In 2008 I worked in Gibraltar for 6 months which at times seemed like a year or two. 1976 miles from home is a long way away when you’ve only been married for a year. It was also a stressful time because of ongoing tumult in the management of the project I was working on. But that’s project life. I was treated very well by my employers who accommodated me in a nice area in a fairly average but expensive flat, near Safeway (as it was in 2007). All accommodation is expensive in Gibraltar.
Simon, a friend on the project, as well as introducing me to the music of Bonobo, told me about the town of Ronda which he said was worth visiting. It wasn’t that far over the border from Gibraltar. It was in the hills said Simon. Ronda would be a magical place to go for a Christmas weekend when my wife would be visiting.
I hired a car for the first time in La Linea del Conçepcion and it went fairly smoothly for a newbie! We finally arrived in pretty Ronda, and went to the Tourist Information office to find accommodation.
After some discussion and a recommendation – fortunately in English – we decided on a small town hotel called Enfrente Arte (Opposite Art) and were booked in.
The hotel lay down a pleasant suburban street, a medium walk away from the town centre.
The cost of the bar was included in the price and you served yourself, very pleasant! There was lots of quirky art in the place including 2 halves of different cars you could sit in and treat like a booth. Breakfast would be continental buffet style of course, and turned out to be very generously sized. Our bedroom looked out onto the countryside and in the morning a young horse was being exercised in view of the hotel garden.
One of the first bullfighters who had achieved countrywide fame was Pedro Romero and he was born in Ronda.
Having enjoyed the town so much on my first visit we returned in 2010 to Enfrente Arte for the Feria de Pedro Romero.
The Feria Goyesca is a high class event of bullfighting and general enjoyment of equestrianism. A huge parade trails through the entire town to a huge fairground. Feeling inappropriately young and feisty, we kept up with the head of the procession, from one end of the town to the other. We enjoyed the horses which were sleek and athletic on Saturday. Many landaus contained beautifully and colourfully dressed Spanish girls and women.
When I got back home I wrote this poem, “Sol y Sombra” (“Sun and Shade”) inspired by my experience of the Feria.
Sol y Sombra
I admire the scraped nape and Vaseline smooth
Shining hair on Señoritas dressed for toros
Young girls bright as jewels
incandesce on flamenco dress
Gorgeous enough to catch the eye of any matador
Though he yearns only for enough time to kiss a crucifix
I saw them chariot-in Fran Rivera and Cayetano
and listened for the chilling call of bugles
as I sat in the dusted stone circle
(where eyes must compute sol y sombra
to witness an officer be proud to cry out loudly
"a man is risking his life here today!"
I love the old roués, assassins in the crowd
sitting meekly with wives and children
crossing themselves while they pray for the life of the dark dandy
bloody but unbowed in a golden suit of lights
orchestrating la muerta just for them
If you enjoyed this, have a look at my poem En Ronda
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