Ramblas Cowboy Wishes You a Happy 2010!

Golden Greetings from Las Ramblas

On behalf of the Ramblas Cowboy—that famous human statue you really can't miss on Barcelona's most renowned street—I want to wish you all a very Happy New Year. Now, he is not technically my acquaintance, I don't know the guy under the paint, but I am sure he can back me up on this greeting. Judging by the warm smile he always seems to wear, even when frozen solid, he must be a great guy.

Chasing the Christmas Lights

I actually woke up today with a specific photo in mind: catching his shimmering golden figure against the backdrop of the city's Christmas lights. The final shot came out a little different than I planned—he’s caught here in a really dynamic, mid-action pose with that golden pistol drawn, rather than standing still—but I think it works even better.

He is practically glowing against those cool blue bokeh lights hanging in the plane trees and the warm blur of the shops behind him. In the end, I am just happy I walked down to Las Ramblas. You could really feel the good mood everyone was sharing as the year comes to a close. It’s a great atmosphere down here right now. All the best to everyone!

L'Auca del Senyor Esteve, Tile Work at Carrer Petritxol, Barcelona

This tile work depicts L'Auca del Senyor Esteve based upon a novel by Santiago Rusiñol i Prats (1861-1931) published in 1907 and set on stage in 1917.

27 drawings by Ramon Casas and 27 rodolins or verses by Gabriel Alomar illustrate the original story narrated by Rusiñol which is about a young heir called Ramonet, a modernist artist born in a traditional petite bourgeois family of La Ribera quarter in Barcelona.

The father, Mr. Esteve was the founder of a small shop called La Puntual in 1830 and his common sense, his pragmatism, his perseverance directly opposes the new ideas, the fresh artistic air of his son. A conflict between the artist that exists thanks to his father's money and strivings or in other words, the historic role of traditional Catalan bourgeoisie as the springboard for new artists of modernisme.

But what is an auca anyway? An auca is a story told by a set of images in one single sheet of paper in numbers evenly divided by 4, generally 24 or 48, and some short text under each illustration (xylography, lithography and later photoengraving techniques were used). It might recall comics in a way but much more rigid in structure. Images are conditioned by the metrics or the rhyme of the text always below and out of the illustration.

Auca is an old variant of oca, meaning goose, an animal quite frequent in this sort of artwork. Everything started with cards depicting animals and natural elements, like the Sun and the Moon that were used to play the game by the same name or for divination in many cases for money. Once this activity was forbidden the animation developed into art. The text also evolved into two-line rhymed rodolins in XIX.

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.