When God has left the building...

30 May 2011"Hola! Puedes ayudar?" I am back in Spain, that much is certain. I passed the blue 'España' sign with the EU stars on it a few days ago, but here on the deserted country roads of Extremadura I hear someone call out from the fields and I suddenly realize I understand him. Something that didn't happen all too often when I was walking in Portugal. But what can I do to help?
 
Deciphering what the man on the other side of the fence wanted proved harder. He had the strong southern 'swallow all consonants' accent I had been warned about when I was still in the north. But pointing fiercely with his cane further up the road I discovered the sheep that had apparentely somewhow escaped the barbed wiring. It appeared I was about to become a shepherd, the one to return the lost ones to the flock. Everyday is full of surprises!
 
I didn't have to do much more than chase them up the road for a mile and after that prevent them from turning round. The farmer would take care of the rest with his cane and car, a most unlikely yet very efficient combination. I managed to film him doing it so I'll let the images tell what proceeded:
 

 
Sheep are well known for their stubborn stupidity and legendary lack of self direction. Sometimes though, these two traits conflict and apparently, stupidity wins. At least, this little lambs' instinct lets it follow the wrong mother. In this case, the farmer:
 

 
It has been suggested that even God has forgotten about Extremadura. This may be the case, but in a way that also insures the charm of this poor region. You don't have to search for long to discover images and practices that have elsewhere long disappeared.
 
The following clip shows a knife grinder of the kind that you scarcely see anymore in the north of Europe. His bike has been turned into the propulsion of the grinder so he walks from door to door. At the beginning of the following clip you can hear him blow his mouth organ to attract attention. It doesn't give him the pull of the ice cream man and his bell, but it does add to the romanticism and sometimes, it works:
 

 
I arrive in Alburquerque at the start of the four day 'feria', the traditional spring festival in May. Most Spanish towns host a number of celebrations during the summer season. That is nice for the tourists, but most have a history that goes back a lot further than cheap flights and holiday resorts. The Spanish just love to eat, drink and socialize. Now what was it again that made me feel right at home here?
 
The following is an impression of the festivities during the day; the cattle market and a rider 'dancing' flamenco with his horse:
 

 
In the evening there was more music of course. From traditional orchestral music to more popular Spanish music, but most of all flamenco. This next clip was actually recorded a few days later when I was visiting Sevilla with a Dutch friend. We stumbled on a small neighbourhood festival with live music and this was one of the singers performing:



Since I met some documentary film students in Abrantes, Portugal, I decided to should some video next to my pictures. It takes a lot of time to edit so I will not always be able to do this. I hope you enjoy watching them as I had filming and editing them, though.

Let me know what you think! Does video add value to my writing and pictures?

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