The question of Moorish influence and the so-called Black Legend, regarding Spain's oriental and African genealogy that had allegedly left the Spaniards a "sensual and inferior race," have preocupied Spanish intellectuals for centuries, pitting those who proudly or
lamentingly concede Islamic influence in Spain and Hispanic civilization against those who deny such vestiges and, in the words of the novelist Juan Goytisolo, prefer to believe in a "clean-shaven Hispanic civilization" ("la afeitada civilizacion hispana") free of Semitic influence.