Monasterio de Sta Maria de las Cuevas.
Monastery of Santa Maria of the Caves
CAAC ( Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporaneo )
Andalous Center for Contemporary Art.
The Spanish overflow of baroque art dries up over here, in a few chapels, nicely and rather plainly decorated, and gives modernity vast white empty walls, vast glaring courtyard, as empty, as walls, and surprising barren gardens, north side of the building.
1- You will admire, a few yards from the entry, THE tree, planted by Hernando, son of Columbus, a few steps away from the white statue of his father, face closed, tree of the plant family of the bread fruit tree, coming from the East, later quite scattered, widespread through Brazil - so much to take place of local species - in order to easily feed with its abundant fruits black slaves.
This tree, planted about the beginning of the 16th Century, in front of the monastery where Columbus retired to preparing his 2nd expedition, is a
unique MONUMENT ( in latin: "monumentum" is some construction or work made to remember) spreading its huge boughs like a heavy basket gown falling to the ground. This extraordinary tree, the fruit of which tastes between mango and orange, the long clusters of flowers of which bring through the air a very heady perfume, but this tree, also, swollen with burrs, old hard sore cancers, sort of horrible buboes, this tree of which I admire the monstrous splendor, the secular beauty, I must weigh out its good refreshing shadow from the deep dark shadow of men history around it. The son of that very intelligent loon, Christopher Columbus, who reduced the world with his little prejudices and common sense, tortured and consciously slaughtered natives he met, because they didn't fit with his obtuse ways of conceiving Christianity, the son, deserving inheritor of his father, inaugurated modern human trafficking, and "thanks" to slavery renewed, could exploit new lands his father had annexed.
I admire and appreciate the good shadow of the tree, but I feel I can see blood obnoxiously oozing from the memory deep rooted in that place.
2 - farther, the Art Center. austere and hardly used. Exhibitions full of empty, on the fringe of what contemporary art could find and show up. Many words, too full boards of explanations for too empty works and numerous nothings. I'm afraid they failed in being another Tate, or Beaubourg. They still can "rerun".... the place has many opportunities.
3- Now, you cross the first courtyard. on the left, the back entry, with a very beautiful chapel opening here, in the passage. Nice ancient altarpiece; and if you can find it opened, just on the left, a little room, with a modern "retable" made of invented "exvotos". Admirable technique, fantasy, invention have met on that beautifully colored masterpiece.
4- Then, you come back in the court yard and go left to the café-bar and terrace you will find behind . BUT if you are not too tired and thirsty, if you like DESERT, go on farther to the gardens that extend beyond.
An ensemble of ancient orchards for olive trees, vines, peach trees and others, that you cross on concrete straight paths, turning by obtuses angles, edged by little irrigation channels, and lines of great cypress. Left to themselves - what's not nothing! - they are undeniably noble. Here and there you will find sorts of "fabriques", little pavillons, or little raised terraces. The most interesting is a sort of tower. opened on 4 sides, by large arcades, with one floor, and hanging from the inner balcony of the mezzanine, a double bead curtain, 10 meters high, that gives you an invaluable impression. You easily enter through those strings of dark violet beads. When "in", you easily can see outside through the curtains. But that gives you the exact feeling of what are "inside" and "outside", feeling and concept, in the same time....
Now you can go backward to the bar and have a drink you have deserved!
Good day...