Ian Gibson publishes his memoirs: "I would tell Abascal to take a saliva test, because he looks Moorish"

He reveals that he suffered an attempted sexual assault in childhood, the "serious tension" with Lorca's family and his encounter with a "trembling" Dalí

   MADRID, 14 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The biographer Ian Gibson, who publishes his memoirs 'Un carmen en Granada' (Tusquets), has criticized the leader of Vox, Santiago Abascal, for speaking of a Spain "that can become a multicultural dunghill" and recommends "taking a test of saliva, because it looks Moorish".

"I don't know him in person and I would love to talk to him. How can you say that about the multicultural dunghill? I would suggest taking the test, because he looks very Moorish, which I think is great: if Spanish has everything this of multiculturalism within", he pointed out in a meeting with the media.

In fact, Gibson --who does not consider himself a Hispanic because he already has dual nationality-- believes that "there is still a lot to be done" in relation to studies on Spain. "It is the most complex country in the West because there are many identity problems," added the Spanish-Irish author.

"I think there is a denial regarding heritage such as the Jewish or the Muslim. It is crazy not to accept that in Spain there is miscegenation and blood of genes. Where is the problem, if we are all children of the same God?", he questioned humorously.

In 'Un carmen en Granada' Gibson reviews the years of apprenticeship and training in his native Dublin upon his arrival in Spain and the influence that his connection to the work of García Lorca had in his day. One of the 'darkest' episodes in this book is an attempted sexual assault that the author himself experienced when he was barely 10 years old.

"It was one day that I was looking at the movie posters to choose a movie and a man with the classic Dublin raincoat appeared, asking me if I wanted to go to the movies with him. I did not have the courage to say no, and two minutes into the movie He began to raise his hand and I pushed down several times. Finally I left and he gave me a coin, which I threw as soon as I left the place of shame that I had," he recounted.

In another passage from the memoirs, Gibson recounts the "serious tension" that arose with Lorca's family as a result of the book in which he spoke of the author of 'Blood Wedding' being homosexual and a subsequent interview with Dalí. "That was never overcome and the remains of Lorca have also been a cause of friction," she added.

The biographer has recalled the interview with Dalí that led to the call from Isabel García Lorca assuring that she was going to sue him. "I told him: 'don't do it, we are in another era and if Dalí comes to testify in court he is going to be a gigantic publicity for all this,'" she explained.

"I had been offered to speak with Dalí one day when I had to travel from Madrid to Figueres without thinking about it. When I arrived, I found Dalí sitting on a throne, with a barretina all in white and tubed and trembling. It was a tremendous interview, because he was hardly understood and he mixed French and Catalan", he pointed out.

Gibson has reiterated that the Catalan painter wanted to "clarify his version" regarding his relationship with García Lorca, once the first part of the Hispanist's book was published. "He told me strong things, that Lorca was in love with him and that he wanted to sleep with him: he had to get that interview out," she concluded.