Elvira roca barea wikipedia

la leyenda negra

María Elvira Roca Barea[n. 1] (nacida en 1966) es una académica y escritora española. Estudió filología y se especializó en la literatura de la Edad Media y de la Europa moderna temprana. Su labor de investigación se ha centrado principalmente en las estrategias narrativas de los distintos periodos literarios, pero se hizo famosa por su trabajo sobre la Leyenda Negra española.

Nacida en El Borge (provincia de Málaga) en 1966, se licenció en Filología Hispánica y posteriormente obtuvo un máster en Literatura Medieval y un doctorado en Filología Clásica en la Universidad de Málaga[1]. Ha trabajado para el Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) y ha dado conferencias en la Universidad de Harvard (Estados Unidos). Es autora de varias publicaciones académicas relacionadas, principalmente, con la retórica y la construcción de imágenes y discursos a través del teatro y la literatura[2][3].

En su libro ofrece una definición de “imperio” y “leyenda negra”. A continuación, intenta mostrar los elementos y estrategias comunes de este discurso en todas las naciones y épocas, deconstruyendo y exponiendo las similitudes entre la propaganda antinorteamericana, antirrusa, antirromana y antiespañola producida por sus respectivos contemporáneos, así como las similitudes en la forma en que los imperios respondieron -o más bien no respondieron-[5].

spanish legend

A.- It never left. There are already three centuries of assumed Hispanophobia. But on certain occasions, in times of crisis and uncertainty, there is a recurrence. Now the peripheral nationalisms that were born in the 19th century and that are by definition Hispanophobic have allied with the anti-systemic left, which is getting stronger and stronger, and this naturally had to produce a resurgence.

A.- It is astonishing that we are still thinking about this. Fray Bartolomé is totally discredited as a reliable source. The Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies belongs to a literary genre, that of religious polemic, which includes hyperbole in its poetics. Fray Bartolomé exaggerates to produce polemic. Later it was used profusely by the enemies of the empire. On the other hand, Fray Bartolomé was not able to endure the diocese of Chiapas and the time he was there he was not interested in the Indians nor did he learn a word of an indigenous language, nor was he capable, as Fray Toribio de Motolinía bitterly says, of distinguishing one Indian from another. He wanted to live in the center of power, around the court.

imperiophobia and black legend

The book has received both favorable and negative reviews. Among the former, the historian, professor of history and president of the Royal Academy of History, Carmen Iglesias Cano, says “…his magnificent book Imperiofobia y leyenda negra. If there is anyone who has not yet read it, I highly recommend it. It is a magnificently written book, fluent, with exhaustive and totally rigorous documentation…”[11].

Nobel Laureate in Literature Mario Vargas Llosa thinks that María Elvira Roca Barea’s book is entertaining and at the same time shows a rigorous erudition. He describes it as “sharp, deep, polemic” and ends by saying that “it has been a long time since I have read such an entertaining and stimulating book.”[12]

The historian and writer Agustín García Simón describes the work as extraordinary, highlighting its capacity for refutation. He highlights the concept of Empire as opposed to that of the State, and the furious reaction that erupts in some subjected places until it becomes a racist prejudice or black legend. He believes that the book is essential to understand issues assumed with lacerating prejudices.[14] He also considers that the book is essential for understanding issues assumed with lacerating prejudices.