Last Sunday, June 23, we celebrated at the Nomadic Book Garden Letters and flamesan evening of sharing readings and burning the bad. If it is the first time you read about the Jardín de Libros Nómadas (JLN), it is a space managed by the Asociación Cultural Plataforma de Opañel la Higuera y el Almendro. The JLN is located on Arroyo Opañel street with Mercedes Domingo. Its use began as a demand as a neighborhood space, and in the future the installation of a library has been requested. For now, cultural events are held at the JLN, and there is a space for books and garden workshops from the network of gardens of the Community of Madrid. For this there are commissions volunteers to organize these events, participate in the garden and be part of the Book Committee.
Many proposals are received from neighbours regarding workshops, activities and cultural events. This community project unites culture and ecology, reclaiming the power of culture and the neighbourhood. The events that are organised have a community character, are for all people who want to attend and are managed with great care.
This time it was the group of writers called “Los Nomades” who contacted the Garden (@jlnomadas) on Instagram, and it seems that everything was written because… what better place to celebrate San Juan? Our names are connected and our vision of stories and sharing is also connected, so we organized an event where all attendees could contribute their short stories or poems without having to write them themselves.
During the afternoon, you could hear stories from the group of writers “los Nomades” that transported you to Uruguay, made you reflect and left you yearning to know more. The attendees contributed their favorites, some poems like the one a mother dedicated to her son, another that spoke about fire and words that encouraged reading, to clean up the bad and to live intensely. What quality of writers! The atmosphere was created with the magic of the music of Pablo Erre, a singer-songwriter of everyday life, as he says. He enlivened the event with the help of his guitar and his voice, making versions as mythical as Mediterranean and hot springs as special as Dental clinic, from his own repertoire. As a special guest we had Ángel Jodra, an actor and a beautiful person, who gave us his stories told with so much feeling that he left us speechless, and some in the mood to leave us happy.
We had Ángela as presenter, who is the spokesperson for the Platform Cultural Association of Opañel la Higuera y el Almendro. As always, we thanked those attending the event. It should be noted that this time more than 60 people attended, from the neighborhood and surrounding areas, and there was the presence of Esther Casado Jiménez, a resident member of Carabanchel, who is also a resident of Opañel.
Since we really like building a community and it was time for dinner, we shared the culinary delights that each attendee had brought and it was a pleasure to spend time building a neighborhood and culture.
To end the event, a fake bonfire was made where the papers written with those events that we wanted to let go, to burn, were placed. As the tradition of San Juan indicates, at midnight they were left there, and if someone wanted to burn the wishes to be fulfilled, they could do so as well. Thus, an event full of letters and flames was completed.
For more literary events in the neighborhood!
Irene Casatorres, volunteer of the Communication and Events commission – Platform Cultural Association of Opañel la Higuera y el Almendro
