Book of the Week

I always had a soft spot for both horror novels and books about Spanish history and while the late Les Daniel's novel The Black Castle was not exactly the ideal combination of both, it was certainly a more memorable read than I expected.

The novel introduced a Spanish vampire named Don Sebastian de Villanueva, who, for reasons of his own, helped out his own clergyman brother Diego. Eventually Don Sebastian turned against his brother -- again for reasons of his own. The results weren't exactly heroic but then again Sebastian's brother was not the type of clergyman most modern-day Christians would wish to root for.

One of the various editions of the Don Sebastian de Villanueva books described him as the vampire who is horrified by man. And indeed, there was much emphasis on real-life historical horror in the Villanueva books. To be fair, there were many moments of supernatural horror as well. However, the main point of the Villanueva books was obviously that mankind already produced enough demons without the aid of the supernatural. And it's hard to watch the daily news and argue with that statement.

Book of the Week

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's first and best attempt at writing the ultimate first Spanish werewolf novel -- and I don't just say that because this novel is one of the many unofficial inspirations for one of my odder attempts to write a fantasy novel. Ms. Yarbro really knows her Spanish history and it shows. The story isn't bad either.

Spanish Words of Spanish History

1. afrancesados -- Spanish lovers of French culture; also used to describe Spanish supporters of the French Occupation of Spain.
2. Armada Invencible -- Invincible Armada; Spanish Armada.
3. Babieca -- El Cid's horse.
4. bichos raros -- name given to the Generation of '98.
5. bucanero -- buccaneer.
6. caballero andante -- knight errant; wandering knight.
7. castillo -- castle.
8. conversa -- female converso.
9. converso -- literally, convert; Jewish or Muslim convert to Christianity.
10. El Desastre -- literally, "The Disaster"; Spanish name for the loss of Cuba in 1898.
11. El Manco de Lepanto -- literally, "the one-handed man of Lepanto"; nickname of Miguel Cervantes.
12. generación del '98 -- literally, "generation of '98"; a group of writers and philosophers active in Spain during the Spanish-American War of 1898 who were known for their criticism of the Spanish literary and educational establishments.
13. hereje -- heretic.
14. Imperio Español -- Spanish Empire.
15. imperio global -- global empire.
16. infiel -- unbeliever; infidel.
17. Jimena -- El Cid's wife
18. La Ilustración -- The Enlightenment (historical period).
19. La Inquisición Española -- The Spanish Inquisition.
20. la movida -- literally, "the commotion"; a post-Franco backlash in Spain.
21. leyenda negra -- literally, black legend; the claim that Spain and the Spaniards were depicted as uniquely bloodthirsty, cruel, greedy and licentious, in excess of reality.
22. leyenda rosa -- literally, pink legend or white legend; the claim which promoted an ideal view of Spaniards.
23. limpieza de sangre -- purity of blood.
24. Los Reyes Católicos -- literally, The Catholic Monarchs; King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile.
25. mestizaje -- miscegenation.
26. morisco -- Muslim who converted to Christianity after the Spanish reconquest.
27. moro -- Moor; North African.
28. mozárabe -- Christian who remained in Muslim territory during the Muslim occupation of Spain.
29. mudéjar -- Muslim who remained in the territory of Spanish Christians without converting to Christianity.
30. pagano -- pagan.
31. peregrino -- pilgrim.
32. pinturas negras -- literally, black paintings; Goya's most morbid portraits.
33. pirata -- pirate.
34. reconquista -- literally, reconquest; normally a historical term referring to the reconquest of Muslim-occupied Spain by Catholic armies.
35. romero -- pilgrim.
36. siglo de oro -- golden age.
37. siglo dorado -- golden age.

The Werewolf of Madrid

There’s a great scene toward the end of the 1961 Hammer film The Curse of the Werewolf but unfortunately you have to wade through a lot of scenes of people doing cruel things to other people to get there.

Is it worth to get there?

Well, it depends. The Curse of the Werewolf gives us a young Oliver Reed, a likable narrator, a surprisingly benign Spanish cleric and a novel explanation for lycanthropy. The movie is loosely -- very loosely -- based on Guy Endore’s novel The Werewolf of Paris but unfortunately, the adaptation eschews almost every scene in The Werewolf of Paris worth reading and includes a few I would rather not have revisited.

