Gernika-Lumo

Gernika (euskera, Basque)/Guernica (español, Spanish)

The ongoing story of our visit to Basque Country.

Alberto, our host and guide, had so much that he wanted to show us--the must-sees of Basque Country-- so we covered a lot of territory on that Thursday, June 10th. With each outing we traveled a little further. On this day, after the hospital visit, we entered another province, Bizkaia/Viscaya. Our first stop was the famous historic city of Gernika/Guernica.

When I was a Spanish language teacher, I became familiar with the widely-known Picasso mural, the "Guernica". It appeared in nearly all of our textbooks. As we walked around the city that day last June, we came across a mosaic replica.

I have read that the inscription underneath is a form of protest, but I do not understand the meaning of the suffix to explain or translate it. The locals maintain that the original Picasso ought to belong to their city, however, it is currently housed in the national museum of modern art, the Reina Sofía, in Madrid. There is a campaign going on right now toward that end, and as of today they have 9,600 signatures.

Picasso's "Guernica" depicts the atrocities of war--the death and suffering of women, children and animals--and was prompted by the bombing of Gernika, on market day, seventy four years ago this month, 26th April, 1937.

The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) is a dark period of history that is seared on the consciousness of the Spanish people. What I had not realized before was how harshly it had impacted the Basque people. It is a horribly gruesome story. Alberto related how at one time he had begun to read a book about it and could not finish it nor will he ever understand how and why such could happen.

To be continued...