Free-D

Say the word “nativity” to an English person and they’ll probably recall an embarrassing incident involving a tea towel and a donkey. They’re also likely to remember the vaguely disappointing sensation of being cast as a sheep in the primary school’s Christmas debacle. How different to the images conjured up by the word “Belén”. It chimes upon the ear. Salamanca, like any self respecting Spanish city, has its share of nativity scenes at this time of year; including one made of sand situated in the Plaza de los Bandos. And currently housed in the Casa de Maria la Brava is a large display of Napolitano “Belenes”. In some ways it’s an impressive collection, the figures well made, the scenes convincing. But in spite of all this there’s something strangely dull about most of the pieces on show. Read the rest of this entry »

So the Plaza Mayor didn’t even get into the top twenty short list for Antena Tres’ twelve wonders of spain. We shouldn’t feel too bad about it though: popularity often  carries with it an implication of coarseness or superficiality - and  beauty contests are frequently won by people who fit a dull, prescribed format. Demure, subtle beauties such as Salamanca usually have to wait a while for sensitive lovers. This is of course an allusion to Miguel de Unamuno, the Bilbao born “enamorado” of the city.  We’ve all had our infatuations. Many are bowled over by Segovia’s vertiginous qualities: her soaring arches – her proud, skyward pointing turrets (which served as a model for Neuschwanstein castle in Bavaria, which in turn Disney referenced for his famous “sleeping beauty” castle.) Others are seduced by the heady delights of  a complete mediaeval wall, such as Ávila boasts. You have to confess that the Plaza does rather poorly in the antiquity stakes: it was completed in 1755 and the belfry added in the nineteenth century.  As Spanish architecture goes, it’s a mere infant. But since when has age been a criterion of “aesthetic virtue”?  And if it’s size you’re after, again, the plaza fares quite badly; it’s of modest proportions. But therein lie its charms:  if you want a “big brassy beauty” then Salamanca’s plaza mayor just can’t deliver, it’s too subtle – its spiritual qualities too inextricably linked to the rhythms of the city and the cotidiana to be summed up in a postcard snapshot. This is the key to why the Plaza  failed to impress the nation. Of course it looks very pretty on a postcard, nobody would deny that. It’s just that for a country brimming over with cathedrals, castles and architectural wonders of every kind – it simply doesn’t look that impressive. But how aptly the modest proportions and elegant understatement of the plaza become her literary paramour, the soft spoken yet immortal Unamuno. Walt Disney wouldn’t have even given the Plaza a second glance, its character is essentially democratic, liberal and progressive – in sharp contrast to his rigid reactionary  character.

They’re funny things beauty contests aren’t they? They tell you more about the people who judge them than the winners themselves. If you judge beauty by the quality of love bestowed upon the object of desire, rather than by the physical qualities they may possess, then Salamanca’s Plaza Mayor not only becomes a contender for the top twelve of Spain but for the top twelve of the world.

Hearty congratulations go out to those who managed the daring and may I say  highly romantic and imaginative, theft of the plazas’ Christmas decorations last week. This could be the start of a dazzling criminal career: what’s next, menacing small children,  or perhaps the heady heights of vandalism? If you hadn’t noticed, my friends, those decorations belonged to everyone; you haven’t “stolen” them – you’ve simply “borrowed them illegally”. Well, at the other end of the scale, community spirit has been very much evident recently, what with the gatherings in the plaza and especially the five minutes silence in response to ETA’s latest murders. Read the rest of this entry »

The fact that Salamanca might not get a high speed AVE rail connection has been a cause of much sulkiness and foot stamping in the local press these last couple of weeks. Why would such a connection be good for Salamanca? Well, obviously it would increase levels of tourism and provide a boost for certain businesses. “Growth” is naturally seen as the magic ingredient in “progress”. But is it really? If we measure success by sheer volume in other areas, the arts for instance - then this model seems ridiculous. Using this principle Andrew Lloyd Weber would be one of the greatest composers of all time. The thing is, cities aren’t simple economic equations any more than artworks. Read the rest of this entry »