Sabbatical Project Report

Spring 2010

Manuel Camacho

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My sabbatical project gave me the opportunity to visit Spain for five months and

experience the culture first hand. Spain is a culturally and linguistically diverse country.

It is divided into various regions, each of which has its own language (not Spanish

dialects) in addition to Spanish. The purpose of my sabbatical was to visit each of the

regions to learn more about their languages and culture. That has allowed me to grow

professionally. Now I am ready to share my experience with my colleagues, and present

a much richer view of the Spanish language and culture to my students.

In addition to Mad1id, my family and I visited four regions, each with its own

official language: Castilian, Catalan, Basque, and Galician. I traveled to each of the four

regions to learn about its language and culture. I was able to explore and recognize the

differences and variations of the Spanish dialects in each of the regions, and compare

them to my own Spanish dialect. It is important to let students know that dialects are

variations of the same language, and that no one particular brand of Spanish can lay claim

to being "the most correct."

In January we started our journey in the region of Andalusia in the south. We

spent four weeks in the city of Granada, the last stronghold of the Moors. During our

stay in Granada, we also took side trips to Seville, Cordova, Baeza, Ubeda, and the

Alpujarras.

Granada boasts a most impressive fortress constructed by the Moors in the middle

of the l 41h century: The Alhambra. After the reconquest of the Spanish peninsula by the

Catholic Monarchs in 1492, The Palace of Charles V was built in 1527 within the walls

of the fortress. Another architectural jewel in Granada is its Gothic style cathedral where

the Catholic Monarchs are buried. We rented a house on a hill in the neighborhood of the

Albaicin (the old Arab quarters), right across from The Alhambra. Eve1y morning I went

out to get breakfast at one of the many cares. Spaniards don't eat heavily in the morning.

Breakfast consists of a cup of coffee or orange juice with some kind of pastry. Spanish

coffee is served in a small cup with a shot of espresso and filled up with hot milk. It is

delicious. Along with coffee, I would have what became my favorite: toasted sourdough

bread with honey and olive oil. • < ,',

Walking through and up and down the narrow streets ofGranada,lone fanhofhelp l •

but discover small plazas with a church, a cafe, a restaurant, a bar with tables ~utsid~ an.tl ~ , I

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The Alhambra on the background. At one of these plazas I would stop for lunch to enjoy

some sangria, a beer, or a glass of wine. It is customary to serve a tapa (small snack)

with a drink. My favorite became the boquerones fi-itos (fried small white fish). Though

tapas are served with a drink, not every bar or restaurant serves tapas. People have to

buy tapas, full or half raciones (bigger portions than tapas). Many people prefer to hop

from bar to bar and share tapas or raciones rather than eat a whole meal in one sitting.

Lunch in Spain is the biggest meal of the day. It starts at I :00 pm and ends at 3 :00 pm.

Most restaurants have what is called the memi de/ dfa (menu of the day) priced at

anywhere from 8 euros to 50 euros (at the time of our visit, the exchange rate was about

$1. 50 per euro) or even more, depending on the restaurant. The memi de/ dfa always

comes with a first and second course plus dessert, including a bottle of wine and water.

A typical memi de/ dia consists of soup or salad as the first course, and pork, beef, or

chicken as the second course, served with potatoes, usually french fries. At times

ordering a la carte is a better option, but it can be a very expensive treat.

Businesses close for lunch and reopen their doors at 5 :00 in the afternoon to close

again between 8:00 and 9:00 in the evening. Bars and restaurants, however, remain open

late into the night.

TI1e two most visible minority ethnic groups in Granada are the Africans and the

gypsies. The Africans, mostly men, seem to fill the role played by Mexican immigrants

in the U.S. They cross into Spain illegally from northern Africa looking for work. Many

are ambulatmy vendors, selling pirated CD's from table to table at the street cafcs. We

were curious to know whether they are the field hands when it's time to pick the oli"ves

(Andalusia is carpeted with olive groves). Later conversations with Spaniards confirmed

that they often are.

