Dateline Granada: Something Spanish

Intricately arranged river stones dot most sidewalks of Granada, a historic and cultural center in southern Spain. Black and white river stones or pebbles are so arranged that they form shapes of flowers and hearts. Aside from the aesthetics of it all, the pebbled sidewalks ensure that pedestrians, especially the elderly, won’t slip while strolling to take a deep breath of the evening winter breeze.

From sidewalks and cobble stone-covered back streets, the new guest can immediately note the artistic and cultural wealth of this city of 350,000 people, many of them students and tourists. One can find something Arabic, Jewish, and Romanesque in the architecture of buildings and other structures. But the mix of all these is what makes it Spanish, in the same way that the mix of all our colonial architectures – from Spanish-designed stone churches to American-designed cities like Baguio -- makes us Filipino.

This is not surprising because Granada, which used to be the pre-historic home of native tribes who, along with other tribes in Southern Spain, the Romans first colonized. The Arabs came later, brought Islam, and gave the name Granada. But the Muslim city fell into the hands of Christian monarchs in 1492, at the hands of Queen Isabel of Castile and her husband Ferdinand Aragon.

The plazas or squares of Philippine lowland towns, which are surrounded by the munisipio and a cathedral, are definitely a legacy from Spain, our colonizer for almost 400 years. After every few blocks here in Granada is a square, complete with trees and hedge rows of bush plants, which also serves as the city’s breathing space.

As a convention center, Granada has built big modern buildings to accommodate international meetings such as the current fourth meeting of the UN Working Group on Article 8j of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Ongoing since Monday, the meeting ends on Jan. 27. Another meeting of the UN Working Group on Access and Benefit Sharing of genetic resources follows next Monday and ends until February 3.

But one thing unique about Granada is its restored historical buildings, which include not only the 14^th century Cathedral and the Royal Chapel where Isabel and Ferdinand’s remains lie buried. Also restored and currently being restored were centuries-old stone houses, some of which have carmenes or gardens on their roofs.

Courtesy of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity secretariat, I have just registered for a weekend free tour of the famed Alhambra, a series of palaces and gardens built under the Nazari Dynasty in the 14^th century. I anticipate that the tour can help me understand and know better the historical soul of this southern Spanish city of hospitable people, whose “hola” greetings help the weary and homesick visitor endure the mild assault of winter. (25January2006)