"There are no strange lands. The traveler who is strange is the traveler. " The phrase belongs to Robert Louis Stevenson, But Enrique Vaquerizo interpreted while Africa tells us. And as the Scottish writer, He also dresses from Doctor Jekyll or Mr. Hyde to describe the eternal conflict of some peoples or the serenity of his deserts. And he tells us about islands without treasures or the treasures hidden in the cliffs of the Dogones country; of the fatality of a continent accustomed to drawing governments in the Gulf of Guinea, To pastorate the future on the pastures without pastures of the Sahel or hunt tomorrow's bread in the jungles of Cameroon.
I have traveled this land several times, To this shameless continent, that is always loved for the first time, to consent to a child. An open smile is enough to apologize for the chaos of its cities, The sound of the drums is enough to reconcile with their disorder, A fishermen beach is enough to forget the war rumble of its history.
Africa does not explain, But whoever surrenders to it ends up dazzled by the disaster, Happy to stumble over and over again anywhere. Enrique Vaquerizo masterfully describes us the foolishness of wanding to Pairo for an already denied continent. And at the same time, convinces us to follow him on his way, It infects us from those desire to open the door of the next village.
The stranger determined to be a resident in a precarious neighborhood of a messy city of a country away from the great tourist routes
One of the virtues of this book is that he gives us a double experience. On the one hand, The author becomes a resident, The stranger determined to be a resident in a precarious neighborhood of a messy city of a country away from the great tourist routes. In his story we understand the rhythm of those peoples, the relativity of the time of the locals, They say that "the rush kills". Vaquerizo invites us to sit next to the lintel of his door, to surround us with children without parents or parents who are like their children. We will know the continent in the stoves of the African woman, In the talk with the elderly, so, little by little, to distinguish its smells, His impossible stories and his law without laws in rice fields.
This is the part of the details, From Africa without lions, of Fortasec and Letrinas, But also of the talks next to a fire and the friendship forged with the passing of the months. We see the world pass as Africans see it. We end up knowing the villagers, Let's become fond of them and laugh with surreal situations, Because the story is loaded with exquisite irony. The author has developed a great ability to laugh at himself, To remind us that he is abroad, he is the stranger.
On the other hand, The pages are going to load kilometers and will take us to some extraordinary confines. The book avoids any temptation that points to the epic, There is no presumption or dogmatic judgments and any topic tissue will be beaten with a fair dose of reality. Nor will we find a succession of magic tricks of a great traveler, and yet, Vaquerizo is. He is a great traveler because he is sincere, Because he is stubborn and because he is a teenager with backpack. But there is also space for reflection, For a more sharp look to rescue the history of some of the most forgotten countries on the planet.
He almost trusts anyone who tends his hand and lets herself be carrying us to us also to the suburbs of African culture
In this part of the world the traveler is more traveler, Because it enters the labyrinth, In a chaos of ethnicities, motley cities, Lost islands and full buses. Enrique Vaquerizo is determined to get out of the way, He almost trusts anyone who tends his hand and lets herself be carrying us to us also to the suburbs of African culture. Where magic awaits.
That is the context in which the protagonist has to develop, The one who dreams of looking at his salacot and reaching a place to get lost between natural parks and rickety cities. Who has ever entered Africa will know that anything can happen there, which is a territory of disproportions. Beyond the profile of the giraffes there are kings mixed with fishermen, tribes where men dance for women or villages where adolescents fight like warriors.
But, Salacot and Fortasec stories Does not only speak of a trip. Talk about the conflict between the illusions and the tyranny of some realities. Makes us reconsider the priorities of two worlds that cross. For centuries, Millions of natives have emigrated with pateras or shackles to other continents because Africa had ended, Because life there is just a possibility, Because hunger usually travels to drift, Because sometimes or elbow can get ahead. Meanwhile, For many whites, Africa is a beginning loaded with good intentions, It is the adventure, Redemption, The serene walk of the elephant, Eternal love in the shadow of the Baobabs.
The reader will pass pages without losing the smile, A sometimes indulgent smile, Sometimes sarcastic and sometimes tender
These are some of the contradictions that Vaquerizo addresses in this book. And he always does it with love, No pending accounts. The reader will pass pages without losing the smile, A sometimes indulgent smile, Sometimes sarcastic and sometimes tender. But this is a sincere story, Because there are no displays that prevent understanding real experience; It is authentic because there is no imposture of authenticity and all counted by someone who has traveled alone, for months and on several occasions, The rough part of Africa. And Africa has ended up impregnating. I confess that at the end of the book, I have felt restless, I have believed to hear a distant tam tam of drums and I have even had to shake the accumulated dust of the road.