The gypsies, on the other hand, seemed to fill the role played by the indigenous

people in Mexico - the so-called "Marias" that loiter around tourist areas asking for

handouts. They even look similar, in tenns of facial features and dress. TI1ey have the

same tricks. They approach a tourist with a flower or branch ofrosemary, saying, "a gift

for you." If you are foolish enough to take it, they harass you until you give them some

money. Even if you don't take the "gift," they are very aggressive about hying to give it

to you.

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During our stay in Granada we met a Dutch family that has been living in Spain

for many years. They have two lovely daughters, Ana and Antonia, who are

homeschooled and speak three languages: Spanish, English, and Dutch. The mother,

Cecilia, stays at home with the girls. The father, Bomi, works as a carpenter, mostly

from home. They own a humble but lovely house near a village called Niglielas, twenty

miles away from Granada. This family gave us a ttue insight as to how they view

Spanish people. Being Dutch, they felt that the Spanish don't know how to do business.

TI1ey also told us that in Spain homeschooling is prohibited. At one point they had to flee

to Portugal to avoid being a11'ested. Spanish authorities had threatened them with taking

their girls away. But they weren't afraid, they jokingly told us: "If the Spanish

authorities threaten to come, make sure you are not home between 9:00 in the morning

and I :00 in the afternoon. After lunch they never come anyway."

The family manages properties in Nigtielas that belong to foreigners like

themselves who live or vacation in Spain. They took us to see a real cave house where

the temperature is warm during the winter and cool in the summer. We were able to go

inside to see how the cave house is laid out. These cave houses used to belong to poor

gypsies. Nowadays, it is fashionable for rich, retired Europeans to own a cave house in

southern Spain.

An hour away from Granada there is a city called Ronda, to which we traveled to

·visit a privately owned cave where authentic 30,000 year old prehistoric paintings are

shown to the public.

A major religious celebration in Spain happens on January 6'h. It is a carnival

called "La cabalgata" to· commemorate the coming of the three wise men, the equivalent

of Santa Claus. Bands and decorated cars pass through the streets of Granada throwing

candy for the children.

Seville is the artistic and cultural center of southern Spain. Its Gothic style

cathedral was built in the 13tl' century, and it is the 3rd largest church in Europe. It is here

where a mausoleum dedicated to Christopher Columbus is found. The Giralda, originally

a Muslim tower, was converted into a bell tower with ramps rather than stairs to allow

riders on horseback to the top. TI1e Alcazar facing the cathedral was built from the city's

old Moorish palace; constrnction began in 1181 and continued for over 500 years, mainly

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in Mudejar and Renaissance style. Its gardens are a blend of Moorish, Andalusian, and

Christian traditions. Our last night in Seville, we decided to see Bodas de sangre (Blood

Wedding) by Spanish playwright Federico Garcia Lorca. The next day we drove to

Italica, an excavated Roman town just outside of Seville, complete with an amphitheater

we could walk around in.

Cordova is an ancient city built by the Carthaginians, conquered by the Romans,

occupied by the Visigoths, captured by the Moors, and lastly conquered by King

Ferdinand III of Castile in 1236. The most impressive buildings in Cordova are the Great

Mosque, which dates from the JO'h century with a Gothic and Renaissance style church

inserted in the middle of the mosque, and the great Roman bridge across the Guadalquivir

River. During our two day visit to Cordova the Bronson-Sanchezes, a homeschooling

family, invited us to dinner. The Bronson-Sanchez family are minor celebrities in

homeschooling circles and the face of homeschooling in Spain. For three years, this

family went through the Spanish court system all the way up to the Spanish equivalent of

the Supreme Court. Their case, which established the legality of homeschooling in

Spain, received a lot of media attention and support from many organizations and groups

in and outside of Spain. They won their case in 2009 based on a statement contained in

the Spanish Constitution: "Education is the responsibility of the parents." It was

definitively established that homeschooling in Spain is not illegal. However most people

in Spain are still unaware ofhomschooling's new legal status and view homeschooling

with suspicion and disdain, while many local laws prohibiting it remain on the books;

every homeschooling family we met in Spain had a story about having been denounced

by a "friend," neighbor, or relative.

Ubeda and Baeza, two neighbouring cities built on top of a high plateau, are

considered two of the best examples of Renaissance town planning in Spain. We spent a

day in this region with breath taking views. The terrain is carpeted with olive trees as far

as the eye can see.

