Listening to Chelo talk about how flamenco was part of her childhood and continues to be a part of her Andalusian identity helped me understand the role this artform has in Cordobés culture. While I didn’t grow up dancing, signing or even watching flamenco, learning about this artform in the context of Córdoba and my new community helped me to feel a part of my new place.
A second way I became connected to my new community was through architecture. I made a point of visiting the important historic palaces and religious buildings in the region when I first arrived in Spain. Since these monuments are so old, we don’t have a lot of knowledge of the individual people (aside from the royalty) who lived in or used these buildings, but we do have the buildings themselves. And from the buildings, we can try to imagine what life was like during different historical periods.
I learned about the Mudejar style of architecture, which combines Muslim decoration and Christian building styles. For me, the Mudejar style represents one of the many positive results that came from the combination of the three cultures that were present in southern Spain: Christian, Jewish and Muslim. Seeing these cultural and artistic combinations in some of the most celebrated historic buildings in the region helped me to better understand the culture of Andalusia and the way the people there celebrate the integration of these three cultures. Similar to the way that learning about music and dance in Córdoba made me feel part of the community, learning about the built environment also made me feel more at home.
