My name is Antonio Plazuelo and I am going to inaugurate my Home Page by a short reference to the town (Budia) where I spend part of my vacation and that I invite you to visit, above all in its local feasts (holidays) that begin the first Sunday after the day 8 of September.
In view of the numerous email received to know me, I put my photo here.
Town hall in the main square of the town
I would have to begin by emphasizing the existing tradition and devotion toward the Patron Virgin of Budia , Our Lady of the Peartree of the Sweetness ("Nuestra Señora del Peral de la Dulzura"), that according to refer the legends was primitively venerated as Patron Virgin of an old town located on top of the Alcarrian pateau called The Peartree ("El Peral").
The ermitage of Our Lady of the Peartree of the Sweetness
From many years ago there was in The Peartree a hermitage, firstly simple and poor, then rich and almost like as a cathedral. In it was venerated from remote centuries, a sculpture in wood of Mary Virgin, of probably Gothic style. It was destroyed during the Spanish Civil War in 1936-1939, and therinafter reinstated thanks to the devotion of the neighbors of this town, having been carved the new and price image by the sculptor from the city of Valencia, Enrique Bellido.
Our Lady of the Peartree, Patron Virgin of the villa
of Budia
Also, the parochial Church of Budia is devoted to Sain Peter the Apostle ("San Pedro Apostol"), its plant is of three naves with pillars between them of assorted court: some are circulated, and the others oblong. The Church of Budia frontispiece is very probable that may have left of the Alonso de Covarrubias´s ingenious and artistic hand or of some of their school. Inside the temple, of which some altarpieces disappeared during the Civil Spanish War of 1936-39 and a good numbers of artistic pieces, the frontal of the high altar, in embossed silver, and baroque and exuberant decoration, with an image of the Virgin of the Peartree, it is the most important. In painting, there are some interesting in the sacristy. The most of them proceed of the Peartree hermitage. One of the most interesting is the portrait (imaginary but very beautiful) of fray Diego of Alcalá in their acquaintance miracle of the roses. Some other art baroque pieces also exist that they add value to this temple, like oil painting and religious topics coppers.
The frontispiece of the parochial Church of Budia
But perhaps it confers to her a greater value is the original sculptures couple of the artist of the city of Malaga, Pedro de Mena, that represent to Christ painful in the iconography of the "Ecce-Homo", and his mother the Mary Virgin as "Dolorosa" weak in tears. The Ecce-Homo is nude, unless a shroud that remains to him to the heighf of the hips, with its overlapped arms, and the erected head and slightly lopsided. The body of Christ has an absolute realism, seems live, and in fact reaches a degree of technical perfection in his details that admire. The Painful offers an attitude of bitterness and impressive affliction. All the distress of a Mother that sees to die to Her Son (Our Lord) are transmuted in this carved wood, and in those crystal eyes that seem to have live. A mantle of great verbosity painted in blue and red confer to her a greatness and a beauty an anyone of the infinite angles an which fits to see it, that makes it unforgettable.
The Pedro de Mena´s Ecce Homo and La
Dolorosa
The Christ soldiers
This
ancient tradition dates from century XV and disappeared in years 50, recovering
in 2001. Its assignment is the safekeeping of the Tomb and Monument of
Christ. At the moment these
soldiers, who are fifteen, dress black suit velveteen, hat of wide wing of the
same color, a red band with a Heart of Jesus to the height of the chest and a
lance of great size that takes in the end allegories of the shield of Budia.
The obligations of the Soldiers of Christ begin the "Domingo de
Ramos", date in which they meet to establish the routine order of Easter.
As of Thursday they have to mount one closed guard around the Tomb of
Christ. Another act to emphasize,
is the scene of the triumph of the Cross over the lances. This interesting brotherhood had to be exported by the Spanish
thirds to Italy, since the peculiar circumstance that occurs in Taranto another
brotherhood with very similar customs exists.
I will continue explaining the activities of the brotherhood, the
requirements for the enter it, as well as elaborated photographies but in the
following update.
One of the most signal monuments, and, unfortunately, abandoned and in trance of progressive ruin, that possesses the village of Budia, is the old convent of the Order of Carmelite, located in the high part of the town, in the Santa Lucia´s threshing floor, from where a beautiful panorama of the town and the mounts around are observed. At the moment it has as use to be the cementery of the town.
The convent had their origin in the clearly popular pity: several neighbors of Budia had given in the first room of the XVIII century, some amounts of money in order to find with them a convent of the reformed Carmelitana Order. On in rent this money, they produced 13,956 old base silver coins every year. On the other hand, contributions or commitments of other people, ascending to 12,000 ducats, they led to the provincial of the Order, fray Bernando of San José, to present the formal application in 1732 of to build a Carmelo´s new house in Budia, in which they could live comfortably more than 15 religious, without needing to go to the publish charities. Very long is the history of this convent, that maybe any day transfers to this page but the important now is that, according to my last news, seems to be that finally this monument will be restored in very brief space of time.
