The Heroes of Fernando Poo and Río Muni, the Unknown Spanish Colonies

Just over half a century ago, in the 1960s, the island of Fernando Poo and the continental area of Río Muni were two Spanish provinces like any other in the peninsula, a corner of Africa that Spain had reached two centuries earlier. But unlike America, the memory of this colonial past is almost forgotten. "Perhaps the reason we have turned our backs on Equatorial Guinea is the fear of what we never fully understood. And far from being a threat, the Bubi culture of the island, like that of any Bantu ethnicity, is a wonderful source of inspiration," says writer and speaker Andrés Pascual (Logroño, 1969), who recovers the splendor, and the misery, of that era in the novel 'The Tree of Words' (Espasa).

Just like the tree where the protagonists go to listen to the elders and resolve conflicts, Pascual's connection with Guinea has very deep roots. "My great-grandparents and maternal grandparents lived in Fernando Poo for twenty years, in the 1920s and 1930s, and they always had an anecdote to tell. My great-grandfather David was a sub-governor and colonial curator, the defender of the natives' rights, and my grandfather Gonzalo took my grandmother Carmen —at eighteen years old— to this African island where their first daughter was born," recalls the author. "Their stories of Africa awakened my travel spirit and, over time, were the seed of this novel, which, without being a book of family memories, does carry "their adventurous spirit and many lessons to move forward in the jungle of life," adds Pascual.

Following in the footsteps of his grandparents and in search of settings, the writer traveled through Bioko, the former Fernando Poo, an island that also served as a prison for Spanish convicts. "Sending them to Guinea was worse than a death sentence, as the climate and poor living conditions tortured them for months before killing them," the author notes.

Pascual transports himself in his book to the Guinea of 1884, "that time when living was a heroism, especially due to the scourge of malaria, which remains endemic," he delves. A heroism embodied by real characters like the adventurer from Vitoria, Manuel Iradier, who becomes a co-protagonist of 'The Tree of Words'. "The Basque explorer is a forgotten hero who deserved to be rescued, a scholar who, at a very young age, founded the society La Exploradora and overcame a thousand obstacles to pursue his passion," he explains.

Sponsored by Henry Morton Stanley, the greatest traveler of his time ("Dr. Livingstone, I presume"), Iradier embarked on an expedition through the colonial area of Guinea and spent months making incursions into the jungle alone until fevers brought him to the brink of death. "History exalts explorers like Stanley, who achieved memorable feats but had a dark side, and forgets others, like Iradier, who sacrificed everything to live in harmony with his dreams," Pascual points out, skillfully fitting the fictional plot into the real events of the late 19th century.

"The Spanish colonial policy in Guinea was very unfortunate. France and Germany sought to seize territories that belonged to Spain by ancient treaties but had never been occupied. In extremis, Madrid sends an expedition to gain the allegiance of tribes to Spanish sovereignty. Meanwhile, the missionaries developed their own colonization plan. Everyone was acting independently, without a plan or a clear commitment," the author adds.

To its fictional plot and historical rigor, 'The Tree of Words' incorporates another reading, a reflection on the European role in Africa, with the debate on the decolonization of museums on the table. "It is important to broaden the narrative so that museums show the political context and the sensitivities of the communities of origin, in addition to explaining the cultural context, not as an imposition, but from the conviction that it is the best way to understand the works in depth," emphasizes Pascual, who in recent years has developed his role as a speaker and a reference in the well-being and happiness of organizations.

After his success with 'The Guardian of the Lotus Flower', the novel that put him in the spotlight in 2007, and after a foray into mystery with 'At the Mercy of a Savage God' and 'The Angel's Kiss', the writer now returns to historical fiction, the genre that has brought him so much joy with 'The Haiku of Lost Words' or 'Taj', with which he won the prestigious Alfonso X El Sabio award.