The Alpujarras is a series of white villages way up high in the mountains. These

villages were first settled by the ancient Ibero-Celtics, the Romans, the Visigoths, the

Moors, and finally, the Christians. Their remote location and vertiginous roads ensured

their traditional way of life until recent times.

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The Andalusia Spanish dialect deletes the consonant "s" in middle and final

position of words. This influence can easily be heard in Caribbean Spanish and in some

Central American countries. I was not ready, however, to hear what I thought was

Chilean Spanish. I would hear people talking whom I thought were Chilean, but they

were actnally Spanish natives from Andalusia.

In Febrnary we settled in Madrid, the capital of Spain. During our stay in Madrid,

we also visited the cities of Salamanca, Segovia, Avila, Toledo, and El Escorial.

Madrid is the largest city in Spain. Its historic center is full of life, day and night.

Among other sights, I visited the Royal Palace, which has the largest collection of suits of

armor in Spain; the Del Prado Museum, which houses the works of the great Spanish

masters like Velasquez, Goya, Murillo, and El Greco; the Reina Sofia Museum of

Contempora1y Ati, whose main attraction is Picasso's masterpiece Guernica; and the

. Thyssen Bornemisza Museum, which is a private museum that has a great collection of

art from the Middle Ages to the 20°• centnry.

We rented an apartment right in the historic center of Madrid, in the neighborhood

of Lavapies, in plaza Tirso de Molina. Many major sites were located within walking

distance from our apa1tment, and the subway station was about one hundred feet from our

apartment. Restaurants, bars, cafes, convenience stores, etc., were all over. Some of the

most popular dishes in Madrid are papas bravas (supposedly spicy potatoes), callas a la

madrilefia (cow's stomach), cocido a la madrileila (beef stew), and what became the

family's, especially the kids, favorite, calamaresfi'itos (fried calamal'i). We tried fried

calamari all over Spain, but no other calamari was as good as in Madrid.

Salamanca was first founded by the Celts and later occupied by Carthagenians,

Romans, Vi~igoths, Moors, and Christians. Known as la ciudad dorada (the golden city),

it boasts spectacular Renaissance and Gothic buildings. A college town, Salamanca is

home to the University of Salamanca, the first university in Spain, built in 1218 by King

Alfonso IX. Christopher Columbus lectured here on his discoveries; Hernan Cortes was

a student, as were Miguel de Cervantes, Ignatius Loyola, and Miguel de Unamuno. The

University presently has approximately 36,000 students, and the support and maintenance

of the student population is one of the most important economic activities in the city.

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Segovia is famous for its impressive Roman aqueduct, its Gothic cathedral, and

the Alcazar of Segovia. Like many ancient cities in Spain, Segovia was founded by the

Celts and later occupied by the Romans, Visigoths, Moors, and Christians. The Roman

aqueduct was built between the first and second century and stretches some 30 miles

from the near mountains into the city. The Cathedral of Segovia is dedicated to the

Virgin Maiy and was built in the 16th centuty. l11e Alcazar of Segovia is a medieval

castle that started construction in 1120. It served as a fo1tress and residence of the

Catholic Monarchs. It was here where Isabella of Castile was crowned queen and it was

the site of her marriage to King Ferdinand of Aragon.

Avila is best known for the medieval city walls that still surround it. They were

constructed in 1090 and include eighty-eight towers and nine gateways. The walls are

accessible to the public; one can walk their perimeter admiring the interior and exterior of

the city. l11e Gothic cathedral is integrated into the city's walled defenses. It was built

between the 12th and 14th centuries, and has the appearance ofa fortress.

Toledo is known as one of the former cultural capitals of the Spanish empire and

a place of peaceful and harmonious coexistence of Christian, Jewish and Muslim

cultures. In the 13th century Toledo was a major cultural center under the guidance of

Alfonso X, called El Sabio ("the Wise") for his love of learning. Vast stores of

knowledge entered Europe through the translation of academic and philosophical works

from Arabic and Hebrew into Latin. The three synagogues in Toledo serve as evidence

of the Sefardic Jews' strong presence in Spanish culture. The Cathedral of Toledo was

built between 1226 and 1493 and is an example of Gothic, Moorish and Baroque

architecture. Many of the works by El Greco are exhibited in this cathedral. Toledo is

also famous for its production of iron and medieval style swords. The city is still a center

for the manufacture of knives, daggers, and other steel implements.

