Ronda is well known for having Spain's oldest bullring, and of course, the fantastic Puente Neuvo bridge across El Tajo. Perhaps a little less well known is the role Ronda played in shaping the modern region of Andalucia.
Back in 1918,
Blas Infante, a hero in Andalucia, convened the very first Andalucian regional assembly in Ronda, which ultimately led a few years ago to the recognition of Andalucia as an historic nation within Spain, and which put it firmly on equal standing with other historic nations such as the Basque country, Galicia, and Catalonia.
Sadly, Blas Infante was summarily executed (murdered?) by Franco's forces at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, and it wasn't until 2007 that Ronda finally erected a statue in his honour, although the park where the statue stands was dedicated to Andalucismo on Blas Infante Avenue (Paseo Blas Infante) many many years before.
The statue is easy to find, but most visitors to Ronda probably overlook it. In fact when standing in the carpark adjacent to the bullring most people take snapshots of the statue of the bull with the circular wall of the bullring behind it, yet turning to one's left is this very statue.
Blas Infante's statue stands to the right of the park entrance, and the park whilst small, also includes a large pergoda and one of the two lookouts over the valley below Ronda.
Now I'm not saying the statue is worthy of being included in the great tourist attractions of Ronda, but since so many people miss it altogether, and since Blas Infante was such an inspirational figure in Andalucian local politics, I thought I might as well post a photo of the statue and give you a little bit more info on who this character was.
My Bug Life said,
Friday, August 8. 2008 at 01:26 (Reply)
Hanifa K. Cook said,
Sunday, August 10. 2008 at 05:25 (Reply)