The Monument to the Tertulia, known as the ''Literary Circle in Modern Coffee'', is a sculptural group created by the Spanish sculptor César Lombera, in

Pontevedra Pontevedra (, ) is a Spanish city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the ''Comarca'' (County) and Province of Pontevedra, and of the Rías Baixas in Galicia. It is also the capital of its own municipality whi ...

(Spain). It is located in Saint Joseph's Square in front of the Café Moderno and the central building of the former Provincial Savings Bank of Pontevedra and was inaugurated on 13 January 2006.

History

During the 19th and 20th centuries, Pontevedra was the scene of countless cultural events, such as those held at the Muruais house (attended by Valle-Inclán), at the Carabela and Savoy cafés and at Concepción Arenal house. In the first decades of the 20th century, Pontevedra was a social and cultural hub and the epicentre of Galician intellectuals who met in lively political, literary and cultural meetings in the city. The meeting place par excellence was the Café Moderno, located on the ground floor of the most important art nouveau building in St. Joseph's Square. These meetings and debates in the city focused, among other things, on the cultural and political contents of the magazine Nós or on Galician and local politics. It was on a marble table in the now defunct Café Méndez Núñez, located in the Plaza de la Peregrina, that

Vicente Risco Vicente Martínez Risco Agüero (October 1, 1884 – April 30, 1963) was a Galician intellectual of the 20th century. He was a founder member of Xeración Nós, and among the most important figures in the history of Galician literature. He is we ...

and Castelao conceived the magazine Nós, which would be published for a time at the Poza printing house in Michelena street. The meetings were lively and time was set aside for them. The many civil servants who attended left the office early and the poets or writers did not have a demanding schedule. Everyone was interested in commenting on current literary events or in small political reflections. The meetings (''tertulias'') of the Café Moderno, which took place mainly in the 1920s and 1930s, were originally literary gatherings that became political. After February 1936, these meetings were always multitudinous because Castelao brought direct information from the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

, and it was in the context of this debate that the

Galician Statute of Autonomy The Statute of Autonomy of Galicia of 1981 ( gl, Estatuto de Autonomía de Galicia) is the current basic institutional norm of Galicia. The Galician Government, Parliament and High Court of Galicia are regulated by it. Genesis of the 1981 Sta ...

movement developed. In addition to its function as a meeting point for the lives of citizens, as a space for the exchange of opinions on narrative, poetry or essays, these meetings in Pontevedra were real centres of power because they directly influenced political life.

Description

These cultural and political meetings in the city are reflected in this sculptural group that recreates one of the most important meetings of Galician intellectuals of the time in the Café Moderno, led by the violinist

Manuel Quiroga Manuel López-Quiroga Miquel (January 30, 1899 – December 13, 1988), better known as Maestro Quiroga, was a Spanish composer especially known for his '' coplas'', ''cuplés'', and ''zarzuelas''. He was also a pianist and one of the group of ...

with his violin; it shows the writers and intellectuals Castelao (artist and writer), Ramón Cabanillas, Carlos Casares,

Valentín Paz Andrade Valentín Paz Andrade (b. Pontevedra, 23 April 1898 – Vigo, 19 May 1987) was a Galician lawyer, writer, politician, journalist, poet, businessman and economist. Galician Literature Day Galician Literature Day ( gl, Día das Letras Galegas ...

(politician and writer) and the politician and intellectual Alexandre Bóveda. The sculptural group is placed on a circular base of polished black

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

. It is made of

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

and shows the participants of the cultural meeting (''tertulianos'') sitting on chairs around two tables. It weighs two tons. The bronze of the figures has

Patina Patina ( or ) is a thin layer that variously forms on the surface of copper, brass, bronze and similar metals and metal alloys (tarnish produced by oxidation or other chemical processes) or certain stones and wooden furniture (sheen produced b ...

s that give it different finishes and shades. Around the two tables sat Alexandre Bóveda, Castelao, Valentín Paz Andrade and Ramón Cabanillas. The youngest member of the group, Carlos Casares, leans on the latter two, observing the scene, while all the participants in the meeting watch the performance of the violinist from Pontevedra, Manuel Quiroga. The empty chairs next to the protagonists invite citizens to sit down and take pictures, so that the sculpture establishes a dialogue with the city. Inside the Café Moderno, in one of its rooms, there is another sculptural group of the Monument to Tertulia. In this case, the replica of the statuary group is in polychrome bronze.

Gallery

File:Pontevedra capital Grupo escultórico La Tertulia.jpg, La Tertulia sculptural group File:Pontevedra-galicia - panoramio (1).jpg, Sculptural group File:Pontevedra-Tertulianos en sesión musical (6908262489).jpg, Participants in the cultural meeting File:Pontevedra- tertulianos y marinos (24043539002).jpg, The sculptural group, at night File:Castelaopo.jpg, Castelao File:Manuel Quiroga Losada (1892-1961) - 2.jpg, Manuel Quiroga File:Escultura Alexandre Bóveda Pontevedra.jpg, Alexandre Bóveda File:Paz Andrade praza San Xose Pontevedra.jpg, Valentín Paz Andrade File:Statues of Valentín Paz Andrade, Carlos Casares and Ramón Cabanillas, Pontevedra city, Galicia.jpg, Ramón Cabanillas, Valentín Paz Andrade and Carlos Casares File:Manuel Quiroga Losada (1892-1961).jpg, Manuel Quiroga playing the violin File:Pontevedra-Dentro del Café Moderno (15239747067).jpg, Polychrome sculptural group inside the Café Moderno

References

Bibliography

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External links