Guernika and Bilbao

Attached to the Guggenheim Museum-Bilbao
A bit of the industrial side of Bilbao
The Guggenheim Museum; view from the river
Cruising the Bilbao River
The port of Bilbao

The first USAC excursion: Guernika and Bilbao. Since high school, and the infamous Sr. Cole project of painting Picasso’s Guernica as a class, I have always regarded this painting as one of my favorites. At West Valley, I have a hand me down replica taking up half of a wall, and at my home in Corning, another replica I bought at the Reina Sofia in Madrid in 2000. Therefore, although some were less than enthusiastic about visiting the small town of Guernika, I was excited. Kinda funny how thinking changes in a ten-year span. History now intrigues me, excites me, and in a sense, solidifies the struggles and lives that we all live. I may have to thank my Dad for this, being the history buff that he is, and try to get him excited about a little Spanish history as well, as the country’s customs are rooted deep in their history, that for some reason is highly unknown or disregarded by those who are not Spanish citizens. Those who are, however, I would predict, don’t let a day pass without remembering, or at least doing something that is somehow related to the infamous Spanish Civil War.

With this said, our entire group opted for today’s excursion, meeting at the Hotel María Cristina, at 8:55 sharp for the bus to Guernika, situated about forty five minutes to an hour west of San Sebastian, in the Basque Country province of Bizcaya (San Sebastian is in the province called Gizpukoa). Most of us took advantage of the bus ride, to catch up on a few z’s that we’ve been struggling to find due to late nights, sickness, street noise, or the simple adjusting that is required during this experience. Upon arriving to Guernika (spelled in Basque, or Guernica in Spanish), our first stop was the infamous oak tree. An oak tree, famous? Let me briefly explain. The oak tree we visited is essentially the heart and soul of the entire Basque Country, symbolizing not only the Basque love and tremendous appreciation of nature, but also their region’s autonomy. The town’s Assembly House, or Casa de Juntas de Gernika, is adjacent to the oak tree. This small town of approximately eight thousand people is possibly the most meaningful in the Basque Country. Starting in the Middle Ages (I think), Guernika was the meeting place for the peoples of Biscay. These meetings were held under the Tree of Gernika and called the General Assemblies of Biscay. These meetings lasted for generations until 1876 when these laws, or fueros, were abolished, only to be uncovered again in 1979. In short, the leaders from all of the Basque provinces came to Guernika to establish the fueros. Strangely enough, even the king of Spain would come and acknowledge the fueros of the Basque Country, giving the region its political autonomy.

During Franco’s era, and in the midst of the Spanish Civil War (from 1936-39), he demonstrated his passionate hatred for the Basque people by attacking the heart and soul of the Basque Country, the small town of Guernika. Franco summoned his buddy over in Germany, Adolf Hitler, to assist in the attack, helping him to prep his own army for what was to come as well. This atrocity single handedly demonstrated the horrors of war, as upwards of 1600 civilians were killed. Civilians. It was not an attack against a military. He chose a Saturday morning, a day in which people would be on the streets, at the market, to attack. It is even said that the planes got so close to the streets, that people could see the faces of the pilots. When the incendiary bombs ran out, machine guns were used to kill everyone in sight.

Meanwhile, Pablo Picasso had been summoned to paint something for the World’s Fair in Paris. Feeling uninspired until he read about the attack on Guernika, he chose to demonstrate the grotesqueness and inhumanity of warfare, by representing the senseless bombing of Guernika in his black and white representation of the event.

Back to the bombing of Guernika. The interesting thing is that although devastating, the attack on Guernika did not destroy the actual symbol of the Basque; the oak tree under which the laws were created. Therefore, we visited a descendent of the original oak tree, and its successor, just in case something happens to it, in a small parque, or parkeoa (Basque/Euskara), near the Assembly House. In Elko, Nevada, there is also a descendent of the oak tree in Guernika, as well as in Boise, Idaho; both strong Basque communities in the United States.

After the hour-long visit to Guernika, we re-loaded the bus and took off for Bilbao. First stop in Bilbao, the historically industrial city of the Basque Country, McDonalds. I needed a small café, others indulged in McFlurrys, others in ice cream dropped in a cup of coffee. I took a few pictures of the menu for fun, just to note the differences J. We met up with the USAC group from Bilbao and hopped on a boat for a cruise and tour of Bilbao, until our final destination; lunch. We got to see the old industrial plants, mixed with the modern architecture of the city. Bilbao's current focus, instead of industrialism, is tourism , noted by the eye appealing Guggenheim Museum and the many parks and buildings that line the river.

Lunch consisted of, First plate: vegetarian paella (awesome!). Second plate: Chicken and French fries. Pretty standard for feeding a large group of American people. Dessert: a Flan/cake. Result=tired, full people ready for the tour of the Guggenheim!

I was excited about the visit to the Guggenheim, as I mentioned before, because I have a slightly different appreciation for museums now as opposed to a seventeen year old’s perspective J. Outside the museum is the famous puppy, or poopy as is said in Spanish, covered with pansies. Beautiful. On the backside of the museum, we saw the spider sculpture, created by a 91 year old woman! Insane! Inside we saw the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit, and several others that I don’t remember the names of. But, on the top floor, there was art by Picasso, and The Yellow Cow! I laughed aloud at seeing this, and this is what adorns the wall above the TV at my parent’s house; my replica of The Yellow Cow. Kind of funny to me to happen to stumble upon the original. After about an hour at the Guggenheim, as we had a half an hour before leaving, we indulged in the daily “tea time.” As I’ve been trying to not use up too much Lactaid for fear of running out, I usually order a Café Americano (espresso with water, like what we drink at home), but because it’s not that great with just sugar, I went for the Café con Leche. Much nicer! Hopped back on the bus a half an hour later, tried to read to start on homework….and fell asleep! An early night ahead of me because tomorrow work MUST be done!