Description
The grandmother decides to prepare a surprise for her three granddaughters in the cellar: bread and honey (she had forgotten that this was the Glutton’s favourite meal). The granddaughters, one by one, go down the dark, cold and mysterious stairs; push the door and… The glutton is a traditional “child eater” in the popular tales throughout Spain. It is, a traditional tale with variations according to the area, but with identifying characteristics in all its versions: giant, headstrong, a rough appearance and great voracity, that eats up children whole. Different to other monsters that act without any warning, the Glutton warns of his intentions and of his natural voracity those who dare to visit him, but those bold enough that dare visit the places he haunts, he gobbles them up. Pablo Albo’s version follows the traditional lines, but treated humorously and with a friendly and amusing end. The “child eaters” corresponding to other parts of the Peninsular, equally possess a transparent etymology: the “papón” in Galicia, the “papu” in Catalonia… all of which have survived through to our days and have been used many times with a functional character and for isolated means: be good, off to bed, don’t go out at night, don’t speak to strangers… The imagination together with the need to prevent reckless acts has created, with the framework of popular culture, frights and frighteners that have been transmitted orally through the centuries. The universal character of these fantastic tales is due to, among other reasons, constituting a fundamental complement in development during infancy. The existential problems and distress are presented through popular characters we can easily understand. Life appears as a battle field in which conflicting forces fight and where, even though unhappiness is introduced, the weak can overcome the strong. The frighteners in infancy constitute a real mythological world with similar components to those in the adult mythological world. Maurizio A. C. Quarello, once again, within his style, expertly shows off the shadows used, and irregular compositions, playing with the views as if for cinema. Text by Pablo Albo, from a popular Spanish tale Illustrations by Maurizio A. C. Quarello Translation by Mark W. Heslop
