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A delivery and generosity story;An entire life elapsed on the way of Los Angeles, dedicated to maintaining one of the most emblematic corners of Alhama in Granada.

Alhama looks out to the edge of the cuts that excavated the river that bears the same name if we could, in some way, go back to the past -at the same time closing the eyes and traveling with the imagination -, one of the most interesting places in rediscovering would be thefamous road from Los Angeles de Alhama de Granada.Very busy since time immemorial, this historic route takes place along about two kilometers next to the shore of the Alhama or Marchán River, and has seen for centuries and centuries to whom he knows how many generations of people of all origin and condition, both localas foreign.It is a medieval path full of myths and legends, which owes its romantic name to one of the most famous.Who has not heard of that fierce Christian gentleman who desperately implored the favor of the Virgin of Los Angeles when he saw himself in death trance ...?Fantasy and reality shake hands in each bend of that wide path, so beautiful and well communicated that the families that settled to their vera were countless: the most wealthy in houses and cortijillos and the simplest in rustic huts and even in cavesHorared at the base of their sandstone cuts.The path of Los Angeles has been throughout history an important route of communication, place of obligatory passage for farmers, pastors, muleteers and travelers who entered and left Alhama on the way to the countryside or other peoples.But the times changed, and with them, as usually happens, everything else.The inhabitants of the road gradually left towards other places in search of greater prosperity;The place then suffered a few years of decline and abandonment until the City Council decided to recover it as a public space.At present, the path of Los Angeles constitutes a pleasant walk, well preserved and marked, although silent, because no one lives there.No one?A moment ... Actually, someone is.It is a humble and discreet "neighbor", very dear to all Alhameños, which has lived for more than five hundred years in one of the caves that border the road.Yes, it is the Virgin of Los Angeles;The one that, more than five hundred years ago, was pity on the hurry gentleman.Any section of the Los Angeles Way is full of charm must be in Spain, and surely throughout the Christian world, many hermitages, churches and chapels consecrated to the Virgen de los Angeles.But surely the smallest, the most modest - and not less venerated - is this one that is precisely at the edge of the path that bears his name.Since the dawn of the 16th century he earned the heart of everyone who passed by, nestled she in the middle of such a extremely frequented route, which was from the beginning meeting point for many people who, as if they were pilgrims, left their choresFor a few minutes to pray, devoutly prostrated at his wooden door, or simply to rush if they were in a hurry.The Virgin of the Hermitage of Los Angeles is a beautiful image of just seventy centimeters high in which it seems that they did not put their hands sinful artists -"thing of the angels," says the people, and when the people say it, a round point-;As small as the enclosure that welcomes it, which would go unnoticed between the rough rock walls of not being for the dazzling target of its facade, so simple.There, the lady has collected more than five centuries, according to her faithful comforting the sad ones, healing the sick, taking care of the fields, saving those who are in danger and helping those who put their faith in it, as theFamous Legend Knight.Facade of the hermitage of Los Angeles;The abundant rains have dazzled their whiteness "do not pass, my soul, without greeting Maria" tell the elderly in the region who, since they can remember, the care of that precious relic for the Alhamians was always in charge ofSuccessive generations of the Retamero family who, in the category of old hermits, opted gladly and voluntarily for taking care of it.A maintenance that basically consisted of cleaning and repairing the enclosure, although the most important thing -the main one -was to ensure that a little look that had to always remain on -then had the "butterflies" that had the "butterflies" that had the "butterflies".floated in oil, and that for their poor duration you had to be renewing daily-.That tradition was loosen up from parents to children, as if it were a valuable family heritage..Everyone knew and respected the Retamero, and each one, in their own way and to the extent that their possibilities were allowed, thanked that family their altruistic dedication to the Virgin with offerings and donations that covered from coins to food or small ornaments forThe hermitage.

