Priscilla Hernandez (Official Blog)

All that is gone
All that remains
All that decays
Into dust once again

The eeriness of abandoned places

A few weeks ago, me and @hedac visited this eerie and very unusual abandoned park “El Parque de los Desvelados” located in Estella (Lizarra), South West of Navarre, in Spain.

I have always felt a strange attraction for “abandoned” places and its weird energy. I don’t think places are haunted by ghosts but by desolation and decay, an imprint of sorrow maybe… I even wrote a song called “Haunted” inspired by this theory. I have a fondness for them… as if I’m a long awaited spectator of the stories they still whisper. Old houses, abandoned villages, old ruins… I can imagine their stories. I love when they are claimed back by Nature and get covered in ivy and moss.

Last month we visited one of these abandoned park, yet it was not an ordinary park…
Located in Estella (Spain) this bizarre place is known as Parque de los Desvelados (o de las calaveras) (translated as “Park of the Sleepless (or the Skulls)).

El Parque de los Desvelados: The Sleepless Park

The word desvelado means “those who don’t sleep”… I find the name curious to start with, as the insomniac I am.

There is though another way to interpret it “Those who never rest” and here is when it gets tainted by a melancholic vibe.

As much as I like abandoned places I have to say this is one of the weirdest and creepiest I’ve ever been to. We had had intentions to visit it for a long time so I wanted to take the chance also to prepare a photo shoot.
The crown I’m wearing was a birthday gift from my friend and illustrator Lisselotte Eriksson, and as she has a fascination for dark fairies (The “Unseelie Court”) I thought the place approppiate to surprise her with some photos.

So early March, a few weeks ago, being late for a proper hike in the Wilderness, we found convenient to pay a visit to it as it is rather close to us.

We parked the car in Estella, I put my garments in a rucksack and uphill we went in an area called “San Lorenzo”, the path surrounded by orchards and ominous dark pine forests covered in vines. The alarm call of countless Black Birds as we walked by filled our ears. Half an hour later we stumbled upon “Los Desvelados Street” and a few meters away an open fence with a signal that says : This is private property, feel free to enter Please, Respect!

There was only a couple there (weird place for a picnic) as soon as they saw me with my horned piece and dark goth make up they started to talk loudly about Nephilim (The Fallen Ones), bad omens, Demons and religious talk not minding I was listening. They stared at me a few times while they loudly talked about these topics, the moment was too awkward to engage conversation to explain we were there just for a photo shoot.

I was not going for a super dark look, more a “goth” spectral ghostly Unseelie fairy look, or even a “romantic symbolism” of Death as it is the main topic the park is based upon. I love ghostly and spectral tales from the XIX century after all. The place itself does not call for vivid colours. So there I was cloaked in black. Skulls and bright polka dresses wouldn’t make a good combination right?

A family with small kids got in the place, they were laughing enthusiastically at the skulls, as if something “funny”. Talk about eerie, skulls and children’s laughters! One of the youngest pointed at me and said! “Look, mum” A witch! -he squeaked. I smiled back and the older kid with huge specs hid shyly behind his mother. I smiled again and they both giggled nervously. It felt a bit empowering, I must say.

Above: the headpiece was a handmade birthday gift from my friend Liselotte. Neither a Nephilim nor a Witch though.

Above: me beside one of the Skulls so you can appreciate the scale

The 7 massive sculptures of distorted skulls and skeletons made by artist Luis García Vidal transform the landscape into an eerie giant’s boneyard and scattered here and there, almost as junk piles we can also find other odd creepy shrines.
The size of some of the sculptures is jaw dropping, it won’t leave you indifferent. They large hollow orbits taring as fathomless wells… The experience is rather haunting.

They look somehow like something out of Edward Gorey’s or Tim Burton’s illustrations. A hint of macabre even.
The sculptures are distorted and out of proportion, there are also some laying from the floor or looks like being engulfed by it or rotting away.

