The Toros de Guisando

There seems to be a very strange ambiguous attitude towards bulls here in Spain. People purport to have great respect for the animals and then promptly turn round to organise nonsensically cruel "traditions" such as bullfighting, or chasing the bulls through narrow streets, or making them jump off harbour walls, or running after them with spears on horseback, or tying flaming torches to their horns, or…

Well, you get the picture. For a supposedly civilised country still to allow such cruelty is just crazy. And the excuse that it is all done in the name of tradition is too pathetic to be taken seriously.

Anyway, there are bulls in Spain other than those poor creatures who have to undergo such senseless treatment. Sadly, few people, either in or out of Spain, seem to know about them, so here's a piece to whet your appetite.

Elise and I recently travelled to Belgium by car. Elise had decided that it would be a good idea to visit Toledo on the way, so we decided to make a trip of it and to also visit Avila and Segovia. Well, on the road between Toledo and Avila I noticed a small sign pointing to the Toros de Guisando. That rang a bell; somehow I knew something about these bulls, but I had no idea from where. Anyway, it was a quick left hand down a bit in order to turn onto the direction indicated. Within a couple of kilometres we arrived at the location of the bulls. In fact, we almost drove past the place, as it is so poorly indicated.

There is just a small parking area at the side of the road with a couple of very small signs, hidden by the branches of some large trees, to point out to the weary traveller that this is the place.

Behind a fairly substantial wall, hidden from view of passing traffic and with just a single small entrance gate, is an open area of ground in which stand four magnificent stone bulls.

The bulls are over two thousand years old and were once spread over the surrounding fields. Nobody knows their purpose: magical, religious, fertility symbols…? Perhaps there were more such bulls in the area, certainly the types of rocks that lie in the fields offer plenty of suitable raw material. In any case, these four were brought to their current location probably in Roman times, in about the third century.

Each sculpture is about two metres long and perhaps one metre-thirty high. The carving is naive, but very beautiful and the bulls present a very strong impression. They each seem to have its own character. They are, of course, well weathered, but remains of exceptional detail can still be seen, most notably in the skin folds on the neck of one of them.

Carving details still visible

Another bull carries a Latin inscription that dates from the time that the Romans moved them.

Latin inscription on side of bull

Although the site of the bulls seems to be little known nowadays, it must have been held in some esteem in times gone by, for it was here that Enrique IV proclaimed his sister, Isabella the Catholic, as his rightful heir to the Kingdom of Castilla in 1468.

A small information panel provides some history

David Neale

Moors and Christians 2013

Prior to the actual Fiestas de Moros y Cristianos, which takes place from 19 to 28 July this year, there will be a Medieval Market from 15 to 17 July, held in the Calle Castillo, behind the church. The market will be officially opened at 11:30 on Monday 15 July.

As for the Fiestas de Moros y Cristianos themselves, what follows is only a brief outline of the events planned. For a full calendar of events in English, visit this page or pick one of the free printed calendars that can be found all around Guardamar.

The run-up to the last two days can be confusing to people from outside Guardamar, especially with the street battles and peculiar mixture of religion. However, there are a couple of concerts you might enjoy and there is no doubt at all that you will more than impressed by the parades of the last two days. To give you an idea of the costumes, you might like to have a look at my photos from 2011 (and from there you can follow a link to see other years, too).

Friday, 19 July

Starting at 21.30, pomp and circumstance as the Queen of the Fiestas together with others walk from the Plaza Labradores along the Calle Mayor to end up in the Plaza de la Constitución.

22.00 Opening speech by Inmaculada Cases Gómez, of the Hospital Vega Baja.

22.30 Presentation of standards (flags)

23.00 Coronation of the Queen of the Fiestas, including a light, water and fire spectacular.


Saturday, 20 July

22.00 Fancy Dress Parade and competition, starting at the corner of the Calle Mayor and the Calle Norte and passing along the Avenida País Valenciano, to finish in the Plaza Jaume II.


Sunday, 21 July

20.30 Music Concert in the Parque Reina Sofia.


Monday, 22 July

20.30 Choral Concert, including the Aromas de Guardamar choir (presumably in the Parque Reina Sofía, though you should check on this first).


