Until the arrival of the Spanish missionaries in the late 1600's, the indigenous Indians of Texas practiced idolatry in ancient religious rituals honoring their gods who they believed controlled every aspect of life. It was not until 1716, when Spain dispatched a small band of soldiers and their families and few Franciscan friars to their northeastern territories to prevent French encroachment, that seeds of Christanity were planted among the Tejas Indians of East Texas.
ESPINAS is a historical fiction based on recorded events in the life of Father Antonio Margil de Jesús, one of these first Franciscan friars. Born in Spain, he arrived in the New World in May 1683 at the age of twenty-five. For over thirty years, he spread the word of God in the far reaching territories of New Spain, through Central America and Mexico, before he arrived in Texas at the age of fifty-eight.
His incredible journey in God's name was filled with many physical and mental hardships which were thorns to his evangelization of infidels. Through his passion to spread the faith, he never complained of the harsh weather and enviroment, dwindling supplies, and frequent abuse he received from hostile tribesmen. Instead, he offered his sorrows and agonies as atonement for his sins.
ESPINAS, translated to throns, is the story of the life of his simple Apostle of God