A memento-mori

All things that live must die

Julio García Vidal was born in Melilla the 24th of December, 1927. As a teenager her moved to Madrid to learn Sculpture and then to Paris where he met his wife that was from Estella. The would spend every winter there working in this strange and curious place. Created between 1971 and the artist’s death in 2009, they are meant to serve as a memento-mori (from Latin “remember you have to die”). The whole park is an Ode to Death and a reminder of the inevitability of it, of the transient Nature of our existence on Earth.

Slowly bushes have taken over and all is succumbing into decay. He spent 38 years working on this park… carefully building and restoring continuously his structures made of twigs and branches of “sumac” (very small trees and shrubs from the genus Rhus) wrapped in chicken wire and covered with gypsum and white paint.

Above: Details of the materials used to build the structures

His brother Alberto, also an artist, died of cancer and very poor. He sculpted the skull above with a plaque that reads that his brother ended up like “human garbage” but accepted Death with courage as if passing away had been some kind of solace for him. I found it extremely sad, maybe even resentful for the words chosen, compelling though.

He also was involved himself in a car crash. You can see ruined cars scattered in the Park. There are signs of his “obsession” incorporating also other objects that had been involved in accidents.

Walking through this desolate place we stumble upon this:

The quote along the crushed baby pram shrine suddenly turns macabre.
“Cuando sea mayor seré futbolista, si el destino quiere”. “When I become older I will be a football player if fate allows”. A reminder that sometimes life is taken from us way before fulfillment.

The message is clear… in life and death there are things we can’t choose, there are things we can’t control, there are things that aren’t fair… but that’s the way things are

A place vanishing into Oblivion

Only a decade after his death Nature starts to claim back the place, the white paint on the schools is wearing out, the wire holding their structures become undone, some of the Sumac taking life again.

All the pictures in this article were taken a few weeks ago, early March 2018. I found online photographs from a few years ago and some of the structures are almost unrecognizable now. They are left to the elements.

Above: some of the skulls are now just a bunch of twined twigs, yet you can infer its former shape

Some years from now from now the whole place will vanish into oblivion. Maybe that is a final lesson that the artist wanted to portray, that his work was “alive” with him, and it would decay back into Nature once he was gone. I think it was the way he intended it so in this he succeeded to leave a final lesson

I think the creator wanted us not only to think about Death but also about Life.

Death is something that we all will have in common, somehow an equalizer. It doesn’t matter how rich or famous you are, or the struggles and miseries you’ve gone through… we are all going to meet the same end eventually.

Overcoming our Fear of Death

First the cradle then the grave… as sure as the souls just flow from Birth to the Death. (lyrics of my song Through the Long way)

I do believe both Life are Death are in balance in Nature… Romantification of Death can be dangerous, though we often find it in old poetry and literature, in tales of cross hearted lovers like Romeo and Juliet…

I accept Death, it´s just a natural process, it is key to keep balance, yet I confess I find the moment of “ceasing” or “disruption of life” is sad. I’ve seen Death, I’ve been close to it too, I have experienced loss and mourning, and the only romantic thing about it is that it taught me “love” lasts beyond Death. As long as we remember, the ones that we have loved and lost live in us still.

Thanatophobia (fear of death) is a condition that describes the fear and anxiety in the awareness of our mortality, a fear of “ceasing to exist”. The name Thanatophobia takes from the Greek figure of death known as Thanatos.

Or fear of death is a primal instinct, to fear Death is a natural thing… after all that is why we are equipped with our “fight or flee” response to protect our lives. We long to live. Yet being anxious and overwhelmed by that fear is not a good thing. We must not forget the joy in living.

Our ways to manage this fear differ, some seek comfort in religion and somehow overriding Death into an afterlife. I am not exploring this, as I think it´s a beautiful comforting thought yet what lies beyond is unknown…

Sometimes it’s so hard to see death as a positive thing. Many of us have experience loss. Death is often a taboo topic, and something difficult to accept no matter how natural it is. The first time I saw a bird dying as a child my heart clenched. It was terrible. How quickly all it was extinguishes, that “something” gone. I have been vegetarian since 8 years old because I cannot bear the thought of anything dying for my sake.

