The extreme drought that affects Catalonia is forcing the most deep-rooted customs and traditions to be altered, such as the events celebrated during Holy Week, and more specifically, the blessing of laurel leaves, as a symbol of triumph, at Sunday mass. of Ramos.
In this photographic report by Isaura Marcos in La Vanguardia Readers' Photos, we delve into the Pedralbes monastery in Barcelona to discover how the drought is affecting the laurel plantations and will force one of the most important Christian festivities to be altered. .
Palm Day celebrates the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem with his disciples. It is said that crowds of people welcomed Christ with palm, olive and laurel branches on the Sunday before his death and resurrection. For this reason, custom dictates the blessing of these plants to remember the Christian anniversary.
But this year, the nuns of the Pedralbes monastery will not be able to carry out this rite, since a good part of the leaves of the laurels they grow in the gardens around the monastery are yellow and withered.
Thus, the drought has forced them to take an alternative to their distribution, relegating the laurel and promoting the olive tree, due to its greater adaptation to the dry climate.
"It is the first time, since 1976, when I entered this convent, that there is no abundant laurel to continue with the tradition of distributing it on Palm Sunday," explains Sister Isaura Marcos, who at only 17 years old, entered the convent and Since then, he has preached his faith through photography, which he defines as "an alternative prayer."
Sister Isaura shows us the gardens surrounding the convent, which are evidence of the serious drought we are suffering from. Trees and shrubs such as laurels, oaks, cypresses... are completely dry and, some, even lifeless.
The only ones that have fruit, although tiny, are those citrus trees such as orange or lemon trees, which do not require much water to bloom.
The groundwater that the convent uses to subsist and cover the basic needs of the resident Poor Clare nuns is also used for the monastery garden. And also to develop the new "insect hotel" that has been enabled to promote sustainability and the preservation of native species.
The Pedralbes monastery is located near an underground water mine, on the Sant Pere Mártir mountain, and the white stone quarry that gives its name to the Barcelona neighborhood of Pedralbes. The aquifer mine allows the monastery to be supplied with food and its gardens and orchards to be irrigated.
The groundwater reaches the monastery through a channel, which empties into an elevated pond near the orchard. Subsequently, it runs through the irrigation ditches, which water the orchard through a flood irrigation system that continues to this day. When irrigated, the iron gates are opened and closed and the ceramic plugs of the channels are controlled, which are covered with a waterproof cloth cloth.
Although the exploitation of the mine covers a large part of the needs of the community of nuns, the monastery has other additional means of obtaining water, such as the use of several cisterns or wells.
In the procuracies, before accessing the garden, there is still a cistern built in the 15th century, accessible through a staircase, to which the community went to collect water, which could also be collected with a bucket that was raised. with pulley from the well.
The water from the mine, which now returns to water the small garden and fills the central fountain of the cloister fountain and the convent's angel fountain, is an alternative that allows us to reduce the effects of drought and become self-sufficient, since the origin The water is groundwater and does not depend on the city's public network, favoring responsible consumption.
Water has a symbolic role for Christianity. It is a flagship element of physical and spiritual purification and abundance and renewal. It represents the origin of life on earth, the source of creation, femininity. In this way, the monastery preserves the sustainability of water, not only as an essential element for human survival, but also as an ensign of spirituality.