Hammer deserves credit for attempting to do something more complex than the usual Lawrence Talbot routine but I can not honestly say that this is one of their better movies. The main problem with the plot is that Reed is sympathetic enough as cursed Spanish lycanthrope Leon Corledo that I can not help but wish a happy ending for his character yet an unhappy ending is all but a foregone conclusion. To be fair, the plot does hint at possible alternative endings. For example, Corledo attempts to elope with his girlfriend at one point, only to be stymied by the police. At another point, the cleric hints that Corledo could be sent to a monastery. (An odd solution given the Catholic Church’s traditional attitude towards the supernatural but in the wake of recent events, all too believable.) However, this plan ultimately fails as well.

So is Curse of the Werewolf worth seeing? Not really. Yet there is something about that final scene in which Corledo’s girlfriend, dressed in black, stands alone in a way which suggests Goya’s famous painting of the Black Duchess. Perhaps I am stretching things a bit but then again I do not often see scenes that remind me of Goya paintings in a movie, let alone a Hammer movie. I just wish this one scene had appeared in a better film.

That's Funny. She Doesn't Look Latina: Parte XX

Joanna Leanna García (1979 - ). Daughter of a Spanish-American homemaker and a Cuban-born gynecologist. Best known for a starring role in the CW sitcom Reba and a recurring role in the TV show Freaks and Geeks, she is currently appearing in the TV show Better with You.

That's Funny. She Doesn't Look Latina: Parte XIV

Daisy Fuentes (1966 - ). Cuban-born daughter of a Cuban father and a Spanish mother. She is best known as a model, actress and television personality but she is also famous for being MTV's first Latina VJ and Revlon's first Latina spokesperson to be signed to a worldwide contract. Normally I would have posted her photo later in the year but it's her birthday tomorrow.

What I've Read for Columbus Day -- and Afterwards



I've always liked Tony Horwitz's writing and this book -- about the early days of America -- was no exception. A lot of what he wrote about wasn't exactly old news to me, After all, I'm an American History buff and have been especially interested in early America (especially the Spanish explorers he wrote about in this book) -- but I appreciate how he wrote about it in a way that would interest even non-buffs.

Of course, some of the things I learned from this book weren't always flattering to my Hispanic ancestors. For example, I was more than a bit shocked to learn that the main reason that Florida's St. Augustine is America's oldest permanent settlement was that its Spanish founder did his damnedest to wipe out the remnants of an older French Huguenot colony that was close to the same location. Indeed, he had been sent to the New World specifically to wipe out such settlements.

Of oourse, not all the events detailed in this book were that depressing but Horowitz did present a more complex picture of early America than I normally see in history books. So much so that it was almost a shame to see Horwitz tapering off when he got to the Anglo-American colonists. (Though to be fair, not everything he wrote about those colonists were all that flattering either.)

Anyway, the book was a good read and though I'm embarrassed to admit that I had to check it out from the library twice before I finished it, I suspect I will checking it out again in the future for a second and third read, if not more.

Remembering Lepanto

According to the good folks at the Crunchy Con site, today is the anniversary of the Battle of Lepanto, the great naval battle that settled once and for all -- at least for a few centuries -- the fate of Western Europe. (Ironically, it's most remembered today for being the battle in which Miguel Cervantes -- author of Don Quixote -- fought.)

Be sure to thank a Spaniard today. Or an Austrian. Or any member of an European Navy. After all, had things gone differently, this blog entry might have been written in Turkish.

Nobody Expects the Spanish Armada!

They are making a sequel to Elizabeth called The Golden Age, and if the trailer is any indication, it's all about the Spanish Armada and Queen Elizabeth I's response to it. I must confess I found it a bit amusing to watch the trailer and see Captain Barbossa playing an Elizabethian courtier and Clive Owen playing Sir Walter Raleigh. (What? No cameo for Miranda Richardson?)

And yet...

I have to admit it. I'm getting sick of seeing yet another movie about the British royal family. Not to mention yet more foreign propaganda.