The Santa Ana Castle in Roquetas de Mar hosted the presentation of the book Almeria people for history, by Alfonso Viciana Martinez-Lage. At the event, the author was accompanied by the historian Valerian Sanchez Ramos and by Charo Serranocoordinator of the Roquetas de Mar Municipal Library Network.
Serrano stressed that “this is a book that could be defined as a historical essay, where Alfonso Viciana compiles and investigates, rescuing from oblivion relevant figures in the history of Almería, curious data, experiences that have taken him many hours of research, and that only a writer deeply in love with his land could do.”
The historian Valerian Sanchez Ramos He made an excellent introduction to Viciana’s work. “Alfonso is a geographer with the heart of a historian and a writer. He makes his living with the subject of geography and yet gives free rein to writing very well. He writes about true stories.”
“I met him years ago when I was director of the Institute of Almeria Studies and we published his first book ‘The General’s Deception’, which when I read it I loved it,” explained Sánchez Ramos, while pointing out that “it is a book of stories.” , are eight stories that tell stories that lead us to other stories.”
“In these stories there are well-known characters such as José Antonio Amate, who was a deputy to the Cortes, and there are other characters who are not known, such as the nurse from Albox, who was present when Franco died and who stopped the machine. Alfonso has made history of people without history, who together make great history.”
Alfonso Viciana gave a few brushstrokes of each of the chapters. The first one takes place in the 11th century and presents the experiences of one of the greatest bibliophiles of Al-Andalus, Abú l-Abbás Áhmad. “He has gone down in history for his great love of books. He was a very complex man and housed more than 4,000 books in his palace in Benahadux” said Viciana. The second story tells the adventures of a historical figure who is very unknown in this land, despite being from Almería, and his connection with one of the greatest frauds that took place in the Modern Age: the lead books of Granada. “The protagonist is Francisco López de Tamarit, a character from Almería”.
The third story describes piracy in 16th century Almería, through another anonymous character, called Andrés Martín. The fourth story narrates the impact of the 1918 flu in the province of Almería, with special attention to the health personnel who fought the pandemic. The great protagonist of this chapter is Dr. Rafael Aráez Pacheco, who did excellent work in Sorbas and Almería.
The fifth chapter is dedicated to the Velez family of the Alpiste and their relationship with the architect Gaudí and the construction of the Sagrada Familia temple in Barcelona. “This family of immigrants from Almería was lucky enough to work in the temple of the Sagrada Familia. In 1936, the Almeria family prevented Gaudí’s tomb from being looted by a group of exalted anticlericals,” said Viciana.
The sixth story of the book presents the extraordinary experiences of Alberto Lajara, a native of Chirivel, from Almería, in the British Intelligence Services (MI6) during the Second World War. Chapter seven is dedicated to the nurse from Almería, Encarna Redondo Molina, who attended to General Francisco Franco on his deathbed in November 1975.
The last chapter deals with the coup d’état of 23 February 1981 in the province of Almería. “This chapter, which recreates the coup d’état, would not have been possible without the invaluable collaboration of José Antonio Amate, a national deputy for the PSOE. The help of journalist Miguel Ángel Blanco, José García Rueda, Miguel Moya and Juan Carlos Asian, and many others, has been of utmost importance.”
Finally, Alfonso Viciana wanted to remember the figure of Nacho López Gay, “an excellent childhood friend who, unfortunately, is no longer with us today. A fatal moment took his life and with him went part of my books, since the layout artist for many of them was Nacho. He was a good, simple man, a great companion, and an extraordinary professional and an exemplary friend.”
Simple and direct language
Alfonso Viciana stressed that “the book is the sum of many moments. Trips through several Spanish provinces, through different towns in our land, visits to archives, libraries, newspaper archives and museums. “It takes many hours of research.”
The author of ‘Almerienses por la historia’ explained to the audience in the Pilar Quirosa room that “the book is structured in eight chapters, with different themes, but which share a common factor, its protagonists are from Almería, citizens of our land, some well-known and others completely anonymous. Each story, a mix of novel and essay, is a continuation of my book ‘Almería, cinco historias necesitadas'”. Regarding style, Viciana stated that “I have used simple, direct, clear language, easy to follow with an attractive narrative that maintains the tension page after page, with the intention of hooking the reader from the beginning”.
