Canarian Popular Culture Center
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Published by the Cabildo of La Gomera and the Center of Canarian Popular Culture
NEW BOOK BY WRITER ISABEL MEDINA
«LA GOMERA. TRIP TO THE ISLAND THAT TALKS LIKE BIRDS»
The novel has just seen the light La Gomera. The Island that speaks like birds, by the writer Isabel Medina.
With that suggestive title, the author reveals to us her personal perception of the Island of La Gomera, the island where she was born and from which she left as a child. With the help of El Viajero, El Hombre de Lejos, Isabel Medina will show us the landscapes, history, culture, traditions and soul.
La Gomera. Journey to the island that speaks like birds has many readings, such as a novel, a collection of poems, a history text, ethnographic work and a special travel book. A recommended read for those who visit the Island for the first time and of course for those who already know it or live there. A book to carry in a traveler's backpack and enjoy with the calm and depth that its content requires.
The work has two prologues. Pablo Jerez Sabater states: «Throughout forty chapters, Isabel Medina traces an imaginary journey in which she gradually discovers some of the secrets that the island keeps. From Garajonay to Cristóbal Colón, from Vallehermoso to San Sebastián. And it does so not only by touring the physical space, discovering its singularities, but also through its people and its history. Not in vain, that is precisely the ultimate essence of a space. History is made by the men and women who live and coexist at a specific moment. And La Gomera has been forged by generations of brave Gomeros, fighters and survivors of a wild and harsh, but deeply generous landscape, which has given them the best it had to stay afloat and be able to create a unique humanized landscape, such as - to give just one example - its terraces.
That is why this novel, this vital journey through an island and the memories of a girl indebted to her origin, helps us to get to know several fundamental characters for the island arts such as the painter José Aguiar or the poet Pedro García Cabrera, but also to immerse ourselves in their legends such as that of Gara and Jonay -perhaps the most theatrical love in the mythography of the Archipelago- or episodes as deeply embedded in the soul of the Gomero as the events of Hermigua or the distant echoes of that brave warrior who was Hautacuperche.
For his part, the writer Daniel María points out: «To the connoisseur of La Gomera, the book will wink a knowing eye; and, to those who discover it through this lectern of stories, the island will appear seductive and playful. Gomeros will find a star book, a book of personal rituals, intimate and frequent, rooted deep inside. Strangers will feel the lullaby of the trip, a spirit of discovery and embrace that will cover their concerns with well-being.
In Isabel Medina's vast bibliography, which includes novels, short stories, poetry, theater, essays and opera scripts, this book adds a new step. The writer herself does not hide her surprise at the revelation, because she has submitted to a kind of mediumship by acting as a link between La Gomera and the word. The wild and indomitable nature of the island, reflected in its profile of slopes and ravines, prevails in the writing. So much so that its author has set out adrift and, without questioning the rebellion of the line, has drawn a literary coven from different latitudes. The pieces fit into their fiction potion. A novel starring the Man from Afar gives way to hidden characters, who appear in the word as the traveler enters La Gomera. They haunt the main narrative and kiss the text with poems, dialogues, reflections and legends. The path forks, the labyrinth extends and, lost in a dream, we will return to the starting point along the same magical path along which we lost our way.
The layout and design of the work was carried out by Marcelino J. Pérez Arteaga. The cover illustration is an oil painting by the painter Luis Alberto Hernández.
ISABEL MEDINA
Isabel Medina, poet, narrator and playwright, was born in La Gomera, Canary Islands, in 1943 and has published more than thirty titles.
He began his novelistic side with April's Daughter (Editorial Algaida, 2003). It is followed by titles such as Freedom and You (Ediciones Idea, 2008), El secreto de Sofía, a youth novel (Ediciones Idea, 2010), Marta's Notebooks I, II (Ediciones Idea, 2011). In June 2015, the L'Harmattan publishing house published his novel Olympe de Gouges, La liberté pour bannière, in Paris. In January 2016, IZANA Editores published Olympe de Gouges La Libertad por Bandera in Madrid.
His poetic work begins with Gánigo de Distancia (1982), followed by Chácaras de Silencio (1986), Tara (1995), published by the CCPC. The sandals of the moon, (Ediciones Idea, 2009) and The eyes of the rain, (Ediciones La Palma, 2016).
At the same time, since 1983, his work in children's and youth literature was prolific, with titles such as Cuentos canarios para niños I, II, III del CCPC. And with the Anaya publishing house, The Fantastic Journey through the Canary Islands, Piel de luna, Alizulh the magical world of Canary legends, The treasure of the pirate Cabeza Perro and many other publications in the genres of narrative, theater and poetry were published.
He has collaborated with the composer and academic Francisco González Afonso, writing the librettos for his operas: Baralides, La Leyenda de Guayota and Olympe. Renowned singers such as Taburiente, Taller Canario de la Canción or Marisa, his daughter, have set his texts to music. It appears in books and anthologies.
For interviews about the work:
Isabel Medina Phone: 678 099 720
You can also call CCPC: Phone: 922 677 914
