Spanish views from a small town

A statue of the Apostle James has been removed from a prominent spot in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, dedicated to him. It has been deemed inapporpriate, because it represented the Apostle upon a white, rearing horse, with a sword in his hand, trampling on the infidels. It's a popular description from the Middle Ages and the Reconquest, when the Apostle apparently appeared in front of a Christian army just before the battle of Clavijo, which they went on to win. The legend was actually created years later, but was used to help make Santiago the patron saint of Spain, against the candidacy of Teresa of Avila. "Santiago y cierra España!" was a popular battle cry in the wars between Moors and Christians, and was picked up by nationalist groups in the nineteenth century. So, because the iconography can offend Muslims (the infidels under the horse's hooves), it shouldn't be prominantly displayed.  I can understand. But, that doesn't change history. That ...

It's another grey morning. The clouds are supposed to part this afternoon, and the skies are supposed to improve this week, though temperatures are not expected to exceed a maximum of 26ºC/78ºF on any day. And the regional forecast page, Meteogalica, predicts an increase in the chance of rain by next weekend, and the lowering of temperatures. Again. At this rate, we'll get our summer in October. Today is the patron saint of Spain, and the day we celebrate our region. It's the day of the apostle Saint James the Great, supposedly buried at the cathedral in Santiago. He has various names in Spanish, from Jaime to Diego to Jacobo to Xácome to Jaume to Iago. And all those versions come from the original Ya'akov, latinized to Iacobus.  He became the patron saint of the unifying "Spanish" armies (Spain as a country did not exist at this time, merely small kingdoms, such as Asturias, or León.) during the Reconquest, when, at the Battle of Clavijo, he appeared to the A...

This morning I went to Santiago on a couple of errands. Since I had the entire morning free, I wandered around a bit through the old town. I haven't been along those streets in a very long time, since before the pandemic struck. Some things have changed, like one of my favorite bakeries that made heavenly sandwiches, which is closed. Whether or not they return, I don't know. The building is being reformed, and looking in through the door, I could see tiles lined up on the floor, where the counter and cases had been, though the shelves were still there. Many other stores were shuttered. But most of them had merchandise in the window fronts, making me wonder if they would open in the afternoon, or if they simply hated Mondays. Or, if they were waiting for the crowds to return. Because there were no crowds. There were some tourists, sticking out from the locals. Some tourist guides were leading their groups near the seminary, and in the Praza do Obradoiro in front of the main entr...

Yesterday I went to Santiago to bring down my daughter and the last of her things from her rented apartment. This has not been a good year for her, ending with the lockdown of a couple of months. At least the roommate she was with was a nice person; they were comfortable in their companionship, and they weren't at each other's throats. After bringing everything downstairs and filling the car well, we drove into the center of town, where I parked in a parking garage, and she went on to do business with the real estate office and the internet provider. I went walking down to one of my favorite book stores. Follas Novas in Santiago is a pretty big bookstore, though not on a Barnes and Noble level. They do tend to have hard to find books, and if not on the shelves, you can order them. The reason for this is that they tend to cater to the university crowd. They also have a nifty little English language section that I like to peruse every now and then, both for books to use in my...

Yesterday, I had a doctor's appointment to check my moles (the curse of having very light skin). When I emerged after making sure everything is fine and dandy, it was early, I had no need to rush home to make lunch, so I decided to go walking in Santiago.  When I got out of the car park in the Praza de Galicia, it seemed a nice, warm late-August day. The sun was shining in its August way, and the sky was a good deep blue. I decided to wander inside the cathedral, which I haven't visited in at least two years.  As I got closer, the tourists started to close in upon the narrow streets. On my approach, I saw at least three guided tours, each shepherd leading a large pack, all looking up in unison when the shepherd pointed, and paying close attention to the words. When I entered the Praza de Praterías from the Quintana, I saw that the area was overflowing. No, not the area, just the people that were lining up at the entrance to the cathedral. The crowds spilled down the steps ...

Today is the celebration of St. James the Greater, apostle and brother to St. John the Evangelist; patron saint of Spain and the reason for the existence of the city of Santiago de Compostela. We take saints seriously here. It's a holiday in the region of Galicia and our "national" holiday in which we celebrate our region and its history and culture. (Every region has its "national" holiday, generally on the day of a saint special to the region.) Unfortunately for the general public, this year it falls on a Saturday so those who don't work on Saturday have no extra day off this summer.  St. James is attributed with having preached the gospel in Spain and northern Portugal. While he was in Caesaraugusta (Zaragoza) the Virgin Mary apparently appeared to him upon a pillar and told him to go back to Judea. He did and was subsequently martyred. With one stone we have the birth of two legends. One is of the Virgin of the Pillar ( Virgen del Pilar ), venerated i...