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Life as a Spanish man

S

starrynight

Senior Registered
I've wondered why I didn't remember any male lives and have just presumed it was either that they are not relevant to me this life or that I hard a more traumatic time as a man and so more often chose to be female.

I was a boy, young teenage, working either stacking wood crates or packing them.

Two older men shout me, "Oy, Hombre!" They're bossy and I don't like being told what to do-I don't this life either and don't last in jobs unless I have a degree of independance.

I'm a little older. It's a fiesta and I admire the girls and women in their dresses. I'm in smart clothes, black trousers which flare at the bottom, white shirt, black jacket and a black waistband. I hope I look more sophisticated and wordly than I really am. The word Cabellero springs out (Spanish for gentleman).

The memory came after watching a programme based in Granada, Cordoba and Seville, Andalucia. The last 2 cities have always appealed to me to visit and I love Granada.

I've quite enjoyed this memory as a man.
 
"Caballero" is based off of "caballo", which I believe morphed into "cowboy". A caballero was specifically a horseman of gentlemanly qualities, like a knight.





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A gentleman who wasn't also an accomplished horseman was simply called "senor".


I don't know how well you can see the picture (my screen is small). Does it look familiar?
 
Thanks Shiftkitty, I had heard that cabellero was a knight but didn't know about the horse connection.


This picture is very similar, except my waistband was black and I don't remember a tie.


The only image I get of a horse is a white one. It makes me wonder if the horse is a clue to Andalucia? Though I know I've ridden a horse in my previous life from where I am now. I also wanted one as a child so I must have felt quite connected to them then.


I can see myself with dark hair and eyes but my skin is paler, suggesting I'm from a more northern area. My hair isn't as thick and wavy as is more natural in southern spain. It wouldn't surprise me if I had moved to wherever I am, as I seem to move about in most lives.


One of the older men is fairer and we call him "El Gringo". I'm not sure if this is a Spanish expression or more Latin American.


I do picture hills and villages of whitewashed houses, to me familiar with Andalucia but I don't really know about villages in other Spanish speaking countries.
 
More came to me on this memory but as it is just a memory, not a flashback or dream I am a little dubious as to whether it could be overactive imagination. It was on waking in that half sleep, half awake stage.


1, I see the black waistband and white shirt covered in blood, so feel I died from being stabbed in the stomach.


2, I had something to do with bull fighting. Is this being too obvious? This doesn't sit well, I am very much into animal rights, and didn't even eat meat for a lot of years. I am also quite shy, so couldn't imagine performing before a crowd but my mind keeps seeing just me and the bull.


I see myself as a young boy practising with the cape and enjoying it as a game. Later I would have been very focussed, which does tie in with other lives since and many jobs in this life which require solid concentration.


I'm not sure this means I was a bullfighter, I'm sure many young boys had dreams of it. Although when I did go to spain as a child I was fascinated by it and could feel a vibrancy just from being near a ring-my mum refused to take me to see it and when i was older and went with freinds they were never interested either. I am really against it as a sport now.


3, I got a girl pregnant. I hadn't meant to. I didn't want to be tied down so young and was angry with life for it happening. It was on my mind and I wasn't concentrating, I think this led to my death.


4, The girl was my sister in law in this life. I can see her with a black lace headress. I had to google this as it was very like the welsh or breton traditional costume and yes it is a traditional headress for most of spain.


5, It's interesting it's my sister in law, as I feel I've wronged her in two lives now-having an affair and being in love with her husband, then getting her pregnant and leaving her. Also if my Australian life came after this, why I came back as a young, single mother, to understand my actions the life before.
 
Well, well. We know bull fighting is a hazardous profession. Now that you have done that I don't think you'll ever be a bull fighter again. I've always thought the animal rights people were probably just the opposite in a past life. You have just proven me to be correct. By the way, "gringo" is still used today. It's what Mexicans and other Hispanics call white foreigners, especially Americans.
 
