About the trilogy of the Arab astrologer

September, 08; 2026. By Arscodex

Tales of the Alhambra animated miniseries still

Today we're going to investigate the story of a character from Tales of the Alhambra, the book by Washington Irving: the Arab astrologer.

This character, sketched by Irving himself in the aforementioned work and drawn from gossip and other information the writer gathered from the inhabitants of the Alhambra to write these tales, has had a curious history. Film producer Pedro Alonso Pablos, who is writing these lines, has used him in three of his films.

The first is the animated short film that adapts the tales from the book of the same name: Tales of the Alhambra. One of the stories is "The Legend of the Arab Astrologer" (about the character we're discussing now). It's worth noting that the character has been in the public domain for a long time, as the tales in question were originally published in 1832, almost 200 years ago.

Well, after this first appearance in Pedro Alonso Pablos's works, the character in question (described in the relevant story and whose name, according to that same story, is Ibrahim Eben Abu Ajib) also appears, with a prominent presence, in Abenzaidún y Wallada (eternal love), a film by Pedro Alonso Pablos that is a milestone in his filmography and that establishes and confirms the filmmaker's interest and fondness for Spanish themes, and especially for those from southern Spain, that is to say, primarily Andalusia.

But we still have to mention one more stellar appearance in the filmography of the aforementioned producer (that is, as the reader knows, the one writing this text). It is the recent animated film Daga bailaora, from this year, 2026, which is not yet over.

Therefore, if there is anyone in this little world of ours who wants to delve deeper into this character, there is the "trilogy of the Arab astrologer" for their enjoyment in these three films mentioned. Finally, I should mention that Pedro (Alonso Pablos) "isn't much of a trilogy person," and that this trilogy came about almost spontaneously and without planning; whether he'll make another trilogy remains to be seen.

But anyway, for now, let's enjoy what we have so far.

Featured links in People