Galician writer Arturo Rezcano I decided to publish invisible country he did it to convey reality 2 million Galicians immigrated to Latin America between 1850 and 1965but also to call for the creation of a center of forgetting that will deliver justice and appeal to the memories of the diaspora and exiles.
In an interview, Lescano (Ferrol, 1976) describes this as an “important book.” The chronicle he had spent half his life preparing was published at the end of October. and it drinks from the stories collected in it 12 years as a journalist in Latin America And in his subsequent travels, he traveled to eight countries in the United States and was able to construct a work that tells the story of about 200 anonymous Galicians who “overcame oblivion” on the page.
“When I say diaspora, I mean immigration and exile,” Rezcano says. My work, subtitled “The Atlantic Epic of the Galician Diaspora,” Create a cultural center named after “O Esquecemento (El Olvido)”: “These words of ours are also used in the Galician national anthem, which, by the way, was invented and premiered in America,” he says.
“Every day that passes without doing anything is like missing a step. Memory is eternal if you can overcome forgetting.” he concludes.
And he emphasizes: ”Galicia is an excellent place for immigration But there is no center or space to do it properly. ” They are present in other places “crossed by immigrants” such as: Former Immigration Hotel in Buenos Aires, now the Immigration Museumor New York’s Ellis Island, where immigrants arriving in New York passed for inspection.
“And we arrive in Galicia, the biggest vomiting ground of those who left for America, and there is nothing. Let us cry to heaven.”
please explain it His books are a collection of true storiesLike his works set in Cuba, “some of them are somewhat known in Galicia but little treated, others are family stories,” so it’s normal for them not to cross the threshold of the home.
”I felt that Galicia needed its own story.as well as other diaspora residing in America and not counted (Irish, Italian, Jewish…). ”
Lescano Encourages people to record their family stories So that someday, when a center or space is established, those important stories will be collected. ”There are no Galicians who have not had a family member emigrate.Whether directly or indirectly,” he says.
This book reads like a stand-alone fable with chapters passing through Gallery of anonymous women and men.
the work Contains a map with the nerve centers of the “Galicia brand” And a dropdown of Galicia and its regions and travel routes. There’s also a “QR” that accesses “playlists” containing songs that “provide context and are of great cultural interest.”
story of invisible country It started with a small folder that Lezcano opened when he was young. He wrote the story of the Galicians of the diaspora. Over time, the book grew into a 1,000-page tome and was reduced to its current 600 pages, but about 180 stories remain.
Among them is that of Asuncion Lacamonde, which was included in a short film. mama soon sion (1984) by Chano Pinheiro.
Asuncion is an old woman who lives in the village of Ourense. A barren and sad daily life while waiting for my son who moved to Mexicohe promises to return with “money, a new suit, a tie, and the best car.”
One day, a representative from the estate of her son, who died in Mexico, shows up in town with a handwritten letter from the day her son died. A briefcase full of dollars.
“Asunción rushed to her house and closed the door. Neighbors are still chasing her for the money, but it is too late. She burns the talisman in the “lareira” (fireplace). No inheritance will be paid for your child’s absence.”.
This is one of the many realities that Lezcano collected in his monumental work. “History of those without history” Don’t lose it.
And with the immigration issue fully current, Rezcano believes: “The least we can have is empathy.”
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