Jose F. Pelaez: Grandfather of Delives

He said that we Valladolidians are the only people with five grandparents. The four are related by blood, and the fifth is the trunk to which we cling, a common branch, a “homo ancestor” with whom we shared emotions, not genes, and therefore a shared fate. Delibes was our grandfather when our grandparents died. There were stories we had missed, looks we had missed, and the immense spirit of Castile. … Sunday morning. But in addition to that, he was also a symbolic, totemic, ancestral figure who unites us with the dignity of our land, the silence of those who have left and the smiles of those who arrive. What I say paradoxically applies to all but 18 Valladolid residents. They are their grandchildren, and they have to prepare for the immense pain of having only four grandparents, in exchange for the great privilege of having their grandparents written in capital letters.

One of them is Germán, who has just published “El Diribes Grandfather” (Destino). When we see the last name Delibes again next to the Destino logo, we jump at the mythic connection. It’s like seeing Butragueño with the Madrid shield or Nadal with the Musketeers Cup. And it’s worth it. At least for readers of Delibes, they learn about the story behind the scenes, what happened behind the scenes, the extended version and the director’s version, and even a kind of “fiction” between the truth and the truth. Some of us have argued for years that Delibes was a journalist who wrote books, not a novelist who wrote for newspapers. But we forget that before all that, before the table and the pictures, the man was already there. And it will follow there later.

For a long time I have been researching certain aspects of Delibes’ life in order to write a book, but it has not arrived yet. And it won’t come because it’s not ready. If God gives me the talent to do everything from documenting to exploring, it will come someday. First you have to “be” and then you have to “do.” And, as Neruda would say, I have not yet gathered enough shadows to grapple with what is beyond me. I know Delibes’ life. But it’s not worth it if you don’t understand the “other Delibes”, the family Delibes, hunting and tennis, bicycles and houses. To the man behind the man. Thanks to his grandson German, we can now understand certain things better. He did so with an extraordinary book of immense delicacy and delicacy, which is actually a gift, an instruction manual, and a forgotten piece of the puzzle. The missing link, the humility of someone who grew up in the shadow of a giant, the look on the face of a child who sees it all and talks about it.

Delibes’ work is more relevant than ever to those who want to know more about it. But anyone who wants to understand it should approach Delibes through Delibes. It’s like approaching a tree from its shadow. And that shadow is his grandson, who in his generosity gave us his grandfather so that we could once again embrace a city that would never get used to his absence.

Session limit reached

• Access to premium content is made available to the public courtesy of the institution it belongs to, but there are currently too many users logged in at once. Please try again in a few minutes.

Please try again

Session limit exceeded

• Only three sessions can be started at a time. Now that you have closed the oldest session, you can continue to browse the remaining sessions without any restrictions.

Continue browsing