I saw all my pets die while being held and close to my heart… In many ways they taught me to accept it because they were gone embraced in love.

Still both Life and Death are part of Nature, both balance its cycles. Still it is only logical and rational that we must accept that we will all eventually die. Why should we fear something that is so inevitable, and somehow needed?

Like fungi grow on dead trees… Nature teaches us Life just transform… we are all part of an endless cycle…

I remember a chapter of “The Storyteller” 80s TV series “The Soldier and the Death” The fairy tale tells of a Soldier that tricks the Devil playing cards and earns a magic sack in which he finally traps Death inside. But though he successfully kidnaps Death he sees what would happen in the world if no one and nothing could die…
It´s all about “balance”. It’s about cycles.

The eternal hourglass of existence is turned upside down again and again, and you with it, speck of dust! (Nietzche)

I do admit I do fear to die… but somehow I have understood that fear better, that maybe we are afraid to run out of time having not lived to the fullest. So wherever you are at:

Seek happiness, seek for meaning, LIVE fully and wisely…! Cherish and be grateful!

Until then… LIVE 🙂

Till Death do us part
But until then… LIVE
Seize the Day
“For Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return”

*

I hope you found it curious, it is not that well-known… if you ever visit the area it is worth a walk by even if only because of its “oddity”. In no way and despite its dark Nature I am meaning to be ominous… on the contrary, I hope it has awakened some food for thoughts too.

Disclaimer: All the pictures in this post are taken by me or in collaboration with my partner @hedac. All Rights Reserved.

Above: a final farewell shot taken with my phone

It´s so cold when North Winds blow
bringing hail and pearls of frost
That´s the way that you do chill me to the bone
(Lyrics from my song Flame)

In Spain there is a beautiful world, “Cencellada”, for this particular meteorological event. I think the English translation would be “rime”. It happens when it’s misty and Temperature drops drastically and the water vapor and droplets in the fog freeze quickly. The result looks like if everything has magically turned into ice, a glass-looking forest covered in fragile frost needles and scales (sometimes showing the direction in which the wind blows), and trees turn absolutely white as if made of standing snow… It looks magical and so ethereal.Gauzy and Fragile like thin ice (from my song Ethereal)

As you know as a fantasy musician and illustrator I also find inspiration and enjoy doing fantasy photo shoots. It was the first day of 2017 and despite being extremely cold Héctor and I wanted to celebrate doing what we love the most, hiking out int he Wilderness. We usually work as a team, he enjoys scenery and landscape photography and I love to dress up in fantasy costumes (as my music and art is inspired by fantasy and fairy tales). So as we drove up the mountains everything started to transform, the mist vanished and pale, white slender beech trees loomed out as we entered into a “Frozen World”.

What we found was even more rare and especial, and this is likely one of my favourite photoshoots ever. I hope you feel the magic of the moment too through them. I have never shared them “together” day, so writing this blog post also was for me a lovely way to revisit a cherished memory.

-It is very cold. –@hedac said… Are you sure you want to go for it? (He knows I would reply “Of course”)

It was bitter cold, -10 ºC and wind chill factor made it felt much lower. I am a person that takes baths in the river in late Winter so I can endure cold weather rather well but as I was undressing I felt it “cutting my skin”. So there I was putting on a corset not wanting to miss the chance. I made the cloak and skirt myself. I had a white thin fabric I often use for my stage performances. I had been gifted a wonderful mask, crafted by Vincent Cantillon, and happened to have a white dress in the trunk of the car (as somehow we were expecting to find a place with snow). Lucky!

Wind lifted the veils in odd ghostly shapes. The word is haunting.

We took plenty of photos and lost track of time until there came a moment I felt my fingertips had hardened (literally) and went completely numb. I stopped feeling my hands entirely and I felt a slight trigger of alarm, so that was the moment to halt and go back to the car.

-“I can’t fight the keys of the car” -Hector said as he started to look around and in his pockets.
I panicked a little and started to shiver. I had no coat or gloves. It took a little time until he did hahah and those were looooong minutes for me.

