Above: Souvenir display in a shop window
Mass-manufactured souvenirs might be tacky, but they often serve as indicators of what distinctive symbols a community values. Assigned positions of prominence here are replicas of the pair of treasured bejeweled crosses from the Cathedral, the ancient ones recovered and repaired following a brazen 1977 theft. And the beloved Virgen de la Esperanza (Hope) from Capilla de la Balesquida across the plaza.
And then there is apple cider. Almost a religion as well. The ritualistic way to pour cider is to hold the glass at waist level and pour from above one’s head, essentially aeration. Obviously, a talent best left to the experienced waiters circling within the sidrerias, which are far from difficult to locate. You are supposed to down this serving immediately before it goes flat and then wait patiently for a server to stop to pour another glug from your bottle. The cider has about the same alcohol content as standard American beer.
And there, completing this cherished trinity, perched front and center in the window, is Mafalda. Argentinian Quino created the wise-cracking six-year-old girl, usually with a smile on her face, to voice satirical criticism of her enemies: Fascists, militarists and, for some strange reason, soup.
From this humble little seat, I make an emotional call for world peace!”
Mafalda, the memorable cartoon character created by Joaquin Salvador Lavado Tejon (1932-2020) under the pen name of Quino
Quino’s Mafalda gained fans worldwide, primarily throughout South America and southern Europe. She retains her popularity despite the cartoon strip’s limited run from 1967 to 1973. Not long before his death at 88, Quino revived Mafalda to promote vaccines to heal the worldwide COVID epidemic. And Mafalda is cherished as an unofficial mascot of Oviedo, with a statue of her prominently placed in Parque Campo de San Francisco.
Sculptures permit me to create real volume. One can touch the forms, one can give them smoothness, the sensuality that one wants.”
Fernando Botero
Encountering a sensual signature plump statue by Botero in cities resembles bumping into an old friend. The placement at sidewalk level of the maternal figure in his sculpture, “Maternidad,” makes all the curvaceousness approachable for pedestrians. Selfies abound, often taken to show the mother’s ample backside.
How’d that scrawny guy end up on a street in Oviedo? Woody Allen has long professed his love for the city. By saying things like this, Woody ensured the affection was mutual:
Oviedo is a delicious city, exotic, beautiful, clean, pleasant, calm and pedestrianized, like it does not belong to this world, as if it didn’t exist…. Oviedo is like a fairy tale.”
Woody Allen
The mayor of Oviedo commissioned sculptor Vicente Santarua to design a tribute to Allen in 2003. When Allen returned to Oviedo to film a large chunk of his 2008 film, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, the relationship was cemented. The city basked in the publicity. The statue of Allen has been targeted by vandals several times, and the Asturias Feminist Organization called for Allen’s statue to be removed in 2018.
But Allen’s still strolling along the street of a town that encourages meandering.
Postcards from Barton Springs 