Art East: experience in Spain inspires 'guapa' artwork

Culture, as it relates to ethnicity, encompasses the experiences of a specific set of people. It influences how people within that set may act, believe and think. Culture is the defining determinant of a people; yet, when another's customs are embraced is when we can also come to understand ourselves.

For Scott Cooley and Esther Ramos Rodriguez, America's southern culture and Seville's Spanish culture has formed a bond of respect and understanding in their 11-year-marriage. They met when Esther was fulfilling University of Seville requirements for her master's degree in neuropsychology. She was working at a rehabilitation clinic in New Orleans, for patients with brain injuries. Scott also worked there, in records and documentation management.

When their relationship became serious, he traveled to Seville, Spain, to meet her family. The visit was during Holy Week, the Semana Santa, and that's when he first witnessed a procession of the life-sized pasos, or floats, that depict events of the Easter Passion.
He recalled, "An exuberant crowd of elegantly dressed Spaniards stood shoulder to shoulder along a dark, narrow street facing the high arched entrance of the Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza. Some waited outside for hours. Every square inch of street and sidewalk was occupied, standing room only at 2 a.m. When the church bell rang out, the crowd fell silent as the massive double doors of the church jostled and slid to one side.

An intoxicating cloud of incense wafted out as the Virgin of Hope, enshrined in her towering paso of gold and silver with hand-sewn tapestries appeared, all illuminated by immense candles and surrounded by fragrant white blossoms."
Amazingly, a crew of costaleros, who are crouched below the embroidered skirt of the paso, rise to smoothly hoist it and inch slowly out of the church through a tight fit in the church doorway. It is a movement of great precision and reverence that will continue throughout the night and into the next day. The crowds witness the custom in the ancient alleys and streets of Seville.

Many of the pasos are very old and valuable, made by master craftsmen. Each float is met with the cry from the crowds of "guapa," meaning ‘beautiful."

They are the property of the cofradias, a brotherhood that originated from medieval guilds. Members were pillars of society. Today the membership has a broader base with the larger ones having over 2,000 participants.

As the floats go by, white roses and carnations are tossed onto the tops of each paso, and the costelaros, who are all hidden under the skirts of the paso maneuver through spaces under the direction of the capataz who walks in front beating a stick to the ground to keep pace and give the signal of when to put it down for a brief rest. When they lift it again, one can hear their grunts under the heavy burden.

Along their route, they will stop and defer to the sound of a saeta, or singer, who spontaneously chants a cappella. The procession stops so that the silent crowd can enjoy the song.

For Cooley, the experience touched his soul and provided inspiration that he later turned into a piece of art that he gave to his wife for her most recent birthday.
Each year, for her teacher vacation, she returns to her native Spain to spend time with her family.

"While I am gone, Scott does something new for me. Once, it was a patio in the style of Spain, and this time, he amazed me with this beautiful replica of the paso. I sent pictures of it to my family, and they were as amazed by its accuracy and beauty as I was.
My late father was the president of our church's cofradia, and as a little girl I paraded in costume with his group. So, this gift is very meaningful to me."

To create it in the secrecy of his workshop, Cooley gathered bits and pieces of what he thought would fit into the final product.

"I designed as I went, after studying our own photographs and images I researched online of real pasos. The construction was trial and error with different attempts, some working and some not. I found parts at Rouse's, Hobby Lobby, Hancock's Fabrics, and bid on the golden lights, crown and emblems made of special buttons on eBay. The costelaros' legs showing underneath the skirt are made from little army men toys that I covered in white cotton fabric and painted their shoes white."