I can see myself with dark hair and eyes but my skin is paler, suggesting I'm from a more northern area. My hair isn't as thick and wavy as is more natural in southern spain. It wouldn't surprise me if I had moved to wherever I am, as I seem to move about in most lives.
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Actually, I don't think the colour of your skin can point to the place where you were born. Not all Andalusians have darker features, in fact, it's more usual Northerners have black hair and darker features, while in the South it's quite common to see blonde people (there's an explanation for this but I would have to spend some time to do some research). And not all Spanish have wavy hair, that's too much of a generalization. You'd be surprised if you saw the blue eyes of some of my cousins in the South, all with Andalusian parents. And we don't have much to do with Mexicans either. I don't think anyone here in Spain could mistake what people in the States call "latin" or "hispanic" with actual Spanish people, who look more European (European as French, for example, are).
 
Eowyn said:
I don't think anyone here in Spain could mistake what people in the States call "latin" or "hispanic" with actual Spanish people, who look more European (European as French, for example, are).
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Mexicans and other latins are dark because of the natives the Spanish conquistitors bred with. Mexico won't admit it, but they are just as racist as their neighbors to the north. The ruling class in Mexico is blond and blue eyed. I once read a story or book about the North Africans, specifically the "Barbary Pirates", who took women and children as slaves. That is suposed to be the reason for the blonds in that area. That may explain the blonds in southern Spain.
 
argonne1918 said:
Mexicans and other latins are dark because of the natives the Spanish conquistitors bred with.
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I don't quite understand this sentence. Do you mean that Mexicans are dark because Spanish were dark? Like I said that's another generalization I don't think it corresponds with reality. Mexicans existed long before Spaniards arrived, and I haven't read any account where it says "We found a wild tribe of blonde natives there". And like I said, it's not only a matter of dark hair or skin, there are also a lot of racial features that distinguish Mexican people from Spanish people. Actually, my skin is a lot lighter than the Mexicans I see in Spain (maybe it's different in Mexico) even when I have dark brown eyes and hair. But anyway I'm not up to any argument, my only point here is that things are not that simple, Spain is a great mixture of different races, it's been so for hundred of years. The point here is that there's not a direct relation between appearance and the Spanish region someone comes from, unfortunately it's not that easy in regards to past lives. You really can't know only from the perception someone gets in their dream.
 
I've met people from Mexico who were tall, dark and fair, those who show more descent from native Indian groups, and Nordic- looking blonds. In other words, pretty much the gamut of human appearance. Irish-Mexican Day was just celebrated in San Diego on November 9th. It celebrates the San Patricios, a battalion of Irish immigrants and other Europeans who defected from the U.S. military during the Mexican-American War, fighting valiantly on the side of Mexico. Most officers in the U.S. Army were Protestant at the time, and subjected the mostly Irish and German immigrants who enlisted to terrible indignities. They deserted in large numbers, understandably of course, and many stayed in Mexico. Hence, people of all descriptions do come from Mexico. I recently spent a weekend in San Diego, and was intrigued by this story, which was unknown to me. My husband is of Irish-Catholic descent, and we plan to attend the parade honoring those men next year.
 
Hi shiftkitty & argonne,


Yes i knew "gringo" described a white person. I wasn't sure if this term was ever used in spain. Might give me a clue to whether i was from there or more hispsnic.


Hi eowyn, sorry to generalise. My mothers friend lives in southern spain & i was really describing her in laws. I have alway s felt drawn to that areaso think its connected to this life somewhere.


My husband is of irish decpscebt to briar-yet another thing in common. I am of welsh & we"re both quite dark.
 
starry, I think that the term "gringo" is Mexican in origin. It is a somewhat "rude" term - I think of it as a racial slur. Wikipedia says that the term was used in Spain. My knowledge of the history of Mexico is very poor, but surely people went back and forth from Spain to Mexico fairly frequently. As I worked on genealogy, I was surprised at how frequently English colonists traveled to England and back. The same thing must have been true for the Spanish. Your memory sounds a bit like early California, except for the villages in the hills. We were sparsely populated in the early days, and Spanish settlers seem to have stayed near the coast. We still have "El Camino Real", the old mission road the Catholic fathers made - except now, a lot of it is called the "Pacific Coast Highway".
 