The Motiastety of El Escorial was built between the !6tl1 and 17th centuty by King

Phillipe II to commemorate the 1557 Spanish victory against Hemy II, king of Prance. El

Escorial is also a pantheon, a basilica, a convent, a school, a library, and a royal palace.

It has been the burial site for most of the Spanish kings of the last five centuries,

Bourbons as well as Habsburgs. The monastery functions now as a museum exhibiting

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major works of art by the great masters such Velazquez, El Greco, Titian, Tintoretto and

others.

In Madrid we met another homeschooling family. Kimberly is from Australia and

her partner Juan Carlos is Spanish. They invited us to their 6 year old son Adrian's

bi11hday party. Juan Carlos works as a security guard for the university of Madrid and

Kimberly gives guided tours to high school students, mostly from the US. We visited

them several times during our stay in Madrid and had a wonderful time.

Greetings in Spain require an air kiss on both cheeks between women and

between men and women. Men usually shake hands at first but once friendship between

men is established, they hug.

The national spmt in Spain is soccer. Real Madrid is one of the most famous

soccer teams in the world; considered by many the best soccer club in the world and for

some, the best soccer club in the history of the sport. The Santiago Bernabeu is the

club's home stadium. When there isn't a game at home, the stadium is the most

expensive museum in Spain: 29 euros to see the trophies, a section of the stands, the press

box, seat on the bench where players seat, the locker room, the press conference room

and, finally, the gift shop. Prices to see a Real Madrid game stait at 45 euros and can go

up to thousands of euros, depending on whom they are playing. Tickets for the biggest

game of the season between Real Madrid versus Barcelona started at 475 euros. I did

attend a game at the Santiago Bernabeu between Real Madrid versus Espanyol.

Another religious celebration in Spain is the start of Lent, which takes place in

February. In Madrid this year, the carnival's theme was a tribute to iconic movie

characters with performers dressed up as the Wizard of Oz characters, Charlie Chaplin's

Hitler, Charlton Heston's Moses, Marilyn Monroe, Gene Kelly, Lauren Bacall, Laurel

and I-lardy, a Keystone cop, etc. TI1e streets and plazas were packed with crowds and

activity. There were concerts (we came across a rock concert and a Spamalot type choral

with everyone in medieval costumes and singing silly lyrics), some smi of dog-lovers'

convention (they all brought their dogs [most of them in sweaters] and wore t-shirts that

said 'I [heaii] my dog' in English), and other sights. The 'burial of the sardine,' a New

Orleans-style mock funeral procession involving fake weeping and real alcohol

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consumption, is a ritual that takes place on Ash Wednesday for historical reasons that

don't matter in the least. It's just a way to drag out carnival one more day!

The Castilian dialect is considered the standard dialect of Spanish in Spain.

However no other country in the Spanish-speaking world seems to have traces of the

Castilian dialect. The Andalusia and Galician dialects seem to have left much stronger

traces in the Hispanic world.

·In March we visited Barcelona in the region of Catalonia. I took an intensive

month long course in Catalan, the regional language. Although I was not able to reach a

conversational level in such a short period of time, I was able to read some newspaper

articles and understand what was being said on Catalan television. Catalan is a romance

language, and can be summarized as being a combination of French, Italian, and

Castilian.

Barcelona was founded by the Carthaginians in the 3rd century BC and conquered

by the Romans in 15 BC. Later the city was occupied by (who else?) Visigoths, Arabs,

and Christians. During our stay in Barcelona, I visited two museums each devoted to the

works of a single artist: the Joan Mir6 museum and the Pablo Picasso museum. Among

the many amazing buildings in Barcelona, I visited three of the most symbolic

monuments built by Antoni Gaudi: La Sagrada Familia Church, Pare Guell, and Casa

Mila. I also attended a Champion's League soccer match between FC Barcelona versus

Stuttgmt at the Camp Nou stadium.

