Fighting for Something Worthy

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Literature · Subcategory: Literary fragments · Year: 2006 · Authors: Pedro Víctor Debrigode Dugi

Pedro Víctor Debrigode (Barcelona, 1914-Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 1982) is considered the master of the popular Spanish novel in its heyday, that which spans from the 1940s to the early 1970s of the 20th century. Creator of adventurous characters such as El Pirata Negro, Lord King , Diego Montes , El Halcón or El Capitán Pantera , among others, and a prolific writer for hire of detective and mystery novels signed with his original name or pseudonym (Peter Debry or P. V. Debrigaw, to name just a few), Debrigode throughout his eventful life also wrote his autobiography Fighting for Something Worthy , memoirs in two volumes ( El barco borracho and El espía inocente ). In the first of these the author collects his experiences as a soldier during the Spanish Civil War, a conflict that caught him by chance in the Canary Islands. He narrates his experiences fluently, showing us through his sharp gaze how the conflict was lived on the island of Tenerife and more specifically in Santa Cruz, where he was quartered. In his own words he says the following:

«On the eighth day, the section in which soldier Valentín was listed moved to occupy a very spacious two-storey building, whose billboard that until then said: "Juventud Republicana" (Republican Youth), was torn down and shattered.

The patrols of the section had ended. They became a detachment standing guard at the junctions of the streets leading to Plaza del Príncipe.

A beautiful square with its central kiosk for the Sunday music band. Usually very busy. Now, deserted.

It was as if everyone preferred to lock themselves in their homes. The "pacos" continued to harass from rooftops. Peninsular gunmen who hardly ever fell prisoner, no matter their physical condition, were taken to a nearby esplanade by the Fyffes warehouses, banana canneries, and summarily executed.»

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