A riparian forest is transformed into a magical territory using wood waste.

Javier G. Paradelo

Barcenaciones (Cantabria), June 19 (EFE).- The artistic hands of around thirty residents, aged between 3 and 84, from the town of Barcenaciones (Cantabria), are transforming a wooded area next to the Saja River into a land populated by characters full of life and magic, using wood from pruning waste.

This collaborative experience is called Territorio de Escubías, which honors the area where the broom plant—Cytisus scoparius, commonly known as black broom—once grew. It is an artistic intervention in the heart of nature that will create a trail filled with characters and legends.

The area also houses a cave, Escubíes, with engravings from different historical periods, the oldest of which date back to the Paleolithic, which adds interest to the project as it is associated with various mythological figures.

According to the project's promoter, artist Fran Querol, who heads the Creative Space for Community Art workshop , this initiative is being promoted by the town's neighborhood council to boost cultural activity among residents, but also to restore a natural area and a beautiful walkway along the banks of the Saja River.

The basis of this community art intervention is wood from vegetation cut down by power companies for safety reasons, vegetation that was located under the two high-voltage power lines that cross this riparian forest.

Getting lost and searching for history

This entire territory will be divided into eleven sectors or tribes, each with its own name reminiscent of mythology. Different characters made from scrap wood and stones from the surrounding area will accompany future visitors along the various trails.

The characters who inhabit each tribe's territory will have different characteristics, both in their construction and in what they want to tell, since there will be no signage so visitors can "get lost" along the trails and discover for themselves all the territories and the story that is intended to be told.

Overall, the artistic intervention involves the construction of more than thirty characters , all made from scrap wood and each with its own unique characteristics, which will encourage visitors to discover and learn.

A collaborative experience

Only at the beginning of the trail leading into the Escubías Territory will there be a large panel, also made from the same materials. It will be inaugurated this Sunday, June 22nd. It unites all the tribes, as its purpose is to serve as a connecting link for enjoying the visit.

This panel includes a map showing the location of the different tribes within the Escubías Territory, created using mosaic techniques using pebbles collected in the area, and a legend explaining the origin of this collaborative experience among the residents.

A figure from the Dwellers of Karma tribe could not be missing, who will be in charge of guiding visitors, nor a panel with the names of the thirty artists who have contributed their work over the last few months.

For Fran Querol, this project is "a journey that transcends the artistic," as it makes the entire community of residents of Barcenaciones the protagonist, contributing to the realization of a shared history rooted in the mythology of Cantabria.

And the residents of this town already boast a creative streak. Not surprisingly, they are the authors of another collaborative project that culminated this past Christmas with the creation of three sculptures of the Three Wise Men, each 4.5 meters tall, made by recycling more than 3,500 plastic containers.

The containers were collected throughout the municipality while a group of 20 people met several times a week at the town's community center to sort, clean, and prepare them for later use. EFE

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