Las Ramblas in Barcelona is a street well known for its street perfonners.

Entertainers range from the typical jugglers to human statues, wearing very strange,

elaborate and decorated costumes. They attract the attention of the passersby who can't

seem to resist the temptation of taking their picture next to one of the many statues for a

fee, obviously.

TI1e historical center of Barcelona is located on the north side of Las Ram bias.

Old Barcelona is a ve1y impressive and beautifol medieval city. At the heart of the old

city the Gothic style cathedral dominates the plaza. There arc other smaller Gothic style

churches inside the old city that are also beautifol. We attended a concert at the Basilica

of Santa Maria del Mar to hear an hour of Hayden and then Mozart's Requiem. TI1e

music was magical and the venue marvelous.

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Since Barcelona sits on the Mediterranean coast, a lot of the main dishes are

based on fish. We discovered a restaurant that serves delicious mussels with tomato

sauce. We ended up going repeatedly to the same restaurant/bar to eat mussels (and in

my case, watch the soccer games) and became friends with the owner. To show his

appreciation for being regular costumers, at the end of the meal he would serve us a

traditional sweet green liqueur made with many different types of herbs. We talked a lot

about soccer and the rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid. At the time both clubs

were going head to head each week to take first place and in the end Barcelona came out

on top by three points to win the championship. However establishing superiority in the

national sport didn't seem to be as important to Catalonians as having eight Barcelona

players as the base for the Spanish national team. Spain won the 2010 soccer World Cup

- cause for national celebration. And since the Spanish team was heavily larded with

Catalonian players, this seemed to serve as "proof' (to some Catalonians, anyway) of the

importance or necessity of Catalonian independence. Fmthermore, bullfights, long a

symbol of Spanish (that is, Castilian) culture, have been banned in Catalonia, not because

of any empathy for the bulls, but, once again, as a bid for cultural independence.

Regardless, the Spanish Supreme Comt recently rejected as unconstitutional a

referendum introduced in parliament by the Catalonians to become a nation.

Catalonia has been under the dominion of Castile since the Middle Ages. Over

the centuries, Castile has imposed its political will on the people of Catalonia. Under

Franco's regime, it was forbidden to teach Catalan in school or to publish in the

language, but Catalonians fought hard to keep their culture alive. After Franco's death,

with the adoption of democracy and a new constitution, the shoe is on the other foot, and

Catalan is now imposed as the language of the schools and of public discourse. This has

been a very controversial issue not only in Catalonia but also in the Basque Country and

Galicia.

Along the Mediten-anean coast, the city ofFigueres is host to the Salvador Dali

Museum designed by non other than Dali himself. It was a wonderful experience seeing

works by Dali housed and presented as he had envisioned them. This was our kids'

favorite museum of the whole trip. Further north, Dali built his villa by the sea in the

village of Cadaques. His villa is a white house with eggs on the roof. 111e house's

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interior is vety cozy and the decoration is not as bizan-e as one might expect.

The city of Girona has a restored Roman wall that surrounds approximately two

thirds of the city. People can walk around the wall admiring its surroundings and the old

city, of which its cathedral is an excellent example of Spanish Gothic architecture.

Girona was one of the cities with a rich Jewish cultural tradition, but most traces of that

tradition were wiped out after the expulsion of the Jews in 1492.

In April we visited the Basque Countty, where we rented a house in a hamlet of

twenty-two houses called Lukiano, twenty miles away from the region's capital city,

Vitoria-Gasteiz. Bilbao, the region's largest and best-known city, is a destination famous

for one of the most tnodern contemporary art museums, The Guggenheim. Another

major attraction in the Basque Counl!y is the city of San Sebastian, famous for its

elaborate pintxos or tapas and its beaches.

