Art, art and more art in the village of Posadas and Cordova town!

Hi folks! Hope this finds you all in good health and spirits!

‘ART‘ has been the key word for Cordova (Córdoba) and my neighbouring village of Posadas these last couple of weeks.

Let me explain: the whole ‘art thing’ kicked off two weeks ago with the annual fast-painting competition in Cordova. The objective was to paint a picture of one of the town’s iconic patios in a maximum of eight hours. As you might already know, the patios of Cordova are famous for their balconies replete with hanging geraniums, pot plants, fountains, orange trees, pillars etc. (You can see my earliest blog for photos of typical patios, houses and courtyards.)

There were many talented, long-standing artists — and then there was my daughter too. (She likes a challenge, but I think she was also motivated by the first, second and third prizes of 5000, 3000 and 1000 euros!) At the ripe old age of twenty-two, she had never entered an art competition before, neither used acrylics, nor painted on a big canvas (56 cm x 70 cm, I think). Needless to say, she didn’t win, but I just couldn’t resist putting up the photos of her painting!

But this was not the only art event. Last week there was an invitation to the artists of the village of Posadas to display their works. This included items of crochet (photos of which I included in my last blog), as well as graffiti art, paintings on buildings and on the underpass below the rail tracks. (Posadas is well-communicated, with the train taking only eighteen minutes to Cordova, or in the other direction, fifty-five minutes to Seville.)

Here are some photos of the street paintings — they were taken by one of the locals of Posadas, Paco Martinez Herrera, a great painter, photographer, nature-lover and hiker! I asked his permission first, knowing that his photos are a class above mine (he has some lovely shots on his Facebook). Anyway, here are some of the village paintings:

The above and below paintings were on one of the buildings in the periurban park of the Sierrezuela in the hills adjacent to Posadas.

The underpass below the rail tracks was also painted using spray paints:

And in more detail…

There were even bird cut-outs flying above the Plaza de la Estación (Station Square), where my good friend Rosa runs a little bar, ‘Las Ciervas’ (The Deer), on the corner. The trees, by the way, are melias, commonly known as Pride of Persia. (But more about the nature, culture, history and my life here in Posadas and Cordova, in my book An English Lady in Cordova — the ‘Alternative’ Guide, if you like…)

And now for my humble effort at photography: the bird below was painted on the water tower of the neighbouring village, Rivero de Posadas, which lies at about 9 km (9.6 mi.) west of Posadas:

So over the last few days we have been treated to these beautiful works of art which will remain, decorating the village. Over the many years that I have been here, I have come to learn and appreciate the talent that you can find among the locals — from those who pursue art, crochet, needlework, lace-making, basket weaving to actors, musicians, singers, astrologers, mycologists, sports people, anthropologists, botanists, authors, etc., etc., etc., — and all found within a populace of approx. 7,350! One doesn’t get bored here! I’m eagerly waiting for my crochet and lace-making classes with the ‘abuelas’ (grandmothers) to restart…

And here’s how to get to Posadas: (taken from the city council’s page):

Anyway, by the time I got home, as if to wind up the lovely, colourful day the sky had also decided to display its own work of art…

Well, that’s it for now!

Thank you for reading — comments and questions always welcome — and take good care of yourselves! xxx

And my thanks once again to Paco Martinez Herrera for lending me his artistic photos and to the ‘ayuntamiento’ (council) for hosting the show!