The old San Juan Bautista trail is also still there. It winds through hills and goes past the Lawrence Livermore Lab, whose nearby blast pits are frequented by the Mythbusters. I don't know if any villages were located there, but there are some cattle ranches located along Patterson Pass and Corral Hollow Road. Corral Hollow follows the trail while Patterson Pass runs roughly parallel. Other places to look in this area are Old Calaveras Road and Mt. Hamilton Road as well as El Portal Road.


I mention this area because when people think of the old Spanish colonies, they always stop at Southern California. Head north a little ways and check out Central California's San Joaquin Valley. It's a big, fertile valley and has been home to farms and ranches for a couple of hundred years. Wander west to the Santa Clara Valley and see if the Mission San Jose rings any bells (pun intended). And just for kicks, check out the oldest private residence in San Jose, the Peralta Adobe. You should probably get a look at all of the missions in California. Settlements were often near these missions just as European settlements were often near forts and castles.


Just remember, thanks to irrigation techniques, this place is a lot greener now than it used to be!
 
Monterey was the Mexican/Spanish capital of California before 1848. Most of the population was on the coast in the middle and northern part of the state. The interior was mostly the native American tribes. Highway 101 is only called "PCH" in the southern part of the state. In Northern Calif. it's called the "Redwood Highway".
 
Here is some more info on the Spanish missions in California. And here are some photos of the missions. All of the missions have been somewhat restored, although many are still owned by the Catholic church. The restoration was begun during the 1930's as by that time many were in ruins from earthquakes and the weather. The 1906 earthquake heavily damaged the mission at San Juan Bautista.
 
This is something to consider, starry. We have a lot (!) of members on this site with a San Joaquin Valley/Central California connection. I sometimes wonder if we are being attracted here for a reason. I would follow Shiftkitty and Argonne's excellent suggestions, and take a look at those sites. It's something to think about.


By the way, I had a past life that I thought might have been in Andalusia that was shared with another member. But like you, I was never sure if it was Spain, or Mexico. I never considered early California, but maybe I should!
 
These places are starting to sound familiar. I'd noy considered a life in california but it does feel possible, especially with the mexico connection.


Argonne, do you mean monteray, mexico? If so i have always fancied going yhere, it makes me think of ranches & horses. This could fit in with the cabellero.


Can't be sure how it could tie in with the bullfighting.


I think the first dream (with "el gringo"-sorry) must be based in a port. The wood crates i think would for shipping.


Could i have been working a passage?


There is a certain canary island has always felt familiar, which inever understood but i imagine any of thrm islands would havr been stopping off points.


Hope to be on a laptop tommorrow then i can follow the links. :D
 
starrynight said:
Argonne, do you mean monteray, mexico?
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No, Monterey, California.


California is not the only state that had missions. New Mexico, Texas, and Florida also had them but are not as well known. The missions are where the California wine industry got started. They made their own sacramental wine.
 
There's something about the way you are describing the scene, starry, that makes me think of the old "Zorro" TV show. Even the Antonio Banderas version would give you some feel for early California. I didn't pull up argonne's link, but Monterey is famous for Cannery Row, where sardines were processed. John Steinbeck wrote a book of the same name. It's hilariously funny, and tragic. I think books and movies give a better feel for the flavor of a time or place than history books ever can. That, and the memories of people who recall PLs!
 
History books tend to be very academic, although any by Richard Zacks are sure to have a lot more "feeling". That man can write history!


Here's a picture from Patterson Pass Road, which runs near the Anza Trail (sorry, it's the San Juan Bautista De Anza trail, known as the Anza Trail, not the San Juan Bautista Trail).





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I don't think it's changed much since the Spanish were here.
 
BriarRose said:
There's something about the way you are describing the scene, starry, that makes me think of the old "Zorro" TV show. I think books and movies give a better feel for the flavor of a time or place than history books ever can. That, and the memories of people who recall PLs!
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Watch this, the first episode of Disney's Zorro. I never realized when I watched them as a kid that they are actually in color! We all had black and white TV's in the 50's. Guy Williams was very disappointed when Disney ended the series. Maybe that was a past life memory? He went from playing Zorro to being the dad on "Lost in Space".
 