Wednesday, 24 July

20.00 First street battle. Lots of noise. Followed at 21.00 by the entry into the castle (on the Plaza de la Constitución, presumably) by the Christians and its subsequent loss to the Moors.


Thursday, 25 July

11.30 Parade with the Music Society of Guardamar accompanying the Queen of the Fiestas and others through numerous streets, starting in Calle Colón and passing through Calles Gratitud, San José, Inginiero Mira, Ausias March, Las Viñas, Luis Rivera, Mediodía, Vicente Ramos, and Ingeniero Mira again to end in the Plaza de la Constisución.

21.00 Another procession, but more sobre,, passing along C/ Ingeniero Mira, Plaza de Abastos, C/ San Emigdio, C/ Valencia, C/ Mayor, Avda. País Valenciano, C/ Medio día, C/ Vicente Ramos yand ending at the church.

01.00 Firework display on the Playa Roqueta.


Friday, 26 July

20.00 Second street battle. Lots of noise again. This time the Moors enter the castle and the Christians come along to take it from them.


Saturday, 27 July

(This is really what it's all about)

20.30 Moors and Christians Parade. First the Moors, then the Christians, interspersed with marching bands. They leave from the corner of Calle Lepanto and Avenida País Valenciano, marching line-abreast along Avenida País Valenciano, Calle Mayor, and ending at the the crossing of Calle Mayor with Calle Norte.


Sunday, 28 July

19.00 Marching bands parade, starting at the crossing of Calle Mayor with Calle Norte and following the reverse route of the Moors and Christians Parade.

20.00 Moors and Christians Parade. This time the Christians lead the parade, followed by the Moors. Don't think this is a mere duplicate of the previous day's parade: most comparsas wear different costumes on each day.

01.00 Fireworks Display at the castle (the real castle this time!).

David Neale

Lady of Elche (La Dama de Elche)

In Belgium we say that there is no such thing as a stupid question, only a stupid answer.

When I was at school (yes, I know, a very long time ago…), I had a very wise geography master who took that train of thought a little further: he told us never to be afraid to ask questions and that if one person did not know something, then at least five other people in the class would want to ask the same question. (He was the same master who would not allow us to take notes during his classes, other than on the concrete blocks of our minds, as he put it. He was quite correct in both matters: note-taking is counter-productive and if you do not know about something, there are plenty of others in the same position.)

I was talking to one of our community members recently and was surprised that she had never heard of La Dama de Elche (the Lady of Elche). So, asking the question, "Who is the Dama de Elche?" and following the principles above, we see that

a. it is not a stupid question;

and

b. there must be quite a few other people in our community who know little or nothing about La Dama de Elche.

So, who is she?

Well "she" is really an "it," being a stone bust that was discovered by pure chance in 1897 on a small rise near Elche known as Alcudia (from the Arab word meaning a mound, or small hill). If you drive to Elche using the road though Benijófar, you pass by Alcudia a couple of kilometres before reaching Elche.

It is believed that the Dama de Elche is an Iberian sculpture, dating from the 4th century BC. Who she is, or what she represents is not known with any degree of certainty. Some suggest she represents the Carthaginian goddess Tanit, others that she is, in fact, an urn for storing the ashes of a cremation (a large aperture at the back might indicate this), and there have even been claims that she is a forgery, though these have been adequately dismissed.

What is known, is that she was once painted with lifelike colours and some remnants of these colours can be seen even with the naked eye.

La Dama de Elche was taken to France shortly after her discovery, but was returned to Spain in 1941. Since then she has been located in Madrid. However, between May and November 2006 the Dama was placed on temporary display in Elche and many people took the opportunity to admire her, often forming long queues to be able to do so.

She is a truly beautiful piece of sculpture, far more beautiful than any of the photos of her, and infinitely more so that the multiplicity of reproductions that exist in a whole range of sizes. Several "damas" have been found in Spain: the Dama de Baza, the Gran Dama Oferente, and our own Dama de Guardamar, of course, but none match the beauty of the Dama de Elche.

Here are some photos that I took when the Dama was on display in Elche in the Museo Arqueológico y de Historia (close to the park and well worth a visit). You usually only see her from the front, so I have included one from the back, too, showing the aperture referred to above. The quality of the photos is not wonderful, I'm afraid: the bust was enclosed in a thick glass case in a relatively dark room and I did not have a suitable tripod.

