advierte que Sidi “es un relato de ficción donde…combina historia, leyenda e imaginación.” Y, para mí, esa combinación me ha satisfecho porque creo poder entender algo del pasado, gracias a este autor que investiga algo antes de escribir sus borradores finales. Confió en su haber entendido las tendencias históricas que se desenvuelven lentamente a través de los siglos y fungen como trasfondo en el comportamiento de los personajes. Es innegable que el compaginar en el siglo veintiuno hechos del siglo XI con leyendas embellecidas por la imaginación requiere exigir cierto cuidado para nosotros los lectores. Peor en este caso cuando poca documentación queda del domador de la frontera tal como nos avisan los historiadores, en contradicción a la gloria mítica que le asignan los españoles.

Pero el hecho es que, a pesar de la ficción entretejida aquí, he podido, como lector, confirmar, por ejemplo, más que nada, el entrelazo social que debió haber existido entre los cristianos y los musulmanes en esa época. El hecho de que Pérez Reverte bautice su novela con el nombre arábico del insigne guerrero dice mucho ya. Intitular su novela de esta manera me parece una decisión acertada. Por último, pienso que ese entrelazado social y económico representa el argumento principal de este libro y de esto el autor ha hecho un excelente repaso, mejor que un ensayo histórico. Fue una lectura muy buena.

December 12th: Dia de la Virgen de Guadalupe

Today is December 12th, a day in which the entire Spanish language world pays tribute to La Virgen de Guadalupe. Special masses were being said today in Buenos Aires, Madrid, and Mexico City. And, of course, in San Fernando, California, my hometown—and, nowadays, here in Seattle too.

December 12^th was hard to overlook, when I was a boy, because we rose early in the morning, before dark, to attend “Las Mañanitas,” sung full throat by hundreds of Mexicans jammed into our Santa Rosa Church. We sang “Las Mañanitas” because it was her birthday. When I was in my 20s, mariachi musicians became accepted as part of the musical tributes, which had been entirely religious up to that point. I remember attending a December 12^th mass in Tijuana in the early 1970s, when I was in a very emotional period, and feeling gratified and comforted by it. I’ve witnessed the overwhelmingly exotic December 12^th festivities in the famous Basilica in Mexico City many times too.

There is a fascinating story that gave rise to the culto, or the sum total of devotional happenings, around La Virgen de Guadalupe. Legend has it that she appeared about 15 or so years after Hernan Cortes, in the company of his fellow Spaniards, conquered Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital. It was a bloody conquest, of course, and a spiritual one too: it was Catholicism over Aztec paganism, which had included human sacrifice. Many people heralded the Spanish victory with mystical significance even though the winners were no more than a bunch of bawdy and rough-hewn Iberians who didn’t know what they were getting into.

The basic point here is that the legendary appearances, which form the core of the culto, served to solidify the conquest psychologically. Historical studies show that the subjugated Indians became more willing to abandon their ancient beliefs and begin to accept Spanish Christian ones, after word spread about the Guadalupe appearances.

There is a mountain of historical information about this, but suffice to say here that December 12^th always tugs at my heart and soul even though my religious fervor cooled long ago. Nevertheless, I still remember and pine for those old feelings. They’re so comforting.