On Good Friday, we went to a nearby village, Orduna, to see a religious Easter

procession. 111is was not the disturbingly realistic recreations of the Passion that you see

every year on the news, but was rather a solemn procession in which the penitents wear

these hooded outfits that inevitably remind me of the KKK (who clearly took their

sartorial cues from these processions), some of them barefoot. The procession tells the

story of Easter through the statuary can-ied through the streets on palanquins (about a

dozen in all) by many of the penitents. These things are extremely heavy, and require

practice to be able to manage them without dropping them - we saw a group practicing

way back in Febrnaty in Madrid. Anyway, these processions, which date back to the

Middle Ages, were designed to bring the story of the Passion of Christ to an illiterate

population in a manner that even a 5 year old child could follow. And certainly my 5

year old got it - she nan-ated the whole story to us, down to the symbolism of the heart

pierced with swords on Mary's breast.

On Easter Sunday we went to church in Lukiano. This church, being in a village

of20 or so buildings, does not have a full-time priest (or even weekly services) but one

was coming in for Easter. He rang the bell at a quarter to eleven to call the parishioners.

We arrived to find the village children - seven of them, counting my three - and an old

man in glasses and a cardigan, standing at the altar while he taught them how to read

Roman numerals using the bible. Then he took them to the sacristy for more instruction

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while he donned his robes (we could hear his voice echoing through the church).

Meanwhile, the other parishioners showed up - we ended up being 15 adults, 7 children

and the priest. The priest came out dressed in the Easter vestments with the kids tagging

along behind. They stayed by his side throughout the service, "helping" him. He began

by saying that in the sacristy, my son had complimented him on his "costume." He used

this to launch into his Easter sermon - the symbolism of his vestments, etc. The good

news about such a small congregation is that communion takes no time at all. We were

out quickly, even including the time it took for the priest to talk to a parishioner about a

bit of maintenance.

The family from whom we rented our house in Lukiano has three children who

attend public school. Even the three year old goes to school full time, not getting back

home until almost Spm (we found this - starting school full time at the age of three - to

be the norm in every region in Spain). Their parents report that the children study in

Euskara (the Basque language), even though in this pa1ticular area of the Basque country,

Euskara is not the home language of most people. As in Catalonia, the Basque region has

passed legislation requiring that any government employees be fluent in Euskara as well

as Spanish, and many private companies have followed suit. Our hosts felt that this is

discriminatory (they don't speak Euskara). One can choose to have one's children

educated in either Spanish or Euskara, but they figure that choosing Euskara will give

their children more options in the future - they have roots here going back many

generations, and they figure their children will make their home here as well. The public

schools also teach English (as opposed to teaching IN English) as one of the subjects.

TI1e Basque Counhy is a beautiful mountainous region where towns are hard to

access. It is no wonder why the Romans or any other group did not colonize the Basque

reg10n. Driving through Basque country, I noticed how hard it is to get somewhere and

ever more difficult to get out. That is why, in my opinion, Basque language, which very

probably predates (and is ce1tainly not pait ol) the Inda-European family of languages,

still remains. As it is not a romance language, people discouraged me from hying to

learn any of it in our few weeks in the region. As with the language, Basque people had

been isolated for so long that they even have a different genetic composition than the

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population around them. Basque people have a very distinct look and can easily be

recognized anywhere in the world.

Food in the Basque Country is delicious and is served in large amounts. One of

the most popular dishes is bean soup, usually served in a big pot (enough for three

people) as the first course in a memi de/ dia. Basque Country is also famous for its fresh

organic beef called ch11/et611, which is a very large, thick piece of meat cooked to order,

and it always c.omes with potatoes.

In Lukiano, we were introduced to drinking raw (unpasteurized) cow's milk. We

were wary of trying it at first. However, we were assured that it was safe to drink and we

just became addicted to it. It was the most delicious milk I have ever had and my kids

could not get enough of it.

La Rioja is a famous wine producing area in Aiava (part of the Basque region),

comparable to Napa Valley. There is a wine route that goes through many towns with

numerous wineries. The biggest town is called La Guardia, where we visited a winery

named El Fabulista (The one who tells fables). TI1e wine1y is in a 400 year old building

that belonged to the family of Antonio Samaniego (elfabulista, a published author of

local fame). The building has a wine cellar, essentially a man-made cave, dating back to

Roman times. It is the only winery that still uses traditional labor-intensive methods to

make wine, so its production is limited; tours and wine-tastings now seem to be a large

part of its revenue. But it did give me a good idea of how wine was produced before

modern production methods were introduced.