The Carmelite´s Order convent
Many others monumental elements exist in Budia yet. The Calvary in stone is in the same high esplanade of Santa Lucía, in the environments of the convent, the own Santa Lucía´s hermitage, and a great building in stone that was used as refrigerator to the monks.
The Calvary in stone
In the "Santa Ana" up hill you may find the "picota" or roll, that it has been restored recently, in a way timely and suceeded, and that shines its elegant print, recalling that had the villa its jurisdiction capacity and its autonomy an past centuries. Never people became hunged of its lateral leonine gargoyles nor executed. But the "picota", put always in the squares of the town or the villa principal income, was representing the legal competency that had the place of administering the justice to its inhabitants, at least in first instance.
The roll of the village of Budia, in the up hill of
"Santa Ana"
This is a particular construction that the villagers call "The Green Cross," has not found no reference on their meaning, neither why of their construction, but I will investigate on this, or perhaps, somebody that sees this page will help me to explain their history.
The Green Cross
The fountains that shower Budia by its four sides, are inherent part to the villa. In addition to the one which is joined to the whalls of the town hall, old and maternal, they are The Horn ("El Cuerno"), in the up hill of the road to the town of "El Olivar", that it was arranged in 1988, and that today it is one of the places coziest and with better future of Budia, being descried from it a nice panoramic of the villa. And the Lapelos´ washer. And so many other, until completing a long dozen. All is water, vegetation, fresh rumor around Budia.
The Horn´s fountain
Room "The Rosary" and main living room
The Bishop´s House
Cuesta de Molina street, 11
Restaurant "El Rincón" and Dinning room of
the restaurant
The Corner of Budia
Azobejo street, s/n
Reservations 949 28 36 68
The Taravillo Tavern, located in a narrow alley to the left of the main square of the town, it receive us with the spectacular bull head fought in the Albacete´s bull ring, of the called cattle raising "The Priest Cattleman" and dissected in Madrid for the famous taxidermist "Bellini." Between their specialties highlighted their delicious chops to the ember that we will to degust in their warehouse, their exquisite potatoes omelet done with authenticate egg of hen of farm yard, their marinated fresh anchovies and their varied appetizers. It remain opened daily from 10:00 A.M. until the dawn.
Taravillo Tavern and spectacular bull head
Reservoir of "Entrepeñas" (Guadalajara)
But probably the most interesting thing, for the fishing lovers, is the possibility of collecting some specimen of catfish, carp, etc. like them gotten by José Luis, "Custeau," of the near town of Durón in 1995, an impressive fish with 12 Kg weight that we could see in the Bar-Restaurant "El Cruce" of Durón where we will also take the morning coffee, previous to the fishing day, and provide us of live fish that they begin to our disposition.
Bar "El Cruce" of Durón
Tel. 949-87 76 05
To the fishing day return, we could take the appetizer in their summer terrace or enjoy their specialty in Roasted Lambs and compare the collected pieces putting them beside this fish, that it is not the biggest fished in the swamp, since this same year "Custeau" got a specimen still bigger with 15 Kg weight.
Fish, catched by "Custeau" in "Entrepeñas"
in 1995 (12 Kg)
Camilo José Cela is dead, rests peacefully
And I can´t end without naming to Camilo José Cela, when the writer, Premium Nobel of Literature, and member of the Language Royal Academic, traveled by these lands to write then his better book, the Trip to the Alcarria ("El Viaje a la Alcarria"), stopped in Budia as must be. Was the spring (almost the summer) in 1946. And in addition to that lapidary phrase, that in ceramics has put the painter Bosh Asensi on the noon wall of the town hall that was saying that the square greater than this town seems that a Moor Town, and it is reality a noble and affectionate oblong urban space where are cited the bars, the shops, the stout houses and the eaves with race, Cela puts after that phrase that consecrates to our villa in his pen, and makes it largest and mysterious: Budia is a large town, with ancient houses, with a probably splendid past. The streets have noble names, sounds -Real street, Boteros street, Steppe´s street, Gable-wall´s street, Bronze´s street, of the Lettuce, of the Hospital-, and in them the old moribund palaces drag with certain dignity their shield stones, their massive large doors, their inmense, sad closed windows.
And not to lose itself:
We have here, by gentility of the
Most excellent City council of Budia and drawn by Jesus E. Padín an excellent
map of the town to find without no problem monuments and places of interest.
