El ser andaluz

The Andalusian is easy to perceive, but enormously difficult to define. This explains why those who deny the existence of Andalusia coexist with those who define it in contrasting ways. Manuel Clavero maintains that Andalusia has an extraordinary identity that derives from its exceptional geographical situation, a bridge between continents and seas, and its unique history. The Andalusians have been colonized on several occasions and have been colonizers in America. This convergence of cultures, by assimilation and absorption, has been curdling the Andalusian. For Andalusians, what is cultural, historical and geographical is above ethnic issues or their own right, so claimed in other geographies with pure nationalisms. However, they maintain an identity that is easily perceived by those who visit us. The Andalusian Unit coincides with the moments of its historical greatness and the division of its territory with those of its decline. There have been various attempts to search for the lost unity and Clavero studies them, from the conspiracy of the Duke of Medina-Sidonia and the Marquis of Ayamonte to the referendum on February 28. The author also addresses the present and the future of Andalusia, fleeing from the pessimism and fatalism of those who claim that there is nothing to do here. At this time when the structure of the State is being redefined, Clavero makes a lucid analysis of the future of Andalusian Autonomy, of the requirement of non-discrimination against any other territory, of the necessary decentralization and internal balance, remaining faithful to the exceptional spirit of February 28. Manuel Clavero is an indispensable author to understand the Andalusia of today, and one of the fathers of the Andalusian thought of the future.