Photos by John V.
Kampen (originally from Holland, now living in Spain
with his Bavarian wife, Gaby)
About the photographer and
this region of Spain:
"We live in a hamlet (300 families) called
Bacor-Olivar and hardly have electricity and Internet.
Until the year 2000 this hamlet was virtually unknown
to exist. Neighbours went on horseback to the nearest
village, Freila, to buy food if necessary... When
the Pantano del Negratin, today one of the largest
fresh water reservoirs of Europe (16 x 1 mile) was
finished, this region opened up for visitors and
... us!
Regarding my snapshots
from our region in Andalucia it will most likely
be clear to you, that they represent a "different"
Spain. Apart from the obvious details from our fairly
unknown region there are other important facts.
Although Spain is said to be 90% Roman Catholic,
recent statistics show that visiting a RC Church
is something only 30% of its population does regularly.
My estimate however is, stemming from my observations,
that 90% maintains the Catholic traditions, such
as processions. The colourful "Moros y Cristianos
Fiestas" in Spain are an example of such traditions,
reminiscent of the time of the Reconquista.
Since there are
only 37 million Spanish people (number rapidly decreasing)
a lot of work is done by foreigners from Africa
or people from Columbia and Equador, mostly inofficially
working on the fields. I guess this group makes
up some 5-7% of the population.
The role of woman
and role of the family is usually judged to be "old
fashioned" for Spain by people from "the
North". Families (nearly clans) still cling
together, but their numbers are dwindling now.
Photo descriptions:
-Various pictures
from our surrounding: the North-Eastern Andalucian
Desert next to the so-called Altiplano de Baza.
-the
rather hidden Facultad de Estudies Andalusies, where
we studied Arabic language and Islamic sciences
(cultural history Al Andaluz). It is situated in
the mountains near Puebla de Don Fadrique.
-the only small group
of sequoia trees in existence in Europe between
Huescar and Don Fadrique. Hardly anybody know their
position! Better so..
-Tturkish bath!
-my youngest son Daniel
while preparing "salchisas" after a matanza,
During December traditions require to butcher your
pigs (in the open air, factually prohibited, but
who cares as so many in smaller villages still do
that) and prepare all kind of sausages and ham for
the rest of the coming year. Next to the fact that
most have their "campo" with small shed
or "casita" and grow vegetables, olives
and fruits. So one is largerly self-sufficient,
particularly with fresh water streams from the Sierra
Nevada and Sra. de Baza all year. It is for me as
a psychologist interesting to see how these families
hold together and succeed infending off civilization!"
Read more about Andalucia