The inhabitants of the Los Angeles Camino, very numerous by the way, knew and supported each other as if they were relatives.One of the most appreciated families was that of Teresa García Pinos, who lived very close to the hermitage, in a farmhouse that had met a lifetime with the suggestive name of El Lagar de la Providencia.Born in the convulso year of 1936 in the Alhameña Calle Llana, Teresa was the oldest of seven brothers.When he turned six, his parents moved to that farmhouse, who was named Lagar de la Providencia for having served for many years as a sale where Alhama's famous wine was dispatched to everyone who went passing through that busy road.When his family acquired the property, shortly afterwards, it was colloquially called the Cortijo de los Ponches, because that was the nickname of his father.Little Teresa García Pinos El Cortijo de los Ponches enjoyed an excellent situation: she was in one of Alhama's exits -the one that led to the former path of Játar -, very close to the viewpoint of the rocks, right next to the road thatjoins down, a little later, to Los Angeles.Although the property did not have large vegas or land to cultivate because it was in the upper part of the cuts, it had a plot of good land around the house, enough for Teresa's family, and with the impressive views offered by the cannon of theRío Alhama aside, and the percaramed city itself at the top, with the church tower - macily and square - standing out on the white houses, to the other.Like most of the homes of the time, the cortijo was something uncomfortable because it lacked running water and electric light, details to which too large doors had to be added, which every time they opened favored the entry of frosts of air currents of air, since the windows of the house had no crystals.But the people of before, of course of another pasta, were done to everything;The cold pallowed perfectly with thick rags placed in the windows and a good fire burning in the fireplace from dawn until bedtime arrived.Teresa's family, without a doubt, was very comfortable there.First, on the edge of the Tagus, the Cortijo de los Ponches;In the background Alhama of Granadael Cortijo today, perfectly restored the house had a lotto wash clothes in large and square stone batteries that had been placed for that need to the shore of a ditch.They went down a steep hill and then raising heavy pitchers, pipos and chorreandico cubes of clear water;Only when it rained torrentially and the river came down very murky.They cooked in the wide fireplace and lit at night with oil and quinqués oil candile.And except for the postwar years, in which misery and fear reached everyone, Teresa's childhood and youth passed happy;With deficiencies, certainly, as the fact of not being able to attend the school a single day - something that would have loved it - for being obliged to take care of her younger brothers, but Teresa learned alone to read and write aLittle, because when you have true interest in something, carrying it out is only a matter of will.Teresa in the nicknacine of the humiller, Alhama Teresa's father, José García Pinos, spent many hours by manufacturing esparto serones with the thyn and lawsuits that braided her daughters, for lightening her work a little.A part of that factory was destined for sale, while another kept it for personal use, since Joseph dedicated himself to walking tirelessly through those paths of God, the back hunched under the weight of a seron loaded to the fish stops, fruit, legumes, vegetables or what I had at hand, to sell that merchandise of Cortijo in Cortijo and town in town.Sometimes - the least - paid him with money, but the most common was the exchange of some products for others, which he had to sell or redeem on his way back home.It was the millenary culture of bartering, since people then had very little money and sound.His wife, Teresa Pinos Martín, accompanied him whenever he could, because two sell more than one, and that way his children were alone in the farmhouse to the charge of Teresa, who for that was the older sister.Even so, she remembers the fear that all passed when her parents left the house, closing that huge door behind her.Then the seven children snuggled next to the fireplace and did not separate from each other until, at the end of the day, their parents returned.They had no choice but to leave them because the need squeezed more than the fear of getting away from the children, but they left with the peace of mind that if there was an urgency their children would have the support of the many neighbors who lived around,that of course they were aware of the situation, and with whom the family got along very well.When José and Teresa returned after a hard day of the way, dribbles, sales and barters, they all had dinner in love and company and, before going to bed, Teresa adjusted the accounts of the day - who carried with the accuracy of a calculator - withA handful of chickpeas.Teresa (with a hat) with her mother, brothers and other relatives, in the Cortijo de los Ponches but not everything were work and sacrifices.They also knew how to have fun, such as during the Christmas holidays, days in which, well warmed "because the winters of before were not like those of now," they all went along the way of Los Angeles ahead with many other families, singing carols accompanied by the