César Vidal Manzanares (born 9 May 1958) is a
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
historian, author, political commentator, and radio host.
Early life and education
Vidal was born in
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
on 9 May 1958, in
Puente de Vallecas
Puente de Vallecas (, "Bridge of Vallecas") is one of the 21 districts of the city of Madrid, Spain. It forms, with the district of Villa de Vallecas, the geographical area of Vallecas.
Geography
Subdivision
The district is administratively div ...
. He attended Escuelas Pías de San Antón for his secondary education. Born into a
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
family, he became a
Jehovah’s Witness at the age of fifteen before later converting to
evangelical Christianity
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
. His brother is jurist and writer .
Career
Vidal holds a Ph.D. in Law from
Alfonso X El Sabio University and degrees in theology and philosophy from
Logos University.
He is a member of the Executive Council of the Interamerican Institute for Democracy. Since 2015, he has been a member of the
North American Academy of the Spanish Language.
Radio
From 2004 to 2009, he hosted the
radio show
A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production, or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode.
Radio netw ...
program ' on
Cadena COPE
COPE, an acronym for Cadena de Ondas Populares Españolas ("People's Radiowaves of Spain Network") formerly called Radio Popular, is a Spanish language radio station. It is the second most listened to in Spain's generalist radio. Owned by the S ...
. In 2009, he left COPE to launch a radio station, , with
Federico Jiménez Losantos
Federico Jorge Jiménez Losantos (born 15 September 1951), also known by his initials FJL, is a Spanish radio presenter and right-wing pundit, being most known for his successful radio talk show ''Es la mañana de Federico''. He is also a TV ho ...
, but abandoned the project in 2013 due to disagreements with a partner.
/sup> Since 2014, he has hosted ''La Voz'' (The Voice), a radio program broadcasting from the United States.
Writing
He has written for several newspapers, including '' El Mundo'', ''Diario 16
''Diario 16'' (Spanish for "Daily 16" or "Newspaper 16") was a Spanish-language daily newspaper published in Madrid, Spain, between 1976 and 2001. The ''16'' of the title refers to the sixteen founders of Grupo 16, publishers of the weekly news m ...
'', ''El'' ''Periódico de Aragón'', and '' La Razón''. He has published a series called ''Misterios de la Historia'' (Mysteries of History) in ''Libertad Digital
''Libertad Digital'' (LD) is a Spanish-language online newspaper founded on 8 March 2000.
Origins
''Libertad Digital'' was founded by Federico Jiménez Losantos who continues to be associated with the publication. Its first edition was relea ...
''.
Vidal has written over 100 books, several of which have been bestsellers and recipients of historical and literary awards. He specializes in historical studies on totalitarian regimes
These are examples of purported totalitarian regimes. They have been referred to in an academic context as "totalitarian", or the concept of totalitarianism has been applied to them. Totalitarian regimes are usually distinguished from authorita ...
and the history of religion
The history of religion is the written record of human religious feelings, thoughts, and ideas. This period of religious history begins with the invention of writing about 5,200 years ago (3200 BCE). The Prehistoric religion, prehistory of reli ...
s. His book ''Las Brigadas Internacionales'' (The International Brigades) has been described by American historian Stanley G. Payne
Stanley George Payne (born September 9, 1934) is an American historian of modern Spain and Europe, European fascism at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He retired from full-time teaching in 2004 and is currently Professor Emeritus at its Dep ...
as "the most complete book about the International Brigades
The International Brigades () were soldiers recruited and organized by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The International Bri ...
published in any language." In ''Paracuellos-Katin: El Genocidio de la Izquierda'' (Paracuellos-Katin: The Genocide by the Left) and ''Checas de Madrid: Las cárceles republicanas al descubierto'' (Checas de Madrid: Republican Prisons Uncovered), Vidal estimated the number of people murdered during the by leftist groups .
Political views and criticism
Historians such as Ian Gibson and Ángel Viñas
Ángel Viñas Martín (born 1941) is a Spanish economist and historian. He has published many works dealing with the Spanish Civil War focusing on the war finance as well as the international relations aspects of the conflict.
PhD. in Economics, ...
have criticized Vidal for biased arguments and a lack of rigor, accusing him of misquoting historical sources and manipulating translations to support his opinions.May 68
May 68 () was a period of widespread protests, strikes, and civil unrest in France that began in May 1968 and became one of the most significant social uprisings in modern European history. Initially sparked by student demonstrations agains ...
was "a CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
operation to destabilize general de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...
" ("").
He believes Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
is a "primitive language" ("") and is skeptical of the theory of evolution
Evolution is the change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, resulting in certai ...
.
Awards
* 2000: Cartagena's Historical Novel Award for ''La mandrágora de las doce lunas''
* 2002: Las Lucas Biography Award for ''Lincoln''
* 2004: ' Spirituality Award for ''El testamento del pescador'' (''The Fisherman's Testament'')
* 2004: Jaén Literary Award for ''El último tren a Zúrich'' (''Last Train to Zurich'')
* 2005: Premio de Novela Ciudad de Torrevieja for ''Los Hijos de la Luz'' (''The Children of the Light'')
* 2005: The Academy of Science, Technology, Education, and Humanities' (AICTEH) Social Sciences Award
* 2005: Silver Microphone (''Micrófono de Plata'')HazteOir
CitizenGO is an Ultraconservatism, ultra-conservative advocacy group founded in Madrid, Spain, in 2013 by the ultra-Catholic and far-right HazteOir organization, a similar Spanish platform that has been dedicated to the fight against "gender ide ...
AwardAsociación de Víctimas del Terrorismo
The Association of Victims of Terrorism () is a Spanish association created in 1981 by victims of terrorist attacks. Its members include those injured by ETA (separatist group), ETA, GRAPO, the Provisional Irish Republican Army and Al Qaeda, as we ...
Golden Pen Award (''Pluma de Oro'')
* 2008: Finis Terrae Heterodox Humanist Essay Prize (''El premio Finis Terrae de Ensayo Humanista Heterodoxo'') for ''El caso Lutero''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vidal Manzanares, Cesar
1958 births
Living people
20th-century Spanish historians
21st-century Spanish historians
Alfonso X El Sabio University alumni
Anti-Masonry in Spain
Spanish conspiracy theorists
Spanish evangelicals
Spanish Protestants
Writers from Madrid
Spanish historians