The area where the Dama was found has since become a major archaeological site and offers an interesting place to visit very close by, being no mire than a twenty-minute drive. Go through Benijófar and follow the signs to Elche. Shortly before reaching Elche, on the road of the many roundabouts) you will see signs to the right for Alcudia (if you miss the first lot, don't panic, there's another turning a bit further on). You can find more information, including videos and other documentation here.

David Neale

The Dama de Guardamar

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of her discovery, the Dama de Guardamar (also known as the Dama de Cabezo Lucero) has returned to Guardamar from her usual residence in the Archaeological Museum of Alicante (MARQ). She will remain displayed here until 6 October 2012.

The Dama de Guardamar is a sculptured bust of an Iberian lady that was discovered on 22 September 1987 in the archeological site of Cabezo Lucero, which is not very far at all from El Raso.

Unlike her similar counterpart, the Dama de Elche, which was discovered intact, only pieces of the Dama de Guardamar were found, and these showed signs of having been deliberately broken by hammering, as well as scorch marks. Some pieces, however, were quite large, including one of the wheel-like ornaments worn on each side of the head, part of the face, neck and head-dress. In any case, sufficient pieces were found to identify the piece as a bust and to enable its full reconstruction. This took place in the Archaeological Museum of Alicante between October 1987 and June 1988.

The Lady of Guardamar probably dates form between 400 and 370 BC.

The exhibition that has been organised around the Dama de Guardamar can be visited for free in the Casa de Cultura. It is tastefully done, with explanatory notes in Castilian, Valenciano, and English. Sadly, instead of being shown as the Lady of Guardamar, the Dama is indicated as being the Dame of Guardamar, which seems to place her more in the realm of pantomime than patrimony.

David Neale

Earthquakes

We were rudely awoken at a quarter to six this morning (a quarter to six, mind you: that's 05:45 and far too early for any living organism to be awoken) by a strange rumbling noise and a brief but very noticeable shaking. Responsible for this unwelcome phenomenon was a small earthquake of magnitude 3.1, whose epicentre was located some 15 kilometres off the coast of Torrevieja, at a depth of about 11 kilometres.
Numerous earthquakes have occurred in the area during the past twelve months, but few have been of sufficient strength to have been felt. Also, they have usually taken place during the daytime, so that their effects are noticed less. The last largish tremor was on 23 March, 2011, but it took place close to midday and, even though it was of the same strength as today's, many people didn't even notice it.
No damage or injury has been reported as a result of today's tremor.
We live in a seismically active area, so tremors and quakes are not at all unusual. Few, however, are as strong as the 1829 earthquake, known as the Torrevieja Quake. This occurred on 21 March, 1829, when numerous towns in the Alicante province were seriously affected, with the most damage being in Almoradí.
Between 1820 and 1830 an unusual amount of seismic activity was registered in the province, especially along the three fault lines of the Bajo Segura (lower Segura): Benijófar, Guardamar del Segura, and Torrevieja.
Between 13 September, 1828 and 21 March, 1829, it is estimated that more than 200 quakes took place. Finally, at a quarter past six in the evening of 21 March, a major quake with a magnitude of 6.6 on the Richter scale, with its epicentre between Benijófar and Torrevieja, caused 389 deaths and 209 injuries, and destroyed more than two thousand homes, with many others badly damaged. The bridges across the river Segura in Almoradí, Benejúzar, Dolores, and Guardamar were all destroyed. Half of the fatalities were in Almoradí, where the roads were narrower than elsewhere and the buildings higher.
In our own Guardamar, 380 houses were completely destroyed, 140 received considerable damage, and 115 suffered fire damage (fortunately, only four people lost their lives and 20 were injured). The medieval town was completely destroyed, so that a new town had to be designed and built. This was done based on a neoclassical plan, having long straight roads with perpendicular intersections and three squares (two small, one large) arranged symmetrically. The new houses were built low and with large yards, in order to minimise the effects of future earthquakes. Stones from the old town were used to build the new. The photo below, dating from 1930, shows the layout of the rebuilt town, with the castle and old town visible in the top right.

(Photo from the book, Guardamar del Segura. Arqueología y Museo available from the Casa de Cultura, Guardamar)

David Neale