Below: A mosaic of “behind the scenes” and highlights all taken with my phone including me and my poor fingers! Happy and cozy after I had warmed up with the car´s heating and hot tea (A thermos flask is a must for this kind of adventures). I hope you find the photos worth. My hands did hurt quite a while but I love to have been able to be part of that fairy-tale moment.

After we were comforted we ventured up again to film some footage, and a blizzard compelled us to drive back home, but not before we could make some very dramatic videos for our music projects.

All pictures are taken with my phone except the ones I’m appearing in, that were taken in collaboration with @hedac and edited by myself. He took amazing shots that day as well that I hope he shares his too. Next one is also from my phone (not quite as spectacular as the ones he did but you can make an idea).

Since, we have been waiting for the weather to replicate this elusive meteorological event (rare in my region), to find again a door open into this magical Ice Frozen Woods. We visit the location in Navarre, Spain always shifting along with the seasons.

´Cause I cannot stay within
This motionless netherworld
Within my chrysalis cold

Will I emerge like butterfly into the vibrant daylight?

Those are words from my song “At the Dreams Door” that was featured in my second album The Underliving.

As you may have already noticed I love fairy tales and fantasy. Not only my music and art nourish from it, I have a collection of illustrated fairy tales. I simply love all those XIX and early XX illustrations with fairies and princesses in my magic attire… :). Reading fantastic stories with a hot mug of tea, one of my favourite thing to do on moody rainy days.

So I was away hiking  recently with some friends that were visiting when @hedac made a phone call and told me he had found a little butterfly in the  music studio. It had been born from a chrysalis that came along with a purchased plant. The little creature had perched confidently on Héctor and and refused to leave on that chilly and rainy day. So the butterfly got all cozy and was our “fairy” companion for the day, cleaning its antennae with its fore legs, perching on our hands… we were mesmerized and for a few hours we forgot all about our daily tasks to take pictures and film it.  So small, and yet so magical… I’m always amazed by the patterns in the wings. As an illustrator I find it so inspiring so I made a few doodles on my sketchbook. I confess I like  moths over vivid colored butterflies and I feel more inclined to the muted colors of moths.  Maybe because I am myself kind of mousy. But this little butterfly also had these brown earth moth colors… I wonder what kind of butterfly it is, if any knows  let me know to edit it and include the species. 🙂

I find metamorphosis such an outstanding and inspiring metaphor of TRANSFORMATION

So why sharing this personal moment here, because I wanted to speak about change…

we fear change…

Sometimes we feel the need but we refuse to change… we get stuck in our old habits thinking that “changing” would be betraying some rigid and frozen convictions we have built about ourselves, about who we are. We smother ourselves keeping our thoughts inside a pre-made grid because it is what it feels safe… This is the way we usually do things so it’s “comfortable” to keep on doing the same. We even feel guilty when the need of change becomes blatantly obvious.
I always say… “Thoughts are boundless” We should not have to feel fear of what comes next… if we “open our eyes” we can peek what lies ahead… It is not like moving forward blindly, but still there comes a moment where you have to take risks and nothing ever changes unless we give a first step… I know, it´s difficult for most of us, for me too, thus I write these motivational posts, they are also self-reminders. I can be bold and brave sometimes, but I also have moments where I’m beset by doubts and fear… fear to change!

And why do we fear to change? I guess we know that sometimes this transformation is a time where we feel like stalling, slow, trapped… The process is not immediate, it takes time, effort, energy.
Hatching from a cocoon is a hard and very delicate time until we can unfold our wings and get ready to fly…
If not… ask this little fellow! 🙂

We can change for the better and that is not betraying ourselves…! We decide who we are, we decide who we will be.

And maybe there comes a time where we need to transform into something better, or more correctly something different to fulfill a purpose… and that doesn’t mean we are betraying ourselves or our work… we evolve, we grow, we transform and on our journey and sometimes we become something different than what we were when we started… still being OURSELVES. And the same with our goals and dreams… they shift too along with us.

