Still Discovering Spain...

There is a rather unusual museum on the Canarian island of Lanzarote. But visitors wanting to see the collection of sculptures created by British artist Jason deCaires Taylor will first have to put on a wetsuit and then dive 14 meters down to the seabed of Coloradas Bay, just off the coast of the town of Yaiza, in the southwest of the island.

Jason deCaires Taylor says his sculptures are a way to bring people into contact with the sea, as well as to make them more aware of the dangers our oceans face. At the same time as the figures tell a story, they help to protect the seabed. He also points out that the materials he has used are not harmful to their environment and he wants to help coral and other species to grow, which can help repopulate the marine biomass.

This isn’t Taylor’s first sub-aquatic venture. Around 500 of his pieces are already lying offshore in the warm waters off the coast of Cancún, on Mexico’s Caribbean coast.

When the local authorities in Lanzarote heard about Taylor’s work, they invited him to take part in the island’s biennial arts festival.
“As we knew it wasn’t impossible, we did it,” says José Juan Lorenzo, head of Lanzarote’s arts, culture and tourism department, which is responsible for running the museum.

“Taylor is a pioneer, an innovator,” says Lorenzo, highlighting Lanzarote’s long-standing support for the arts, best known via the work of local artist Cesar Manrique. “Lanzarote, thanks to the work of Cesar Manrique, has a long tradition of land art. The seabed here is as beautiful as the land, and so an initiative that highlights its importance, its fragility, its beauty, seemed perfect to us.”

Along with his family, Taylor has spent the last two years on Lanzarote preparing the seabed for the installation. While waiting for the paperwork, he has created images in his workshop there such as The Lampedusa Raft, a homage to refugees who flee their countries by sea.

During the 1800s the fraternal order of Freemasons had lodges in practically every European-cultured country. Spain was no different, though the traces of the Freemasons are mostly hidden now—apart from this once-secret library.

Barcelona, much like London, Paris or Washington D.C., has an extraordinary artistic and architectural heritage based in Freemasonry. Masonic symbols like pyramids and the all-seeing eye can be found in cemeteries, libraries, sculptures, even government buildings. Passeig Sant Joan is devoted to Saint John, the chosen patron of Christian Freemasons. Ildefons Cerda, the urban planner who designed Barcelona’s layout, was a member and imagined a utopian city based on Masonic principles. At the turn of the century, there were nearly 170 Freemason lodges in Spain alone.

Rossend Arús was an influential journalist and playwright of the 1800s who used his Freemason associations for Republican political favour. Along with his fellow Masons, Arús had control of the city from behind the scenes. He began to host meetings in his home in 1888, and it soon became an official Masonic Temple. After his death in 1891, the house was turned into a library dedicated to Freemasonry. 

During Franco’s regime, almost every Freemason building was torn down and the Masons were prohibited from meeting. Like many fascist leaders, Franco feared uprising from independent organizations, as well as having misplaced antisemitic beliefs about the Freemasons’ purposes. Some in power sympathized with the Freemasons though, and the Rossend Arús library was shut down and hidden from view during the Franco years. After the dictator’s death and the end of his regime, Freemasonry slowly but surely crept its way back into Spain. 

After timidly growing less and less private and secretive, the Freemasons of Barcelona have opened Biblioteca Publica Rossend Arús to the public in Passeig Sant Joan. The luxurious reading rooms, golden frames, and precious marble of the 19th century still impress visitors. The collection includes important Masonic texts, as well as anarchist collections and rare magazines and literature. The third original version of the Statue of Liberty also resides in the main entrance. Today, the Rossend Arús is the best library for studying the working class history and Freemasonry in Catalonia. 

Chulilla is hidden at the foot of its Arab castle in a spot difficult to imagine: a lake surrounded by lofty limestone walls where the Turia River becomes a mirror. The raging river that once swallowed up loggers has now been tamed.

Chulilla is a picturesque village made up of white houses huddled on the slopes of Cerro del Castillo, next to the natural moat formed by the Turia River which flows through the canyon formed by 160 meter high limestone walls. This canyon is currently one of Spain's rock climbing sanctuaries, with more than 500 routes. Here, at the foot of the rock walls, just a 30-minute walk from the village, we come across Charco Azul (Blue Pool), a haven of calm waters that mirrors the beauty of this vertical, solid rock landscape.

Charco Azul is an ideal place to have a refreshing swim in Summer and remember bygone days when the river flowed freely and unrestrained and logs cut in the mountains were floated downriver to the city of Valencia. Upon reaching this narrow canyon, where the lofty walls nearly touch each other, the logs became jammed and many loggers lost their lives trying to free them, and it is for this reason a chapel was built nearby.

The Charco Azul route is one of the nine self-guided routes that cross Chulilla's landscape. It starts and ends at Baronia square, the village's main square, and is well marked and very easy to follow and is even great for children.

Another route worth taking is the Pantaneros route, which follows the journey taken by the labourers who in the 1950s worked on the construction of the Loriguilla reservoir to travel from the village of Chulilla. It is a 5-kilometer walk (one-way) along the edge of the Turia River's canyon walls and has the added thrill of crossing the canyon on hanging bridges. To regain your strength after the long walk, there is nothing better than an 'olla churra', a stew based on white beans, cardoons, potatoes, pork, and cold meats, typical of this Valencian region of Los Serranos (also known as La Serranía or Alto Turia).

Olla churra and other stews, such as olla de berzas (cabbage stew) or rice with wild boar, are served at the restaurant hostal El Pozo in Chulilla. Another interesting option, of more modern cuisine, is the Restaurant Las Bodegas, which also has a bar that serves tapas and lunches accompanied by wines under the Valencia and Utiel-Requena designations of origin. So if you happen to pass through Valencia take a moment to visit Chulilla and its wonderful Charco Azul.