I have witnessed exceptional love for language and community only among two language groups. One is Welsh the language of Wales, a small land bordering England but which still has managed to maintain a strong identity of its own; the other being Galician. Galician is spoken mainly in Galicia an autonomous community of northwestern Spain.
Yolanda runs a poetry reading session every second month with the help of the local Galician government in which she would invite one international poet and another of Galician Language. When I received an invitation for a poetry reading from her, little did I know about the rich heritage of the city and the language. I had met Yolanda Castano, a Galician poet, in China but didn't have much opportunity for discussion. It was during the process of my visa application, which found to be quite difficult to be approved did I come to know more about the hardships Galician has to face being a minority language. But still, the Galician artists and literateurs were keeping up a good fight. After long persuasive letters by Yolanda to Spanish visa officers, I was finally granted the visa.
As I had traveled to A Coruña via London it took me a while to get my luggage. Coming out of the airport I found a tensed Yolanda waiting for me.
Embracing me with a sigh of relief she said: " I thought there was some new problem"...
"It was good that all problems happened before I came". I replied with a smile.
Yolanda's car was a small one splattered in pigeon shit and caked in dust.
Getting in she excused herself " Sorry my car is dirty". I laughed and said it really looks like a poet's car and the shit and the dirt shows the love between birds and trees...
Driving through the city, Yolanda explained to me its history. A Coruña was a port city of the Galician Kingdom. Being a prosperous business center it enjoyed an important place and it was also called 'the harbor of the brave'.After the civil war, the picture of the city changed. In place of beautiful old buildings, huge skyscrapers cropped up.
" Rati, the first impression of a city should be so beautiful that you should see the most beautiful part of the city first. It's ok if you are tired after your long flight". Yolanda said.
I agreed with her without any hesitation although my journey was long and difficult and tiring. All I wanted was to forget everything and imbibe the poetic atmosphere.
Yolanda took me to a high place beside the seashore. From there the sea and the beach far away looked like a page from a fairy tale. The soft breeze couldn't ease the scorching heat. It was already half past eight. The sun had started its descent but the light still played hide and seek, painting the sea with blue, yellow and green colors. The new skyscrapers as symbols of modernity stood out like a sore thumb against the old city.
Yolanda explained to me that earlier the buildings were all painted white to keep the heat at bay. But after many wars and the civil war, the economic situation became so bad that the people went for the cheap multi-storeyed buildings which took a toll on the aesthetics of the city. From the distance, the A Corona seemed like a toy city...
As I was a guest of the A corona municipality I was given a 5-star accommodation in the city center near the market and beautiful old buildings. Leaving me at the hotel Yolanda said " Tomorrow will be a day of surprises for you. I will be taking you to see some wonderful places. So be ready by 9 am tomorrow". The tiredness from the long travel with the comforts of my room, sleep didn't keep me waiting...
Yolanda runs a poetry reading session every second month with the help of the local Galician government in which she would invite one international poet and another of Galician Language. When I received an invitation for a poetry reading from her, little did I know about the rich heritage of the city and the language. I had met Yolanda Castano, a Galician poet, in China but didn't have much opportunity for discussion. It was during the process of my visa application, which found to be quite difficult to be approved did I come to know more about the hardships Galician has to face being a minority language. But still, the Galician artists and literateurs were keeping up a good fight. After long persuasive letters by Yolanda to Spanish visa officers, I was finally granted the visa.
As I had traveled to A Coruña via London it took me a while to get my luggage. Coming out of the airport I found a tensed Yolanda waiting for me.
Embracing me with a sigh of relief she said: " I thought there was some new problem"...
"It was good that all problems happened before I came". I replied with a smile.
Yolanda's car was a small one splattered in pigeon shit and caked in dust.
Getting in she excused herself " Sorry my car is dirty". I laughed and said it really looks like a poet's car and the shit and the dirt shows the love between birds and trees...
Driving through the city, Yolanda explained to me its history. A Coruña was a port city of the Galician Kingdom. Being a prosperous business center it enjoyed an important place and it was also called 'the harbor of the brave'.After the civil war, the picture of the city changed. In place of beautiful old buildings, huge skyscrapers cropped up.
" Rati, the first impression of a city should be so beautiful that you should see the most beautiful part of the city first. It's ok if you are tired after your long flight". Yolanda said.
I agreed with her without any hesitation although my journey was long and difficult and tiring. All I wanted was to forget everything and imbibe the poetic atmosphere.
Yolanda took me to a high place beside the seashore. From there the sea and the beach far away looked like a page from a fairy tale. The soft breeze couldn't ease the scorching heat. It was already half past eight. The sun had started its descent but the light still played hide and seek, painting the sea with blue, yellow and green colors. The new skyscrapers as symbols of modernity stood out like a sore thumb against the old city.
Yolanda explained to me that earlier the buildings were all painted white to keep the heat at bay. But after many wars and the civil war, the economic situation became so bad that the people went for the cheap multi-storeyed buildings which took a toll on the aesthetics of the city. From the distance, the A Corona seemed like a toy city...
As I was a guest of the A corona municipality I was given a 5-star accommodation in the city center near the market and beautiful old buildings. Leaving me at the hotel Yolanda said " Tomorrow will be a day of surprises for you. I will be taking you to see some wonderful places. So be ready by 9 am tomorrow". The tiredness from the long travel with the comforts of my room, sleep didn't keep me waiting...
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