We must acknowledge our mistakes and learn from them, but we must do it without self-punishing ourselves for having committed them but being proud of have been able to overcome them. Every struggle we have had to undergo has already changed us… They have made us stronger, and more aware.

What lies ahead is always UNCERTAIN, it has to be that way… but still we must fly away

Mood: Becoming…!

Above: me with our visitor… I even filmed some scenes for a forthcoming music video, for a little while she was our “starlet” and model. I say “she” cos it´s a fairy princess in disguise… Then it vanished into thin air… we kept opening the door the following days so we hope it found its way out. Grateful for the magical moment you provided and the thoughts you evoked 🙂

Pd: In my head I’ll imagine my little friend like this… hope it made it somewhere safe. This other photo is another butterfly enjoying the lovely outdoors on a warm Spring day…

Who is longing and yearning for Spring? and butterflies?

But wait! almost time… all around me is changing and transforming too… all awaiting to grow!

First some tips for singers, performers or anyone feeling soreness of throat and strained voice…

So it happened, I woke up yesterday with sore throat and I cannot barely swallow… of course the first advice I would give myself as a singer is DO NOT overuse now that you are aware you are experiencing loss of voice (whichever the cause, allergies, cold, vocal misuse…). The symptoms of dysphonia vary from a fatigued, raspy voice, struggling to reach the high notes, or having its phonation altered so you squeak like a teenager or lose control of the pitch, or worse even… you’re absolutely voiceless. Time to STOP… Let it repair and rest, and check with a doctor if the problem persists too long as it could be masking further and more serious problems like nodes or thyroid gland malfunction.

But let’s say you got a respiratory infection, a nasty cold, you sang your lungs out, or you simply partied too much in a noisy environment and you woke up feeling your throat is on fire and having lost control of your voice… What can we do?

Hydration is the key

Number 1 advice is vocal rest but if you do have to perform and it’s absolutely unavoidable, drink a lot of warm (not cold) water, keeping your cords hydrated will help you to get rid of the phlegm that sticks to the back of your throat. Sipping warm water throughout the day works wonders against most ailments including this one. Avoid copious food as acid reflux is a vocal cords killer and may cause permanent laryngitis. Bad digestions equals to unhealthy voice. If you feel the need to cough try to repress it. Do not whisper, if you can´t talk, then don´t. Also remember warm up before any speech or performance to relieve further stress. If it gets worse, you were warned! REST! I will do an in depth article (or maybe video about more vocal tips if you are interested, but as I have had to deal with this discomfort myself these last few days I wanted to share here my “miracle home remedy” that helps me to clear my voice when this happens

So I’m voiceless I need a quick fix… Time for a GINGER TEA VOCAL RESCUE

What ingredients do you need?

• Ginger root (fresh, sliced or grated)
• Honey
• Water
• Lemon Juice
• Herbs (optional): Thyme, Peppermint, Sage
• Spices (cardamom, clove, cinnamon, a pinch of cayenne pepper)

Just add the ingredients and heat until it simmers, let it rest until it’s warm.

Water of course is the basic ingredient, as I mentioned at the beginning of this article “hydration is the key”. So keep in mind to prepare enough to refill your cup when you need.
Herbs and spices are optional but these extra ingredients allow you to make different combinations and vary the taste of your tea and each one has their particular benefits. The honey helps to coat your throat to achieve a smoother voice. You can also use propolis instead which has enhanced antibacterial properties but some people dislike the taste and smell of it. Lemon is acid and promotes the production of saliva, helping to get rid of phlegm and mucus. These herbs can boost your “witchy potion”. Peppermint is good to clear the phlegm, thyme is a natural antibiotic and will help to keep mild respiratory infections at bay. Some people add also Licorice Root. The spices also helps in keeping oral health and assist in your digestion… but let’s talk of course about the main ingredient ginger root.

HOLY GINGER!!