BriarRose said:
There's something about the way you are describing the scene, starry, that makes me think of the old "Zorro" TV show. Even the Antonio Banderas version would give you some feel for early California.
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Somehow I knew Banderas would turn up sooner or later, so he's the one to blame for the image Spanish people have outside of our frontiers! Right, now I understand everything... cover face (anyway I wonder what Antonio Banderas and Cantinflas have in common...).


PS: In case there's any doubt, I'm just joking.
 
Cantinflas! There's a name I haven't heard in awhile! My dad loved him. I saw him playing a waiter in an old movie and he reminded me of the waiter "Manuel" in John Cleese's "Fawlty Towers".
 
Manuel in Fawlty Towers makes me fall on the floor from laughing. Cantinflas was pretty funny, too.


Most Americans are woefully ignorant about the rest of the world, Eowyn. We are so physically isolated, and if we weren't a melting pot of immigrants from other countries, we would be truly hopeless. One of my children did a cultural fair presentation for school, and chose Spain. I baked hundreds of Magdalenas for it. They are almost as good an export as Antonio Banderas! I know that the Spanish language is quite different in all Latin countries. I was listening to a classical radio station, playing the music of Joaquin Rodrigo. I loved the music, and he fascinated me as a man. The announcer made jokes about attempting to speak Spanish with the Castilian "lisp", which must have something to do with "s" and "z". It must be like American English, and British English, evolving separately, and to the point that sometimes we can hardly understand each other! I have had two lives in Spain, and writing all this has caused me to have a bit of an epiphany. I will post separately, as we were trying to help starry. I am going way "off track", although I think sometimes just discussing the culture, and locations brings clarity to a memory.
 
I don't know Briar I think I'd be interested in yur Spanish lives.


Pretty sure I have at least a couple more in this country also.


I did wake with "La Camida Real" in my head. I have only managed a quick google but yes definate familiarity with this.


It is Monteray in Mexico I have wanted to visit, also Baja and the mountain villages around Oaxaca, into Guatemala and Hunduras.


Another image of me younger, maybe 12 or 13 riding a horse with a younger boy. I think probably my younger brother. This may be (but only may be) my mother this life. I think she has been my sister other lives & is more like a sister this life really.


I am thinking maybe I went form here to Spain.


I am away now for a bit over a week. I'm actually going to the Canary island that's been familiar-Fuerteventura. It will be good to get a feeling for the place with this life in mind.:laugh:


Haven't had chance to do the links but yes I did watch Zorro & liked it, & the waiter in fawlty Towers. Surprised you got them in the states!.


Have been doing the Allo Allo re runs from my ww2 life-so funny.:laugh:
 
Sorry meant el camino real (too many rum & cokes!)


I know carmel is in california, this has always appealed also.


Think there is a definate link here. Thanks all:D
 
I'm glad if talking about Spain can help bring more memories to people here.

I baked hundreds of Magdalenas for it.
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But then there's not much difference between magdalenas and muffins. If I'm not mistaken muffins are of British origin, but sure you know of them in the States!

I am away now for a bit over a week. I'm actually going to the Canary island that's been familiar-Fuerteventura. It will be good to get a feeling for the place with this life in mind.
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People in the Canary islands are totally different from the people in the peninsula, including the colour of the skin! :laugh: Also the accent is different, it's a bit similar to the accent in Andalusia, hard to distinguish for non-Spanish people.


Natives of the Canary Islands descend from "guanches", the original folk there, but of course many people from the peninsula and all Europe really live there all year (good weather and great mountains and beaches), so as always it's a mixture of races.
 
I baked small, delicate, lemon flavored cakes. Are those Magdalenas? Muffins are big, hearty, and crusty, except what we call an English Muffin. Those seem to be more like crumpets. I have a special pan to bake "Muffin Tops", as in the Seinfeld episode. Those are much tastier. My word, I am food-obsessed lately.
 
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