The city of Pamplona is world famous foi· its Pamp/onada (the running of the

bulls) during the Festival of San Fermin in July. It is also famous for its annualpintxos

or tapas competition during April. Pintxos are very small portions of food; they can be

very elaborate, beautiful and difficult to make. However they can also be delicious and

va1y in price: between one and five euros.

During our stay in the Basque Counlly, we took a few days to visit my colleague

Isabel Anievas's parents (who figuratively adopted us, children and all) in the city of

Leon. Isabel's mom cooked the most delicious paella and tortilla espano/a. They were

vc1y generous and were kind enough to take us around the city. We visited the Leon

Cathedral, an example of Gothic style architecture and famous for its stained glass

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windows. The convent of San Marcos, one of the most important monuments of the

Renaissance, is cu!Tently a luxury parador hotel. The Basilica of San Isidoro, a great

example of the Romanesque style of architecture, contains the remnants of Saint Isidoro

and a Royal Patheon as well as many well preserved 12th century painted murals, which

consist of an ensemble of New Testament subjects along with scenes of contempora1y

rural life.

In May the final leg of our journey was spent in Santiago de Compostela in the

region of Galicia. Our rental house was only about a kilometer and a half from the

cathedral, but with the feel of being out in the counhy. It had a huge yard, complete with

a resident dog, Lupa. The owners (an older couple whose kids are grown) live on the

property up the hill from us, but Lupa kept hanging out with the kids instead of at its

house. Our great good luck regarding the generosity of the people we met in Spain held;

our hosts invited us to eat paella with them, and as life-long residents of Santiago were

invaluable sources of infonnation. The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, where St.

James (Santiago in Spanish) is buried, has been a traditional pilgrimage destination for

the last 800 years, and has experienced a resurgence in popularity since the 1970's. We

were particularly lucky to be in Santiago in an afio jacobeo (holy year), when July 25, the

feast of Santiago, falls on a Sunday, which only happens at intervals in a pattern of every

5-6-5-11 years. It is only during an afio jacobeo that La Puerta Santa (The Holy Door) is

open to the public. It is customary to walk through La Puerta Santa that leads to the back

of the altar where a life-sized bust of Santiago is covered with gold, silver and precious

stones. People hug and kiss the bust and then go down to the c1ypt to see where

Santiago's relics remain.

The city of Santiago is much bigger than I had imagined - it has its Casco Viejo

(historic center), of course, but also has the urban sprawl of most cities, and is ringed

with the high rise apmiment houses favored in Spain. It is also a university town (the

University of Santiago de Compostela was founded in 1495 and currently has some

42,000 students), with a large campus generously endowed with trees, fountains and

green spaces. The Rio Sarela snakes just to the north of the city center, and our rental

house overlooked the river. Stepping out of our gate, we could walk along the river on a

well-shaded path. When we got to town, we would cross a medieval stone bridge and

14

climb (these medieval towns are always on hills) to the Casco Viejo. Being a university

town as well as a tourist destination, the place is packed with bars and restaurants, and

also with shops selling shell-shaped tchotchkes of every type imaginable, probably most

made in China (the scallop shell is Santiago's most common icon). Among other things,

you can get walking sticks and 'medieval-style' hats and capes, all with the ubiquitous

scallop shell. People walked about with their walking sticks as if they had been on

pilgrimage for weeks.

The cathedral was built between 1075 and 1122 under the reign of Alfonso VI of

Castile and is a fine example of Romanesque, Gothic, and Baroque architecture. Mass is

held several times a day for the steady stream of pilgrims and tourists. In a holy year

such as this they use a huge censer called a botafi1111eiro, which hangs from the dome, for

some of the masses. It is so large that it requires a group of eight maroon-robed men

called tirabo/eiros to pull the ropes to make the botafi1111eiro swing. It weighs

approximately 80kg and swings at speeds of up to 60k:m/h. Not every pilgrim or tourist

gets to witness this ritual, however, as the cathedral doesn't announce or publish when

the botafi1111eiro will be used. We were lucky enough to be invited to witness this ritual

by a tirabo/eiro we had met and befriended. We were in his cafe, when suddenly his cell

phone rang; it was time for him to dash across the plaza, don his robe, and participate in

the centuries-old ritual. He invited us along, so we left our backpacks and computer to

their fate as we hurried out the door behind him. He ushered us through the cathedral's

security ("they're with me"), and deposited us in a prime viewing location before

disappearing only to reappear suitably be-robed "onstage" with his fellow tiraboleiros.

