A few weeks ago, we dedicated a post to some of the best books about Andalusia, whose stories were set in this region. Now, we dedicate this article to another type of book, specifically travel literature: works written by great authors who, for a time, became travelers in Andalusia and wished to capture their impressions on paper. This is a selection of them.
Juan Goytisolo and Campos de Nijar
In the aforementioned post about books on Andalusia, we already referenced Níjar, due to Federico García Lorca’s Blood Wedding. Now, however, we do so for the work of a Cervantes Prize winner: Juan Goytisolo. This Barcelona native, drawn to the south, became one of these travelers in Andalusia in the 1950s. Specifically, in this corner of Almería province, where he starkly portrayed the misery of a population still mired in devastating poverty. This area has changed significantly today, driven by the natural beauty of the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Maritime-Terrestrial Natural Park. This journey greatly influenced Goytisolo, and it is considered the prelude to his next stage in Morocco, where he eventually settled permanently and saw many analogies with his time in Almería.
Camilo José Cela and his First Andalusian Journey
From the same era as Campos de Níjar is the work of another great exponent of the rise of travel literature in mid-20th century Spain. We are referring to Camilo José Cela who, motivated by the success of Journey to the Alcarria, decided to repeat the experience. In this case, through the lands of Jaén, Córdoba, Seville, and Huelva. And unlike other travelers in Andalusia, he set out to ‘wander’ and experience firsthand the lives of the most humble people, as can be read in his book.
Eugene Delacroix and his Journey to Morocco and Andalusia
Juan Goytisolo was not the only one of these travelers in Andalusia who saw analogies with Morocco. Eugene Delacroix, the brilliant French painter, captured his impressions with both pen and brush during a journey through both territories. His magnificent watercolors are complemented by his epistolary descriptions of the exoticism he encountered in southern Spain and North Africa in the 1830s. Thus, it is no coincidence that, today, agencies like Andalucía Exclusiva organize tours through both regions.
Rubén Darío and his Tierras Solares
Southern Spain also left a deep mark on writers from across the Atlantic. One of these travelers in Andalusia was the Nicaraguan Rubén Darío, who undertook a journey through this region at the beginning of the 20th century. From this trip emerged chronicles published in the Argentine newspaper La Nación and, later, the book Tierras Solares. In it, the landscapes of places like Málaga served as inspiration for him to find himself at a time when he was immersed in depression. A journey that, according to scholars of his work, marked a before and after in his career. And this also led to a documentary about this experience.
