Barcelona Photoblog Wishes you Merry Christmas 2010

With this detail of a small scale holy scene captured some years ago at Pedralbes monastery in Barcelona, I want to wish you a "warm" Merry Christmas in the company of your beloved family and friends.

Crucifixion on Decayed Wall, Barcelona

Crucified for defending the poor, the sick, the hungry, his image prevails in the memory of mankind. He was just a man victim of his own ideas, a revolutionary that renounced to the flesh in the name of his faith to become an eternal soul, an immortal message embedded in every heart. You may believe in the miracle or not, you may skip all that was written later on, but the fact is someone was killed that day apparently for nothing but for everyone at the same time and the account of such deeds still endures the pass of time cause that human existence is not what matters anymore but the act as such, his sacrifice for the love of others. 

It is true that there is some sort of flame in you, something that makes you feel right when you defend the poor, the sick, the hungry whether you are a believer or an atheist. You can call it humanity or religiousness. I cannot give you an explanation but I am glad there is something after all, if not, life would be totally meaningless. On this Christmas day I leave you with this graffiti of a crucifix on a decayed wall in hope you remember those who need your help. Nice holidays my friends.

Virgin and Child, La Merce Basilica, Barcelona

La Mare de Déu de la Mercè (Our Lady of Mercy) like many other churches holds beautiful works of art like this Virgin and Child.

La Mercè is the patroness of Barcelona since 1637. According to the legend this patron saint helped the city get rid of a plague of locusts so the council in return named her patroness. But she was not canonized till 1888 during the famous Universal Exhibition in Barcelona.

Please check this other post where you can admire the sculpture on top of the church: Our Lady of Mercy.

Antiques Market, Barcelona: Virgin

This is a small antiques market that is temporarily set along Portal del Angel street, near El Corte Inglés building. Although there are bigger and more interesting markets selling these articles in Barcelona, some of the objects caught my attention during a recent walk. Remember I showed you a vintage phone, well now you can admire this beautiful image of the virgin whose facial traits and garments evidence the skill and creative talent of the original artist.

Thanksgiving Tea Light Candles

Tea lights are a kind of votive candle I really enjoy watching when I enter a church for pictures. As many of you know I am not a devoted person but I do like the art and solemnity of holy places. Now that Thanksgiving Day is near, I thought I should show you these lights to help you meditate, meditate on whatever cause you see fit, whatever cause or creed that brings peace to your soul or body. Happy Thanksgiving Day my friends. By the way, did you know that we don't have this holiday in Spain and that we don't have turkey either? In fact, we don't have anything. It is only celebrated with a mass at church. Of course, religious people might do something but it is rare.

Holy Scene 2 at Pedralbes Monastery

This is my second holy scene taken inside the Pedralbes Monastery.

As you can see it is another miniature representation of a religious passage. The light was dim, but the set as I pointed out in the first holy scene, was spectacular.

I want to remind you and the bots that this blog is not about religion. I prefer to stick to photography which is much more fun as a hobby. Christmas is around the corner so I think this topic is more than suitable and besides, art manifests in many forms that enrich our knowledge in many ways.

Thanksgiving Musings From Barcelona, Spain

"The Thanksgiving holiday was established as a national day of giving thanks and praise to God". I am going to take profit of the religious mood created with my two previous posts about Pedralbes Monastery, to show you this holy scene which was part of a small exhibition located in the cellars of the building.

The light was dim but the small scale figures, the magnificent set and the illumination were worthy enough to photograph from a very close distance that excluded the framing and created the atmosphere to make it look almost real. Happy Thanksgiving my friends! 

Two Little Nuns

On my way to the market of Horta I saw these two nuns in a narrow alley and I thought it would make a nice picture.