Proctor en Segovia: To the Capital and Back!

4/25/2014


If you look from Segovia toward the Guadarrama mountains any Segovian will tell you to look for the Mujer Muerta (the dead woman), still snow covered at this time of year. (Photo credit: Patrick Bauer-Blank)


One legend about the Mujer Muerta says that two brothers, following the death of their father, leader of the local tribe, planned to fight to determine who would become the new leader. Their mother could not bear to see her sons battle against each other, and offered her life to the gods in exchange for peace between them. The gods accepted, the mother became this mountain, and her sons, upon recognizing her in stone, immediately stopped their fighting. (Photo credit: Patrick Bauer-Blank)

Patrick's image of the Mujer Muerta taken from the Palacio Real de Riofrío.

Another image from our photography trip to Riofrío (Photo credit: Patrick Bauer-Blank)

Photo credit: Patrick Bauer-Blank

Photo credit: Liam McNiff

Our photography group also observed the celebration of Día Internacional del Pueblo Gitano (International Day of the Gypsy People). (Photo credit: Liam McNiff)

Segovia's Roma population came together to listen to traditional music, dance, and talk about the struggles of their people, and the progress they have made in Spain over the past decades. (Photo credit: Patrick Bauer-Blank)

Segovia's new mayor (the first female mayor of Segovia) gave a powerful speech about the way that Roma culture enriches Spanish culture and committed to continued work with the Roma to improve their access to education, healthcare and jobs. Then everyone threw flowers into the Eresma river, the river symbolizing the fluidity of the Roma people as they have migrated throughout Europe and the world. (Photo credit: Patrick Bauer-Blank)

On Saturday the group was off to Madrid!

On Saturday the group traveled to the city of Madrid to have lunch with María José, our Intermediate Spanish teacher, and explore the Puerta del Sol and the Plaza Mayor. On the metro we held tight to our bags to prevent pick-pocketing, a common mishap in Madrid. Once we arrived at the Puerta del Sol we were bombarded with throngs of crowds bumping around and wandering the plaza and the surrounding area. Our Spanish class was tasked with a scavenger hunt that was nearly impossible because of the mass of people. After the scavenger hunt we still had thirty minutes before meeting for dinner so we went to a cafe up the street to kill time and quench our growing thirst that came along with the beating sun that shined on the plaza. Getting up the street was an event in and of itself. We were like salmon being pushed through a ladder in a dam. Crowds pushed us forward and it became too difficult to maintain our group along with the constant interruptions from street vendors who heard us speaking English and assumed we were rich tourists. We spent 11 euros on four cokes and quickly hustled out to make it to the plaza in time for dinner. As we made our way to the Plaza Mayor we encountered countless street performers including a guy completely covered in mud who appeared to be doing a one handed handstand off a motorbike. I admired his dedication in the city heat. The sun started to set and pink and blue clouds led the way to the plaza. We finished our night with a group dinner on a terrace, not complete without offers from three street vendors, a guy playing French love songs on an accordion, and a man on a completely illuminated bicycle. ¡Viva España!

~ Faith Kenyon