Discovering Spain
Art major visits famous works and learns about the Spanish
culture and herself in the process

It has been amazing to be able to come here and visit some of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. Only in Barcelona is one able to find the works of Gaudi, a famous architect in Spain. Some of his works include Parc Guell, a public park; Casa Batlo, an amazing house that seems to have come out from a fairy tale; La Pedrera, a building made of white stone that defies the laws of gravity; and La Sagrada Familia, a church which Gaudi spent his last years working on.

I have also been able to visit Madrid for the weekend through the CEA program in Spain. This trip was truly unbelievable since I was able to visit two of the most important museums in Europe: the El Prado Museum and the Reina Sofia Museum. I recognized many paintings found in these museums since I took an art history class at PC with Dr. Crary before coming here. The most memorable works I saw were "The Garden of Earthly Delights," a huge tryptic by Bosch, "Las Meninas" by Velazquez, and "The Guernica" by Picasso.

"The Guernica" is considered in Spain as one of the most important works of Picasso. It is a huge mural that was commissioned to Picasso by the government during the Spanish civil war. After the bombing in Guernica, a city in the north of Spain, every newspaper in Spain published pictures of the tragedy for weeks. It was the first time in Spain's history that civilians died in a war. Picasso felt deeply inspired by this event and decided to do this mural to portray the violence and pains of war.

Barcelona is part of the region of Catalunya, one of the richest regions in Spain. The people that have lived here all of their lives are very proud of their "Catalan" identities and whenever they get a chance they speak the "Catalan" language, a mixture of French, Italian and Spanish, although they all speak Spanish too. It is important to know that the "Catalan" language was forbidden for a long time in Spain. After the Spanish civil war, a dictator named Francisco Franco ruled Spain for 40 years (1939-1949). He killed many intellectuals and artists and prohibited any language that was not Spanish and established an atmosphere of repression and conservatism in Spain.

Franco's rule has deeply impacted Spain's history and culture. During this time, all the newspapers, magazines, and other media propaganda were examined under a strict censorship that limited the ability of people to express themselves freely. Many famous Spanish artists such as Miro, Dali and Picasso opposed Franco's rule, and some of them had to actually leave Spain to avoid being killed by his troops. Although Franco's dictatorship happened more than 30 years ago, people in Spain still talk about it today.

Barcelona is a very touristy place, but it has not always been this way. In 1992, with the Olympic Games, the city had to be rearranged and they had to increase their safety measures in order to receive the tourists. It is from this transformation that Barcelona has become increasingly popular among the other cities in Europe.

I have only been in Barcelona three months and I still feel I have much yet to learn from it. There seems to always be something new to discover-- perhaps another amazing church, or a "modernista" building ("modernism" is an artistic movement that dominated Catalunya during the end of the 20th century). It has been an amazing experience that has helped me learn more about the greatest artists in history, to understand Spain's culture, and most importantly it has helped me grow as a person. I am very grateful for this experience, and I am very glad I decided to come to Spain.

Andrea Riveros

posted by Stacy Dyer '96

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