The rhizoma of Zingiber Officinale looks like a plump fairy or a mandrake root from a witch’s apotechary :). Ginger has a lot of medicinal properties, many of which have been proved scientifically… The benefits of ginger tea are proved and lots of singers and voice professionals will tell you this: It simply works!!! It is caffeine free but works as a booster, increasing your body temperature and metabolism, it aids your immune system and also has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties- It also helps with nausea… too good to be true? It is also delicious in an exotic way but beware, it’s rather spicy too, so if you like it mild use slices instead of grated root.
If you don’t like the taste of the tea at all you can also gargle it… though, oh my, what a waste! 😉

Also if you are in a hurry you can grate ginger and keep it in a glass flask preserved in honey, so when you need the “rescue” you only have to put a spoonful in hot water with lemon and ready to go!

By the way this tea is delicious and you don’t have to be sick to drink, it´s also good for self-care and prevention to keep your singing voice in good shape.
I want to state that I’m not a vocal coach, and if you do experience a permanent loss of voice, both a doctor to check and a vocal coach to teach you a proper vocal technique (to sing and/or speak) are highly recommended to avoid further damage. But if you are experiencing just a temporary loss of your voice I hope you find this article useful. I just wanted to share this “quick fix” as it works amazingly well for me.

Sharing some pictures of me, taken last weekend. As you may know already, besides music and illustration I love to hike in Nature and create Fantasy inspired photography as a way to tell short stories (sometimes motivational).

It is chilly outside… It may snow again tonight! We are all summoning Spring but Winter is still sitting on the throne…
But every season has its own magic, I love the way snow can transform everything overnight. I somehow welcome and need that “change” too… It is like when you wake up and everything has been covered by clean and pure white snow so you can walk on a new untrodden path. You can set your course, chose your way… Every possibility lies before you. And I am sure many of you will understand what I mean. ;). Maybe even the footprints that you leave will help others to follow.
Dare to venture… our souls are wild…!

Is there snow where you live?

Photos of me taken by Héctor Corcín  February 2018. My fantasy photography is usually in collaboration with him (sometimes other fellow photographers as well). We often film on these locations and we use these footage on our own music videos too, so it´s all part of the same project in that way 🙂

Cloak by myself, antlers by Costurero Real

I wanted to share these series of photos of me  along with a little motivational story for all artists out there.  As a singer-songwriter and illustrator I have faced discouragement so many times, but I have always stood up and kept on fighting. It doesn’t matter if you are emerging or if you have already decades of experience. Sometimes we move forward, sometimes we stall. In my case there have been sweet moments, there have been struggling ones, but I’ve never stopped perceiving myself as an artist. This has been my journey half of my life already.

So you have a dream… and it´s like touching the Moon…!

So very often you will stumble upon people who will tell you straightforward “it is useless”, “it is impossible”, “You cannot touch the Moon, it is out of your reach and that is an actual scientific fact!”. And sometimes you are overwhelmed by the logic of it all, and suddenly what you aim for feels like “just another silly dream”, a source of frustration and wasted time…  But it is not. Keep the Moon at sight!

But they don’t understand that you are already “touching the moon in your own way” because that is precisely the magic of “ART” that it is a for to express our spirits and share a piece of our souls. True Art is not ruled by the “actual facts” but by “feelings”. And when I say “True Art” I make no mention if it´s good or bad (that depends on everyone´s taste and is another matter entirely) I mean if it´s something born from the heart.

Even an illusion or a metaphor it is able to carry and convey the MEANING and purpose of an artist creation. All is real in your mind eye and that thrill is enough to keep a dream alive. The spark of imagination creates your own and unique way to do it. Howl, dance, sing believe! Create!  Do not become obsessed to measure your worth in numbers,. Just worship and appreciate how you evolve and improve…  that´s the biggest success of all.  And this is also a reminder to myself, in those moments I forget.

You have a dream, and you can touch the Moon!

Thoughts are boundless.

PD: All photos were taken by my partner Héctor Corcín during a Super Moon in Navarre, 2015

Hello again, I’m sharing  this improvised “Wind incantation” I recorded in Samhain, 1st October 2015. Wind has always been an inspiration and a personal “obsession”. I even wrote a song called “The Wind song” in one of my albums.  As I mentioned in my introduction post, I love to collect and play rare and folk instruments to layer the sounds in my work, so here is a “Capella” improvisation just with a “wind-band”.

