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| El País, 21 de marzo 2026 |
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| El País, 21 de marzo 2026 |
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| Dibujo hallado entre las hojas del volumen I de las Obras Completas de María Zambrano en la Biblioteca Pública Provincial de Granada |
www.filosofiaylaicismo.blogspot.com
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| Diario Regional Valladolid, domingo, 19 de julio de 1936 |
La derecha extrema, las “fuerzas vivas”, disponen hoy, tal
vez, de más dinero, poder político y medios técnicos que nunca para extender su turbia red de odio, que envenena las vidas, las mentes, y que vende el espejismo de una
esperanza fútil a los desheredados, a los desesperados, a quienes son sus propias víctimas.
Son medios más diversos, atractivos, pregnantes; pero la situación política actual guarda una similitud extraordinaria, estremecedora, con la que
vivieron Europa y España tras la crisis de los años veinte. Tanto, que bien podrían
pasar las palabras de María por una crónica de hechos actuales.
Las líneas que siguen aparecieron publicadas bajo el título Los
intelectuales en el drama de España en el año 1937, en la editorial
Panorama de Santiago de Chile, adonde la filósofa se encontraba con su marido, Alfonso Rodríguez Aldave, agregado cultural en la embajada española en esa ciudad desde
octubre de 1936. En junio de 1937, regresan ambos a la patria, impelidos por la
necesidad de luchar en suelo español en defensa de las libertades amenazadas
por el golpe de estado del general Franco, que echaba por tierra las esperanzas
que habían encarnado los miembros de la Edad de Plata y la República.
«¿Cómo creer que el fascismo, nacido de la impotencia del
idealismo europeo para superarse, de la enemistad europea con la vida, de su
adolescencia marchita y estancada, fuese a prender entre nosotros, los españoles?
(…) Los oficialmente españoles, los que habían establecido el estanco del
patriotismo y poseían título oficial de defensor de la patria (…) De ellos
descienden los que hoy, al grito de “¡Arriba España!”, la entregaron a
ejércitos del fascismo hambriento que quiere la riqueza de nuestro sol y de
nuestras minas. Entonces no llegaron a tanto, pero malversaban los fondos en
Cuba y en Filipinas, huían a Marruecos y desconocían cada vez más a su pueblo (…)
Los otros, los españoles herejes, los que gemían y gritaban por España, los que
la iban buscando por montes y valles, por ciudades y libros, vivían en plena
rebeldía, mirados con terrible hostilidad por las clases oficiales, por las
llamadas “fuerzas vivas” (…) La horrible represión de Asturias muestra de
cuánto eran capaces los “concesionarios” de la patria. Inmediatamente, los antiguos
tópicos se endurecieron más aún y los periódicos de la derecha y católicos se
artillaron y comenzaron a disparar sus proyectiles cada vez más acerados (…) Se
elaboró la teoría de la patria y de la antipatria, de la España y la
anti-España (…) Algo así, tan sagrado como España, lo justifica todo: la
terrible prensa, el odio y desprecio de las clases conservadoras hacia el
intelectual…Todo.»
Y cita María las reflexiones de Juan de Mairena, el filósofo castizo,
heterónimo del gran Antonio Machado --mañana se cumplen 87 años de su muerte en Colliure, lejos del hogar--:
«La patria es en España un sentimiento esencialmente popular del
cual suelen jactarse los señoritos. En los trances más duros, los señoritos la
invocan y la venden, el pueblo la compra con su sangre y no la mienta siquiera.»
Junto a la María Zambrano mística, hierática y contemplativa, hay otra muy combativa por una España libre, igualitaria y culta.
I must confess that, in my own reading, I am also prone to making marginal notes—in my own books, of course—and I cannot help the teacherly habit of pencil-correcting the typos I stumble upon. What a great mystery these typographical errors are: they remain hidden from one reader, no matter how meticulous they try to be, while another detects them instantly, at first glance!
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| Drawing found between the pages of Volume I of the Complete Works of María Zambrano at the Provincial Public Library of Granada. |
Infuriated yet determined to continue my Zambranian readings, I set out to investigate the trail left with stubborn regularity (always the same black stroke) by the inquisitor who dared to stain the philosopher's writings, causing severe damage that could well be described as an attack on public heritage.
