“Mira el Mar”, or when the novel of a Spanish immigrant to Morocco calls to us

Mounira Lourhzal

Manuel Fernandez’s novel “Shayif el Bahar, Mira el mar” landed in the legendary Tangier bookstore Colonnes on Saturday September 14. Published by Adarve, the story of an immigrant like no other is hilarious, coupled with a social critique where the protagonist does not bite his tongue, confirms Maribel Mendez, the librarian of the Cervantez Institute in Rabat , which presents the novel of his colleague

. It’s not the image of a white man with light eyes that comes to mind when we talk about illegal immigrants in Morocco. Yet this is indeed the profile of the protagonist of “ Shayif El Bahar^{», a novel whose Lebanese title evoking the diva Fairouz is completely misleading. The cover suggesting orientalism and romanticism is equally trompe l’oeil. The burlesque story of Cayetano Fortún, Spanish professor at the Don Quixote Institute in Rabat, explores an authentically popular Morocco, in a district of Salé. Arriving in Morocco at the beginning of the century, his relationship with Umaima, a professional thief, destroys all predictions, the protagonist has nothing in common with the other Spanish expatriates in the capital. Although the novel is reminiscent of the picaresque novel, a Spanish literary movement of the 16}th century, his anti-hero is neither a knight nor an important character, but a “ die the end

», as the writer describes it, belonging to a disadvantaged class, using his genius to survive, against all odds, refusing to abdicate by returning to his native Spain.

The Spanish teacher converted to Islam has many adventures with his European compatriots (Spanish and French) as well as with his Slaoui neighbors. If the author shares several points in common that his friends and students know about him, he also recognizes it, he lived 24 years in Morocco, the Gawri of the Bettana district in Salé, his novel attracts a Spanish readership eager to read a realistic and social fiction. During the presentation of the novel, in the presence of a lively audience, Chiqui Guterez Del Alabi, an octogenarian from Tangier living on Avenue du Mexico, recounts her own personal expatriate epic.

Read also: Qatar: Morocco in force in the short lists of the Katara Prize for the Arabic novel^{Her two grandmothers arrived in Tangier at the beginning of the 20} th century. Her paternal great-grandmother had immigrated from Alicante in Algeria before settling in Morocco. On her mother’s side, her grandmother had immigrated from Valencia to Tangier. This generation of Spaniards is reminiscent of the heroes of the novels of Maria Dueñas, “ the Spy of Tangier “, a true literary phenomenon sold more than 2 million copies, followed by a second volume to the great delight of readers of “ Sira, the return to Tangier “. The success of historical literature reflects the potential of memory work. The streaming giant exploited it in the series “ Morocco, love in time of war

“. The pen of Manuel Fernandez has given it a relief that takes a vaudevilleesque turn, an invitation to question immigration from a perspective other than those imposed by current events. This return to the source allows us to read the movement of people from a human point of view: individuals and groups have always moved in search of a better life or their own destiny. The writer knows a bit about it: “By immigrants we mean he said, people who come to Morocco to earn a living, and not expatriates who have a privileged situation, especially in Moroccan settings

“. At first glance we cannot say that it is a massive phenomenon, but it exists. The phenomenon is also little known in Spain. He adds: “ The life of these Spaniards is not easy. The difficulties in obtaining a work contract that Anapec wants to legalize are very great, which is why they cannot access a residence permit. I know many who come here as tourists and have to leave the country every three months and come back “. His double hat as an author has not spared the long-term resident that he is now from other customs hassles: “Import books from Spain he indicates, is a costly and complicated procedure. With French books it is easier, it seems that there is an agreement on this subject between the two countries, which does not exist in the Spanish case. To illustrate the phenomenon, if I want to make a presentation in Spain, the bookseller orders the books from the publisher, but in Morocco it is I who must provide them. Of course, my ability to do this is limited

“.