Across from the Cathedral is the Pazo de Raxoi (Raxoi's Palace), the town hall

and seat of the Galician government. On the right side from the cathedral steps is the

Hostal dos Reis Cat6licos, founded in 1492 by the Catholic Monarchs as a pilgrims'

hospice (now a parador), and on the left is the first university building. These four

buildings form the famous Plaza Obradoiro where pilgrims arrive at the end of their

journey to thank and pay tribute to St. James. In May we saw a steady stream of

pilgrims, some on foot, some on bicycle. Some had started from as far away as France.

Tl1ey invariably cross the plaza to stand in the ve1y center (conveniently marked with an

X by the way the paving stones meet there) and turn to view the cathedral, often falling to

15

their knees, kissing the ground, or weeping. The pilgrims usually entered the Plaza do

Obradoiro from the east corner where there is a covered stairway that rnns along the

north wall of the cathedral. Under the archway invariably stood a street musician, hat on

the ground and playing as if to welcome the pilgrims as they headed into the plaza. He

was usually playing bagpipes - Galicia was inhabited by Celts before the Romans arrived,

and for better or worse, bagpipes live on here! The particular musician varied depending

on the time of day; they must have worked out a schedule. Besides the "real" pilgrims,

there were also many daily busloads of tourists who come in large groups and wear

matching kerchiefs.

We visited the cities of Lugo, Pontevedra, La Corufia, and Combarro. Lugo is a

city surrounded by an impressive 2000 year old Roman wall. Pontevedra is the last stop

on the way to Santiago from Portugal. La Corufia has the oldest (2000 year old)

functioning lighthouse in the world. Combarro is a city by the sea, famous for having the

most horreos in Galicia. Horreos are shed-like buildings to store grain and/or fish, sitting

on pillars above the ground to keep water and rodents out, and have become a cultural

symbol of Galicia.

Galician people speak Gallego, another romance language very close to

Portuguese. The rhythm and musicality of it can easily be heard in the Argentinean

Spanish dialect. Large numbers of Gallegos migrated to Argentina at the beginning of

the twentieth century. It is no wonder why Argentinean Spanish sounds like Gallego

with Italian mannerisms.

My sabbatical project was overall the most enjoyable experience I have ever had

in my professional career as an educator. Even though I did not accomplish some of the

outcomes I set out to do, I got more than what I expected. I have not mentioned many

other people we met, places we visited, and celebrations we ran into. However, I took

close to 3000 pictures, over l 0 hours of video, and collected relevant literature to share

with my students and colleagues.

16

Administrative Procedure 7341 Sabbaticals FORM B REPORT ON SABBATICAL LEAVE

Name _Manuel Camacho Period of Leave: Fall 2_ Spring 2 010_

Place or Places Where Leave Was Taken: Spain'-----------------------------------------

OBJECTIVES TO BE ACHIEVED BY SABBATICAL: HQW OBJECTTVES WERE ACHIEVED:

• I. Spend time in five regions of Spain I. I spent a month in each region . 2. Learn about the cultural differences 2. I met and interacted with many people.

• 3. Learn more about the Castilian dialect 3. I learned differences of/and influences ofCastilian on LA Spanish. • 4. Learn a little of the other three official languages spoken in Spain 4. I took a month long course in Catalan . • 5. Visit historical landmarks 5. I visited lots of historical landmarks . • 6. Witness/experience traditional celebrations and festivities 6. Traditional celebrations are unavoidable . • 7. Attend at least one sporting event 7. I attended a soccer game in Madrid and in Barcelona .

How the leave has strengthened the recipient's qualifications to render a better work performance in the years ahead. See final report.

Attach other significant information.

/,el,~~ /)/;%/;() Appficant's Signature Date

APPROVALS: Date

Salary Administration Committee

Assistant Superintendent/Vice President

Superintendent/President

Board of Trustees

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