The streets surrounding the great emblem of the Umayyad city, the Mosque of Cordoba, give off echoes of forgotten legends, some of which persist in the imagination of the historic center; others, in texts from yesteryear. The writer José Carlos Arandadoctor in Hispanic philology and educational sciences and professor of language and literature, compiled in “Legends of the Mosque of Cordoba”published by Almuzara, some of these stories, in which he combines memories of his childhood with local stories, chronicles and literary fragments.
-In this book, he gives voice to his inner child and the legends he has heard. How did the documentation process go?
-It is due to a debt to my childhood, as personal therapy. Every time I passed through the Jewish quarter, I was attacked by these magical memories and this child in me would slap me on the wrist and ask me to tell these stories. For it is quite possible that a day will come when no one will know why the captive’s face is crying or why we scratched the “pillar of hell” with a coin.
José Carlos Aranda
I obtained the documentation for this work from all the texts I read, from chronicles from the 19th century, some already outdated. Stories told to me first-hand and fictional passages set in Córdoba are also part of the book, such as “Rare cases occurring in the city of Córdoba”, published by Cajasur; or “Walks through Córdoba”, by Ramírez de Arellano.
“I am in love with my city and in this book I offer a walk through the paradise of my childhood”
-You declare yourself in love with Córdoba, does this book also owe a debt to your city?
-That’s how it is. I was born on Deanes Street and grew up in this Jewish neighborhood which nourished my overflowing imagination. I was a child who believed that the entrance to Alibaba’s cave was in the stairwell of my house and that swallows carried my prayers to God. I am in love with my city and in this book I offer you a walk through the paradise of my childhood.
-How many stories does the work bring together?
Almost 50 stories during a walk from Santos Martires inside the cathedral. It was scandalous and I had to stop because if I had extended this area to the rest of Córdoba I would have gotten an encyclopedia.
-How much time did you spend collecting these stories?
-Lorca was asked this question about his work “Blood Wedding” and he replied that it took him a month to write it and a lifetime to imagine it. It took me over a month to write it, because I like information to be precise, and there is more than 100 notes at the bottom of the page.
-What stories would you highlight? Which ones struck you the most or which ones are the “must-haves” in your selection?
-The traditional classics from inside the Mosque are unmissable: “The Buried Temple”, “The Column of Hell”, “The Chain at the End of the World”… We couldn’t miss the story either of the Archangel Saint Raphael. , which explains the strong link of the city with the protector of Cordoba; or the story of the ghosts of the Tower. Which one should I stay with? With all.
-How do we move from publications that evolve in the field of language, literature and learning to this book of magical stories?
-My publications, in fact, have dealt, on the one hand, with didactic philology, language and literature; and on education and pedagogy. This book, as I said, is a kind of therapy. A work that I had to write because I was trapped in this world of imagination and legends.
-How has your neighborhood changed since your childhood?
-A lot and it makes me very sad. I was born on top of a grocery store and grew up there with my six siblings. There was everything in the neighborhood; fabric store, butcher’s shop, fishermen’s shop, florist… It was a lively and pulsating neighborhood. Today all I see is a theme park. Some of my friends are already remnants of what this area used to be.
