On June 17, the novel by the Lanzarote author, José Luis García Pérez, entitled "La piedra. Canarios en Texas" was presented at the Gabinete Literario of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
This work had already been presented on the island of Lanzarote last May at the Club Náutico de Arrecife, and as now in Las Palmas, with great public attendance success.
The author was presented on such a special occasion by Marcial Morera Pérez, Professor of Philology at the University of La Laguna, Director of the Miguel de Unamuno Chair and member of the Andrés Bello Institute, as well as author of an extensive bibliography of his specialty, so he enjoys great prestige in his field at regional and national level.
The intervention of Marcial Morera, was detailed in terms of the detailed analysis of both the formal aspect and the fictitious and historical content of the novel, making a very positive assessment of the clear virtues of the work of the Lanzarote author. The philologist highlighted "the correct use of both narrative skills and language by the author." Morera, who always stands out for being a rigorous man in his long and prolific career as a linguist, did not fail to make observations of each chapter of the work, and in each of them he detailed that the "author found optimal solutions for the final culmination of an excellent literary work".
Morera also highlighted "the historical rigor in the embodiment of the context in which the work is situated, which is the full 18th century, as he contrasted the data of the novel with comparisons of historical works on the subject that he consulted to make his erudite and brilliant presentation".
The author, in his speech, explained that "it was his third novel, all the product of a late vocation, since he wrote the first novel with the 2020 confinement in the midst of a pandemic, after a lifetime dedicated to another profession unrelated to literature".
The author highlighted "the value of a book, and how satisfied he was to contribute something to our regional cultural landscape." He spoke of how in March 1730, ten Canarian families embarked for the new world from the island of Tenerife with the intention of founding a royal town in what was then called Los Texas, which were part of the viceroyalty of New Spain.
They were led by Juan Leal, a 54-year-old man, who was a councilor of the Cabildo de Lanzarote and a modest landowner. This man is the protagonist of the novel, and from a shy leader at the beginning he soon becomes a fundamental character to understand the spirit of a people who did not give up at any time, despite the intrigues that the novel echoes, which there were, and the hardships they also suffered.
Only seven families left Lanzarote, the majority of the expeditionaries, and it was only a few months before the Cuervo volcano erupted, leading to the eruptions that began in September 1730. Their initial destination was Tenerife, and there they would join for the final trip to Los Texas, a family from La Palma, another from Tenerife itself, and also one from Gran Canaria, the Niz family, from Tamaraceite.
Our ancestors and those of the current Texans, left in March 1730 and did not arrive until March 1731, after a terrible journey by sea, passing through Cuba, Veracruz, crossing Sierra Madre, Mexican highlands, Cholula, Cuautitlán, San Luis de Potosí, Chihuahua desert, Sierra de Zapalinamé (snow), Saltillo etc ..., all until crossing Río Bravo and reaching the banks of the San Antonio River where they founded the town of San Fernando de Bexar, future North American city of San Antonio.
But apart from the historical feat that inspires the work, the author has managed to give it an entertaining and literary fiction content, and the result is an exquisite narration well-woven and of classical construction, which runs naturally, something that catches the reader, without remedy, until the very end of his reading. All without the need for large hyperbolic or labyrinthine sentences, but in a simple way, and always without renouncing literary quality, something that Professor Morera highlighted during the presentation of the novel.
