''Galíndez'' is a

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

Manuel Vázquez Montalbán Manuel Vázquez Montalbán (14 June 1939–18 October 2003) was a prolific Spanish writer from Barcelona: journalist, novelist, poet, essayist, anthologue, prologist, humorist, critic and political prisoner as well as a gastronome and an ...

, published in 1990. It centres on a real, dramatic and dark episode of the

history of the Dominican Republic The recorded history of the Dominican Republic began in 1492 when Christopher Columbus, working for the Crown of Castile, arrived at a large island in the western Atlantic Ocean, later known as the Caribbean. The native Taíno people, an Arawaka ...

: the kidnapping, torturing and murdering of

Jesús de Galíndez Jesus ( AD 30 or 33) was a Jewish preacher and religious leader who most Christians believe to be the incarnation of God and Muslims believe was a prophet. Jesus may also refer to: People Religious figures * Elymas Bar-Jesus, a Jew in the ''Act ...

in 1956, representative of the

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 ...

government in exile before the U.S. State Department and the involvement and cover-up by the

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 ...

. The novel received Spain's National Literary Award in 1991 and the Europa Prize. The detective and narrator of the novel is Muriel Corbert. She is a history graduate who seeks out the truth of Galíndez' fate. In doing so she travels from the United States, to Spain and then the Dominican Republic, and uncovers a conspiracy between Dominican dictator

Rafael Trujillo Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina ( ; ; 24 October 1891 – 30 May 1961), nicknamed ''El Jefe'' (; "the boss"), was a Dominican military officer and dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from August 1930 until Rafael Trujillo#Assassination, ...

, the CIA and

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

. The novel was made into a film in 2003, called ''El Misterio Galíndez'' (literally "The Galindez Mystery", but also known as "

The Galíndez File ''The Galíndez File'' () is a 2003 drama film directed by Gerardo Herrero and starring Saffron Burrows, Harvey Keitel, Eduard Fernández and Guillermo Toledo. It is based on Manuel Vázquez Montalbán's 1991 novel ''Galíndez''. Cast *Saffron Bu ...

"). The film stars

Saffron Burrows Saffron Burrows (born 22 October 1972) is a British and American actress who has appeared in films such as '' Circle of Friends,'' '' Wing Commander,'' '' Deep Blue Sea,'' '' Gangster No. 1,'' '' Enigma,'' ''Troy,'' '' Reign Over Me'', and '' Th ...

and

Harvey Keitel Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor and film producer, known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running associatio ...

References

1990 Spanish novels Novels by Manuel Vázquez Montalbán Novels set in the Dominican Republic Spanish novels adapted into films {{1990s-novel-stub