PARQUE LAS TERRENAS, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: "El Zorro" is Spanish for "The Zorro"

Delicious. Isabel Allende's "Zorro" is not a re-telling of the old stories, the comics, the movies- none of that. Rather, it is the story of the beginning, of how Diego de la Vega became Zorro. Of course, this begins with the devastatingly romantic meeting of his parents, who were rival warriors until they realized they were hot for each other. Typical.

Diego spends his formative years in California causing trouble with his best friend and, for all intents and purposes, brother, Bernardo. They venture to Barcelona where they learn fencing, join the circus, become pilgrims, dupe the military, and eventually find their way back to California, via a pirate island near New Orleans. Eventually Zorro takes over and becomes the dominant existence of this man, with Diego taking a backseat. The book is all too wonderful- go ahead and read it.

It begs the question, however, of why Zorro is still so important a story as ever? I have a couple of ideas.

1) Zorro is a hero. We are constantly searching for heroes because we are constantly either messing up our own lives, or electing people to do it for us. The world is full of injustice and corruption. Much like Jesus Christ, Ghandi, and Harry Potter, we turn to a solitary figure who seems incorruptible but still powerful. Zorro fits the bill and looks better doing it.

2) Zorro has two identities. Masked heroes require a cover. This is attractive to me because I hope that men who are foppish, narcissistic, or stupid, might actually be hiding the fact that they're smart, capable, and good to the core... and can swordfight. Zorro, like Batman, uses his birth identity to cover for his secret activities fighting crime. However, instead of the sassy, arrogant Bruce Wayne, Diego de la Vega has allergies, migraines, and is a total dandy. It's absolutely delicious.

3) Zorro is Spanish (and one quarter Indian). Antonio Banderas. Enough said.

The book is a marvelous portrait of how a person comes to the point of taking up arms and doing something about the world. He's beautifully flawed and human, though irritatingly dense at times. Read it.

Many thanks to Felicia for the recommendation!