zambomba that masterfully played dad José, and the hands of Almirez and bottles of anise that were scraping mom Teresa and the children.Thus passed through the houses of their friends and family, until the cold and fatigue forced them to shelter at home, in the heat of the fire, where the party continued.In addition to that, when the good weather arrived, fun dances were organized by the farmhouses -also in the Cortijo de los Ponches -because it was the only way the young people then had to forget a while of the obligations, relax and alternate with people from your age.Over the years, as José and Teresa aged and their children became older, the family prospered a little and José could buy a mule to help him in the task.He had no need to load heavy bales on his back -every time more weakened -, apart from being able to carry much more merchandise on a single trip;and his wife and eldest children of him either had since then the obligation to accompany him in his displacements.The noble animal was a great respite for all, which incorporated him into his daily life almost, almost as one of the family.Teresa with her parents and other relatives, with the mule, of course frequentBefore continuing its path, pious tradition very rooted by the way among the people of Alhama."EA, Virgencita, until another day!""Goodbye, Virgen de los Ángeles, ask your son for mine"!"Don't forget me, Divina Pastora" ...!He took care of the hermitage at that time the old Isidoro Retamero, who - religiously, never better - continued with the inherited tradition of his father Cristóbal, his grandfather Juan and his great -grandfather and his great -great grandfather ... It was a very wrinkled old woman andhooded that came to the small enclosure daily to collect the currencies that the faithful threw the Virgin, to adapt the chapel and renew the butterflies that illuminated the niche that sheltered the image.Then he kept the cleaning equipment in the back of the chapel, which was accessed by a rectangular opening where his grandfather Juan had excavated in full rock, with his own hands, a large cave with several stays -includinga kitchen with chimney and smoke outlet abroad- which later used as a hermit housing.Isidoro went and went with her short steps from the town to the hermitage, with cold or heat, every day a little more tired than the previous.But the time came when he had no choice but to accept the evidence of his advanced age and, as the tradition in his family sent, transfer the responsibility for the care of the hermitage to his son.Her son accepted her delighted and diligently took place until the social and economic circumstances of the late fifties of the last century forced her, like so many other alhamos, to emigrate, with all the pain of her heart, far from his city.Antonio thus yield the responsibility of the hermitage to a relative, Carmen Pinos, who soon was also forced to leave Alhama.And it is that the demands of modern life were ending a tradition that dated more than four hundred years ago.It was in this way like Carmen Pinos, relative of the Ponches family, asked Dad José.The custody of the Los Angeles hermitage definitely passed to Teresa's family;a new stage in the history of that miniature sanctuary had just begun.José García Pinos, Teresa's father spent the years.José spent every day through the hermitage to attend to his maintenance, and when he could not for work reasons, Mom Teresa did it instead.Gradually, the rest of the family was joining the task.All collaborated pleased to take care of the small enclosure in whatever necessary: cleaning, whitening, lighting lights, repairing damage, adorning it with flowers in the most marked days ... the Virgin of Los Angeles began to be part of their lives almost without being givenbill;The obligation to comply with the lady became devotion, the broadest sense of the word.And when Dad José died, his wife continued with the care of the hermitage, more and more frequently helped by her daughters.Finally and given the discomforts of living in the Cortijo, the family decided to move to a house in Alhama, but not for that reason they left a single day of attending the Virgin.Time ran, the mother's health declined and were replacing her daughters, especially the oldest, Teresa, who also involved her boyfriend, Manuel Becerra Carrión - from Apodo Angelino - in that work.Dad José and Mom Teresa

Gradually, Teresa was assuming the responsibility to take care of the Virgin.He married Manuel in May 1961 and had four daughters -Mari Tere, Fina, Juani and Manoli- who also accepted with absolute naturalness, as one more part of their lives, the care of the hermitage of Los Angeles;Especially the youngest of the four, Manoli, who loved her so much to her that one day she flew on her side forever, three years ago.More than sixty have passed and the hermitage continues to be in charge of that family.Teresa with her husband Manuel and her four daughters.At this time, Teresa and his people have known countless anecdotes and experiences that are as the protagonist of the Virgin of Los Angeles.And, like so many faithful, they firmly believe in the favors that she gives to those who invoke her name with faith.Teresa herself remembers excited - while her eyes cleaned with her white handkerchFamily, and just around the road a beautiful white bread was found, without