What are wind-bands and bull roarers?

Wind bands are in fact instruments inspired in the “bull roarers”, an ancient music instrument  consisting in a piece of wood attached to a cord that you just spin to make it buzz. There are archaeological evidence of their existence since the Paleolithic period in several continents. From Scandinavia, to Ancient Greece to Australia, it  is found in many cultures with different names. It was used to communicate over distance (the low frequency can travel and be heard several miles away) and also in rituals to keep “evil spirits” at bay and summon good forces.

Wind bands are a modern type of “bull roarers” and  belong too to the same category of music instruments called “aerophones” as the sounds depend on the vibration caused by air against the surface of the instrument.  They are very easy to build  and the sound it produces is somehow a mix of  the didgeridoo and the classic bull roarer. They are usually constructed of wood with a rubber band resonator. It doesn’t require any special technique except twirling it with the handle, depending on the speed it can create a variety of sounds and is tune-able to different pitches.

When you spin it it produces a drone sound,  kind of eerie and ghostly, the pitch can be changed adjusting the distance of the “dividing piece”, if you place such piece in an angle it can create harmonics too.  Some stores sell “double wind bands” to mix two tones. As you can see the building plan is rather simple.  I love to bring it with me when I hike and  I just  improvise along with the drone.  I love rare instruments, fantasy, myths, legends and music.

Video:

Above: Iberian Wolf (Picture from http://defensaloboiberico.org

Canis Lupus Signatus, the Iberian Wolf,  It is a subspecies of wolf endemic  from the North of Spain. Lookt at it well, in its uniqueness! 🙁 Almost extinct once, populations recovered, though it still remains to be vulnerable and endangered.  In the 50´s and 60´s Francoist Government tried to wipe it out and almost succeeded, a few packs saved the species from extinction and it slowly recovered. Still,  despite knowing our past mistake, our Spanish Government still allows the hunting down of a percentage of them each year, not adding the constant “poaching”… when are we going to learn?. Honestly when someone asks me about my political inclinations I’ve been voting for the animals party since ages, because they still do not have representation. Isn’t this a beautiful creature? Well, look at him well, because some time from now it might not be… If we see the number of species gone the last 200 years, it gives me chills of terror

I confess sometimes I watch on youtube footage of already extinct animals.. it´s like I don’t want to forget… when you see  the Thylacine moving in film, you almost feel like it might be still somewhere, yet it is not… It is not, EXTINCTION means GONE, FOREVER… even cloning back extinct animals in the near future, would not be the exact thing that we lost.  And once than, they can say “what a pity” but there is no undo button for extinction.

HOW SELFISH WE ARE AS A SPECIES… wild animals belong in the forest, we hunt them down as if they were an unwanted molestation, animals do belong to Nature, it´s us plaguing it.  We have destroyed our environment (and keep on doing it while our blinded race to the point of no return draws to a fatal conclusion). But we still treat a few thousands animals as “plagues” when millions of us fill the Earth with garbaga. If I meet a wild boar, I hike regularly and I have read how to make precautions, I don´t blame the animal, I try my best, in respect to cross our paths in peace (one of the most beautiful experience in my recent hikes was to stumble with a sounder of boar in the mist)… but first option for many, let´s kill it, let´s hunt it, as scientists, we have ways to treat catch and release them with treatments so they are less fertile. There is no need to get rid of them by hunting or killing, it could be done ANOTHER WAY. More let´s get trained about what to do and don´t if we find a wild animal… an teach respect to all creatures, and find SOLUTIONS that don´t imply torturing, killing, hunting and destroying endangered species like the Iberian Wolf is. Aren´t you so smart and clever HUMAN? Don´t you say that something merciful is HUMANE in your language (such a lying concept)… Look at these eyes, don’t look away.

Iberian Wolf wikipedia entry

Status: VULNERABLE