And if we did not reach the colors of Africa in the description of the story, It is fair to mention that also, The text has the complicity of XXX Vaquerizo, In the author of the author, an artist who has managed to illustrate in a friendly way, With simple and eloquent brushstrokes, Some of the most representative scenes of the book. Thus closes the circle of generations counting circular trips, Perfect communion between words and watercolors.
The first time I read an article by Enrique Vaquerizo, I discovered a pertinaz traveler who reported his adventures with great literary intention. Later I verified that this freshness was still installed in new stories that told their steps by different continents, In remote places, In the Rights of a Mapamundi.
Today not only can you be considered an explorer, -which is the maximum of what a restless soul can aspire in these times-. Addition, It has become a writer who threatens to occupy a relevant position in the travel literature of our country.
Daniel Landa. Prologue to Enrique Vaquerizo's book: Salacot and Fortasec stories. Viajesalpasado Editorial
In addition to El Corte Inglés, Fnac and Casa del Book, Check out the list of bookstores where you can find Enrique Vaquerizo's book:
Maps and company, MALAGA
Prometheus and Proteo, FRIRIAS MOVE
Overseas, Seville library
CELERY, Burgos Travel Library
IGUAZU ,Leon Library
BEAGLE, Valladolid bookcase
SALTAMARTI BOOKS, S.A.L. BADALONA
FORUM, Banyoles Bookstore
HOME OF THE BOOK – Barbera center of gravity
At the foot of the Barcelona letter
ALTAIR, Barcelona Bookstore
Font del Mimir, Barcelona
GUIDE, Barcelona Bookstore
HORITZONS, Barcelona Bookstore
The pen, Barcelona Bookstore
Rocaguinarda Barcelona
Santos Ochoa -Barcelona Barcelona
Small, Berga Bookstore
ABACUS S.C.C.L. CHAIN
The wolf, Calella Bookstore
BADALLIBRES (Beast) CARDEDEU
COMPASS, Cardedeu Bookshop
Spider, Cerdanyola Bookshop
WE?Eggs, Books & Figueres trips
Gelı S.L., Bookshop Girona
BOOKSTORE 22 GIRONA
Ulyssus Bookstore Girona
GRALLA SCCL, THE (Beast) GRANOLLERS
Perutxo -Rbla Just Oliveras Hospitalet
AQUALATA, BOOKSTORE (Beast) EQUAL
Cal Rabell, Igualada Bookstore
Fiord La Seu d'Urgell Travel Bookstore
Espolsada Books, The’ The frankness
Caselles S.A., Lleida Bookstore
Contijoch, Manlleu Bookstore
Parcir Manresa
Rubiralta, Manresa Bookstore
Tramvia de Mataro SL, HE (Beast) MATARO
Dalmases, BOOKSTORE (Beast) Mollerussa
Ill, L bookstore’ (Beast) Mill
Dragon, Olot bookstore
Galatea -reus- REUS
GAUDI, Reus Bookstore
SHADOW, L bookstore’ RUBY
BOOK CORNER, S.L. (Beast) RUBY
HOME OF THE BOOK – SABADELL SABADELL
Alghero seven, Sant Celoni Bookstore
Four cats, The (Beast) SANT CELONI
ALEXANDRIA BOOKS (Beast) Sant Cugat
Main street, BOOKSTORE (Beast) This coloma is
Capona S.L., THE (Beast) TARRAGONA
Anglada, Vic
Vic Book Mountain
Cultural bookstore, THE VILAFRANCA
CUSCO, Vilafranca Bookshop
Odissea Llibres I MUSICA SL (Beast) Vilafranca
Raffle, Vilafranca Bookshop
Llorens Vilanova Books
MULASSA VILANOVA S.L., THE (Beast) Vilanova
INDEX, Vilassar de Mar Bookshop
Slope, Madrid bookshop
TRAVEL BOOKS, S.A. MADRID
Tierra de Fuego Madrid
Border, Pamplona library
Paint, Libreria Bilbao
Owl, Liberia San Sebastian
CULTURAL ARGOT S.L., Bottle of Castellon
PATAGONIA, Valencia Library
