Guernica Redux

http://www.sociedadhispanadoylestown.com/2012/01/guernica-by-david-bolingpablo-picasso.html

Hace pocos días puse unas palabras sobre el sito de Sociedad Hispana Doylestown discutiendo un libro que leí tratando con Guernica.  No quise entrar en la politica,  por eso, lo mandé en breve a skype amiga madrileña Laura para confirmar que no entró en la política.  Tal vez debe de leer la entrada arriba para entender su comentario abajo:

HiTerry:

As you already know, Spanish civil war is a very sensitive issue for many Spanish people even today, but I don’t think your blog post should annoy anyone. You just comment that you have read a book on the Guernica bombing, the book can be accurate or not but you haven’t written it. From what you say in the post it seems an interesting story. I have researched a little and asked my husband, who knows much more than me about the Spanish Civil war. It seems the worse bombings oft he Civil War took place in big cities like Madrid and Barcelona. The Guernica air raid is probably more well known internationally because of the Picasso’s painting, but as you explained in your post, as it is a surrealist painting many people in other countries don’t really know it depicts the terrible attack in that village.

Another very deadly air raid of the Spanish war that may interest you is the one in the village of Belchite,a town in Aragon close to Zaragoza, at the northeast of Spain. The ruins of the houses are preserved for people nowadays can see the horror of war. This bombing is less well known

different.  Belchite was occupied by the nacionales (Franco’s forces, also called sublevados) and was attacked by Republicanos in order to conquer afterwards Zaragoza (also occupied by Nacionales) In the end the Republicanos won in Belchite, but that gave time to Nacionales to strengthen their forces in Zaragoza. From what I have read, it seems that between 3.000 and 4.000 people died in Belchite, including civilians.  I have enclosed some links in case you want to know more about the Belchite Battle, but when you read them you will realize the story sounds very different depending on who tells it. That is a common problem with the Spanish civil war, that depending on the ideology of the authors the story can seem vary.

You can find plenty of pictures of the ruins of Belchite in Google images.

http://www.diariovasco.com/20070817/gente/belchite-herida-abierta-20070817.html

http://www.fauerzaesp.org/foro/viewtopic.php?t=4090&sid=f6e8d24d18da1ec3d65f93b556086c3f

Guernica by David Boling/Pablo Picasso

Under the less than $4 downloadable Amazon booklist  one finds Guernica, written 2-3 years ago by debut writer David Boling.  It is a Spanish Civil War historical novel about the famous bombing of the Basque town Guernica by the German Condor Legion led by Wolfram von Richthofen in April of 1937.  Until the bombing occurs this is a marvelous book to read for anyone interested in understanding the pastoral Basque people in the 1930's.  The remainder of the book deals with the bombing and its after effects on the population.  As historical novels go, this is worth a read for blog followers interested in Spain from the historical novel perspective.

At the end of the book Boling tries to sort out the fictional characters from the non-fictional folks.  Does it reflect what really happened?  I have no idea, but imagine there is no lack of opinions on the subject.

Author Statement:

DAVE BOLING on the writing of “Guernica”

Fresh out of college, I met and married a lovely Basque girl whose grandparents had come from Biscaya to herd sheep in the mountains of the American West. They filled me with Basque foods, got me drunk on their wines, and tried to teach me their dances. They showed me the Basques’ characteristically fierce loyalty to their families and heritage. From them I learned of the decades-long oppression of their culture by the Franco regime. And from them I also heard of the bombing of Guernica. 

As the world grew increasingly familiar with acts of terrorism against defenseless civilians, I was struck how the 1937 bombing of the historic town of Guernica had gone unrecognized as an early moment in the history of such attacks. It seemed that people in America were more aware of Picasso’s famed mural than the atrocity that spawned the painting. By fictionalizing the event, I hoped to elevate awareness of the tragedy, and also to create characters who were good and noble people coping with traumatic circumstances in inspirational ways. 

As I researched the bombing, I read stories of a number of Guernica victims who appeared at hospitals with strange symptoms: Their hands were mutilated. The injuries weren't from bombing or burning, but from their insistence on digging barehanded through jagged rubble -- until the flesh tore from their bones – in the single-minded attempt to save their loved ones. 


A full review of the book can be found in the Independent newspaper here:
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/guernica-by-dave-boling-1635811.html

The bombing of the village was brought to the attention of Picasso by war correspondent George Steer (Steer bronze bust now stands in Guernica as a tribute), leading Picasso to depict the bombing in his famous painting that is zoomable here:


http://www.elrelojdesol.com/zoomable-paintings/pablo-ruiz-picasso/index2.htm

The Guernica painting has traveled the world before finally settling in the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid.  A tapestry copy of the painting, funded by Nelson Rockefeller, hangs in the entrance to the UN Security council building in NYC.

Sources:  Many including the omnipresent Wikipedia)

Mario Vargas Llosa-Literature and the Search for Liberty

A favorite author is Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa. (Nobel Prize biography here: http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/2010/vargas_llosa.html )

The Feast of the Goat, (Trujillo dictatorship) and the classic The War of the Worlds (Brazilian military violent intervention in  that country's impoverished hinterlands) are two of my favorites written by Vargas Llosa.



It occurs to me after reading this author's recent letter to the Wall Street Journal,  Vargas Llosa is one of the few Latin American authors I have read with a somewhat middle approach to politics.  His discussions with fellow latino authors have led to at least one fist fight.  Among other favorite latino authors (García Marquez, Allende, Carlos Fuentes) all have diametrically opposed views of the world.

After reading the below linked Vargas Llosa letter to the editor, it reminded me of current Sociedad Hispana book club discussions, where we have spent much time in recent months reading and discussing the Spanish Civil War.  I continue to search for a book that will give me the nationalists point of view in that conflict, to assimilate another viewpoint, but so far have been unable to locate such a book.  Any recommendations?

The link to the Vargas Llosa letter can be found here:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203687504577005983807718496.html?mod=ITP_opinion_0

Judith Keene- la Guerra Civil Española del lado nacionalista

Hemos leído varias libros de la guerra civil.  Envié un correo-e al grupo pidiendo la existencia de un libro del mismo sujeto, sino escrito por nacionalista, no del lado republicano.  Mi amigo de muchos años, Niall, me mandó este enlace que reseñó el libro. ( English) Fighting for Franco tal vez sea interesante ,  no obstante el precio del libro en Amazon se encuentra en las estrellas.

http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=8105

La Voz Dormida

Esta noche vamos a discutir el libro La Voz Dormida de Dulce Chacón. Ella escribio el libro en 2002.

- El enlace aqui, teneis un PDF resumen del libro muy interesante.
- Este otro enlace de un resumen de Mazal Oaknin de University College London.
- Finalmente, aqui tenemos una critica de Novela Historica blog.

Aqui es el trailer de la pelicula lavozdormida.es


Espero que los tres articulos os podais leer y utilitizar esta noche en nuestra reunion!