anyone having passed through there before and at a time when that food was quite scarce.And that other occasion when he gave a stupid and fell through the direct embankment towards the river;Miraculously a rock stopped her, just when she asked for help from the Virgin, saving her from a blow that could have been fatal.There are many alhameños who narrate similar phenomena;Maybe that's why the names of Angels and Angel abound, in that town.Perhaps that is why, too, that many people walk barefoot to the hermit.Interior of the hermitage of Los Angeles, currently the interior of the hermitage has not changed substantially in recent centuries, except for the layers of paint of different colors applied to its irregular walls of pulled rock pulled.A sweet stillness and a cheerful feeling of peace rule inside, in which the flowers are never missing, that Teresa's family maintains primarily clean and tidy, while the image looks splendid, recently restored by the will of Teresa, which already with moreEighty said that he refused to leave this world leaving his virgin disarmed.The current sculpture, of polychrome plaster, dates from 1943 and was ceded by a family of Alhama after the loss of the original image during the civil war.With its own means and helped by the donations of numerous devotees of the Virgen de los Ángeles, Teresa has been recovering, reforming and rehabilitating everything that has been necessary without hesitation for a moment, before giving the witness to his daughter Juani.That imperishable love is perceived only by crossing the metal puercita that closes the minimum stay.Rawing, snowing, healthy or sick, Teresa and her family, all to one, have remained at the foot of the canyon, and now that Teresa's legs no longer allow himThey take over - another more, like so many generations of caregivers of the Hermitage over five hundred years - "while they can and the Virgin wants".Teresa, Juani and Paco strive to conserve the hermitage in the best possible state of their recent restoration, the image of the Virgin of Los Angeles looks like the first day the dedication that this small image has inspired is also reflected in the least visible part of thesmall sanctuary.To the left of the altar, crossing an excavated hole on the wall, a large cavity undermined by hand more than a century by the old hermit Juan Retamero is accessed, which adapted its interior as a house where it settled to live with the maximumSimplicity, as close as possible to his Virgin, the mother who knew the sorrows and joys of her ancestors -and also his -until the same day of his death.That story and other details were in writing in an old file that Teresa carefully conserves with other documents, and that were bequeathed to her father directly by Antonio Retamero, the last representative of that hermite lineage, when José took over the maintenance of the maintenance of the maintenance of the maintenanceof the hermitage.Interior of the wide cave excavated after the altar of the Hermitage The consecration of Teresa to the defense and care of the hermitage has deserved, how could it be otherwise, the public recognition of its selfless work by Alhama de Granada, cityGrateful as few, through the granting of two awards: the Alhama Ponte Ponte Ponte Award, which awarded the City Council and, more recently, the diploma to the conservation granted by the prestigious Board of Board of Studies Alhameños last February twenty -seven, eve of the eve of theAlhama Historic Day.Teresa collects her award from the president of the Alhameños Studies Board of Trustees, Andrés García Maldonadola Ermita de los Angeles will continue to accumulate years, history, legends and mystical experiences, and new generations of caregivers - eratigators of the future - will help her to continue standing.And with it, the historic path that bears his name, attracting with its beauty and particular the visitors, believers and non -believers, as well as the cave houses and the demolished farmhouses that pull their journey, which resist as relics of an era,of a way of thinking and a lifestyle that were and that are no longer.

They run bad times for religious beliefs as we know them.At least, that could be deduced by observing the rhythm of life that we currently lead, the radical change of priorities, customs, even attachments.Or maybe what we have changed is our concept of divinity, replacing in the imaginary of many the image of an ancient God used by an abstract idea, rather a "go in good direction".But one thing is clear: in the human being the physical is inseparable from the emotional, of the spiritual;It is the quality that differentiates us from other animals.All the relationships that we establish - with ourselves and with others - reflect the intimate union of our body with our spirit, with our highest, most sacred "me".Let's strip that word of its religious connotations: etymologically, the word "sacred" derives from a root that means "whole".Let us be, whole human beings, complete, without dispensing with our connection with that divine spirit that for each of us will be different -God, Allah, Buddha, Mother Earth, the destiny, the vital force of the universe ... -, to feel ourselvesfull, complete;real human beings.Event of the care of the hermitage text and photos: Mariló V.Oyonar you

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