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Art creates curious travel companions. The Sierra del Rincónin the Community of Madrid, leave a fantastic example. There, in the middle of La Puebla Valley, there is a town of just A hundred neighborsstone houses and narrow alleyways, which has won the nickname “The Madrid Osaka”. And in a more than justified way. Its surroundings does not resemble that of the bustling port metropolis of Japan, but Valle de la Puebla It is twin With her and has become one of her ambassadors in Europe.
And all for art.
The Madrid Osaka? That’s how it is. If you are looking for In Google either In networks You will find a handful of publications headed with those two words, “OSAKA MADRILEÑO”. Who does not know what is behind will probably imagine a neighborhood of the Spanish capital full of cherry trees, neons, Japanese architecture, skyscrapers and a large community of Japanese. A kind of ‘Little Japan’ in full Iberian Peninsula.
Reality has nothing to do with that. The nickname of ‘Osaka Madrid’ has earned it (already pulse) a small village of the Sierra del Rincón located about one hundred kilometers from the Puerta del Sol de Madrid. His name: Puebla de la Sierra. And although in these cases that kind of nicknames are usually forced, in this the title fits wonderfully.
With 93 neighbors, but international. That the ‘title’ has fallen precisely in Puebla de la Sierra is striking for several reasons that are summarized in a simple way: the small Madrid villa and the bustling Japanese metropolis cannot be more different. Puebla de la Sierra has 93 neighbors. In Osaka live more than 2.7 million of people, fact that we shoot if we take into account their metropolitan area.
Its population densities per square kilometer have absolutely nothing to do (in Puebla it is from only 1.44) and while the Madrid town is in the middle of the Sierra, hundreds of kilometers from the closest coast, Osaka is A port city endowed with one of the most important terminals in Japan, epicenter of an intense flow of merchant ships. The architecture of both enclaves, the environment and their leisure offer and gastronomy are also quite different.
And despite that … In spite of all the above Puebla de la Sierra presume of being twin with Osaka and hosting a Japanese museum “Pioneer in Spain”with a large collection of contemporary Japanese paint. In addition the village maintains a link With Reijinsha, an artistic entity based in Osaka created more than 30 years ago and has between Its objectives “Serve as a bridge between society and art.”
As if that were not enough, the Puebla Museum includes an interesting collection of contemporary Spanish painters and the twentieth century, including pieces of stream, Tàpies, Feito, Picasso, Barceló or Antonio López. From the Commonwealth Sierra del Rincón Remember In addition they have preparatory drawings and sketches Alejo Veragreat representative of naturalism, romanticism and historical painting.
Why’s that? For art. Puebla del Valle may not have many neighbors, but has managed to carve a name in the artistic circuits thanks to a large extent to one of its star initiatives: the ‘Valley of Dreams’an outdoor museum formed by dozens and dozens of sculptures. The pieces are distributed over a kilometer and a half and include contributions from Federico Erguía, Lucía Loren, Karfer, Antonio Garza and Joaquín Manzano, among others.
The itinerary was created in 2005at the initiative of the artist Federico Erguíaand over time it has been thickening its outdoor collection until it overcome the long hundred pieces. That, among other things, leads to his City Council to show off Another title: be “the town with more works of art per inhabitant”. Whether or not, the undeniable thing is that the “Valley of Dreams” has aroused interest far beyond the municipality thanks to iconic sculptures, such as ‘Minotauro’, by Jorge Egea, or ‘Meira’s giant chair’piece of more than five meters from Xulio Lago and Roberto Brañas.
A name and a bridge. In the cultural explosion of the town there is a code name, the Eguíapoet, sculptor, painter, illustrator and promoter of exhibitions that has exhibited his work (individually or in collective samples) in other parts of Spain, Europe, America and Asia, including Japan. The artist also has its roots in Puebla. There he promoted the “Valley of Dreams” in a town that ended up endowing in addition to a Japanese museum hand in hand also of eguía.
In their rooms they are exhibited dozens of works donated by the Japanese artistic entity, although the town hall of the town ensures on its website that the collection will soon expand. Who wants to want more art and culture can also enjoy the works of Spanish artists from the twentieth and twenty -first centuries or even, leaving the museum, of the museum, People’s heritagewhich includes buildings between the XVI and XVII with an important historical interest.
Among those who come to enjoy the area also include Japanese groups. And all by the work of art.
Images | Tuscasasrralos (Flickr) 1 and 2, Nomadic Julien (UNSPLASH) and Puebla de la Sierra City Council
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