The main competitor for her affections is Rafael Moncada, whom Diego humiliates in a fencing duel. Diego is immediately struck by Juliana and decides to pursue her romantically. In Barcelone, the young men live with de Romeu and his two young daughters, Juliana and Isabel. Alejandro reluctantly allows Diego to go, accompanied by Bernardo.

Tomas urges Alejandro to send Diego to Barcelona, where he can receive more formal schooling, and learn fencing under the maestro Manuel Escalante. Bernardo's spirit guide is a horse and Diego's is a fox ( zorro in his native Spanish).Īlejandro receives a letter from an old friend, Tomas de Romeu, who resides in what was then French-occupied Spain. As youths, Diego and Bernardo undergo an indigenous rite of passage to prove their maturity and to find their spirit guides. She has her own son, Bernardo, who grows up with Diego and the two become friends. While Regina is pregnant with Diego, she befriends Ana, also Native American and a young Christian convert assigned to care for her during her pregnancy. He retires from the military and becomes a hacienda owner, and later an alcalde. She incorporates details from a variety of works featuring the pulp hero, including the film The Mask of Zorro (1998).Ĭaptain Alejandro de la Vega, a Spanish soldier, marries a Native American woman named Regina. It is the first origin story for this legendary character. His character and adventures have also been adapted for an American TV series, other books, and cartoon series.Īllende presents her novel as a biography of Zorro.

He first appeared as a character in Johnston McCulley's novella The Curse of Capistrano (1919). Its subject is the American pulp hero Diego de la Vega, better known as El Zorro (The Fox). Zorro ( Spanish: El Zorro: comienza la leyenda) is a 2005 novel by Chilean author Isabel Allende. Print (Hardcover, Paperback) and ( audio-CD)

Zorro a novel by isabel allende