And so I moved forward, tolerating as best I could that beautiful typography blurred page after page, volume after volume, until on one of my peaceful mornings in the reading room, my detective search found its reward: between the leaves of Volume I, a small slip of paper appeared containing the drawing of a human face executed with some skill (see the attached image and tell me if I am right). There is the forgotten footprint, I told myself. And, driven by the graphological skill that distinguishes any teacher with decades of correcting student manuscripts under their belt, I knew without a doubt that the artist was the perpetrator of the infamous glosses.
I now had two possible traits to imagine the person disturbing my reading (and who knows if María’s rest as well!): perhaps they were trained in philosophy and, certainly, they knew how to draw. Was it a self-portrait? I wondered.
On the back of the slip, I thought I could make out the traces of printed text that I couldn't distinguish clearly enough. I tucked it away and waited until I was home to examine it under better light and with the help of a magnifying glass. It was a library loan receipt for that very copy, where the name of the reader—the author of the portrait and, therefore, the perpetrator of the glosses—could be intuited! L.V.C. are her initials. I must maintain the anonymity of the woman who turned out to be the inquisitor to avoid exposing her to public scorn. Her surnames were not excessively common, so I entered them into a search engine hoping there wouldn't be many who answered to that name. Only one. There she was: a philosophy graduate and middle-aged artist with exhibited work. It could be no one else. I finally had a name and a face. I then prepared to contact her (would she admit her guilt? I wondered). I had no success. Now, I will pass the results of my inquiries to the library staff in the hope that my evidence is enough to reprimand such an unusual and daring reader... I also hope that L. reads these lines and reflects with contrite humility on her reading habits when it comes to shared books.
I will keep you informed.
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| El País, 21 de marzo 2026 |
Today, on my walk through the Dehesa del Generalife, on this beautiful morning of the spring equinox—when the Earth, on its annual astral journey around the Sun, achieves that miracle of equal duration for day and night—my steps happened upon two beautiful flocks. Another miracle!
One of ochre, plump, and happy Lojeña sheep with patient gazes; accompanied by their shepherd and his burly, clumsy Saint Bernard, they graze on the tender blades of abundant grass—a prodigy of diversity here—born from the embrace of the rains of this atypical and stormy winter. The other flock, equally beautiful in this overflowing natural landscape but more diverse, is formed by a large group of adolescent girls, some with East Asian features. Happy and leaping, guided by their selfless teachers, they greet me with smiles as our paths cross. They herald the spring, the return of Proserpina after her cruel winter abduction!
What beautiful animals, what a bucolic landscape, what clean harmony. And how far human wickedness seems from this here and now.
Upon descending to the city, I encounter a new consonance, this one more conspicuous, more foul and banal. I discover it in today’s press: Abascal visits Netanyahu, who claims to consider this specimen of "Iberian male" and his European allies as "brothers-in-arms." (A Nazi and a Jew conversing amicably. How far we have come!, I think to my dark inner self).
How different that blessed corner of the world, there among the fertile olive trees, from the gray battlefields in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, devastated by the greed of pitiless hearts. Yet the tentacles of those wars, whether near or far, begin and end right here next to us: last night in the historic center of Granada, at Plaza de Martínez Contreras, an elderly woman took shelter from the fine rain under the eaves of a roof, huddled on an old mattress. Beside her, a young man lay on another, clutching a ragtag pile of dirty blankets. A rickety wheelchair waited in silence for the night to end. As I passed, the old woman greeted me with a timid "good night," while lowering her somber gaze toward her inert hands. Bewildered, I continue to wonder what to do.
A pesar de nuestros muertos desfigurados, no tenemos odio contra vosotros. Queremos destruiros en vuestro poder sin mutilaros en vuestra alma (Cartas a un amigo alemán. 1944)
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| A. Camus (1913-1960) en Combat Rue des Archives (©Rene Saint P / Cordon Press) -El País, Cultura 13/12/2023- |