The retreat without us
Our confinement has brought with it the liberation of nature . During these last two months we have been able to see how the heavens have removed that gray cloak that covered them , What boars roam freely through the streets of Barcelona or as deer rest under cherry blossoms of the city of Nara, in Japan.
The same thing has happened in urban parks, where despite the fact that the bars are closed tight and tight, spring has managed to sneak in and take over every nook and cranny. And this is how 'El Retiro without us' demonstrates it. This is the park', the graphic chronicle signed **Madrid photographer Antonello Dellanote. **
Silence and nature reign in the park
“I began to dedicate myself professionally to photography towards the year 2010 and since then I have photographed the city of Madrid and, more specifically, El Retiro. I created a catalog of images of the city's monuments for the City Council, back in 2017. I also participated with my photographs in the candidacy file of the Prado-Retiro axis to World Heritage. In addition, I usually collaborate with the Royal Botanical Garden ”, he explains to us.
Thanks to the gaze of Dellanote, who has always considered that photography is a window to beauty and knowledge, We have had the opportunity to see how one of the city's most frequented green lungs **remains completely deserted for the first time in decades. **
The beauty of snapshots is there to be seen, but, we wonder what sensations the also writer and disseminator had during a walk in which the silence broken only by the chirping of birds, and his pair of reflex cameras were the only ones accompanying him.
“Of course I felt the privilege of having The Retreat for myself. But also the responsibility of doing a good documentation job that would remain for posterity. The first feeling I have to say, however, was sadness . In the first session, which was on April 18, Madrid was completely stopped and that was also felt inside the park ”, explains to Traveler.es.
On the right, the mythical boats of El Retiro
“Not only was the lack of human life in the park noticeable. There was also a tremendous silence that came from outside, something unprecedented. You could feel the pain and worry of those days. But how the sounds of nature were heard was the most striking. There were no voices left but those of the wind and the birds; hundreds of birds expressing themselves at the same time. A real pass”, he points out.
The best of air quality (cleaner than ever), the aroma that it gives off, the behavior of animals and the appearance of plants are the most notable changes that the park has undergone as consequence of the coronavirus.
“Many of mallards who had chosen El Retiro as their place of residence have had to move to other areas of Madrid, while those who remain you find them in areas of the park where they usually weren't. have also appeared species, such as the cinnamon jar, never before seen in the park and others, like the geese, have bred in El Retiro for the first time. I've even seen rabbits loose around La Rosaleda! ", He tells Traveler.es.
Animals feel freer than ever
"It is paradoxical that under an alert situation for a respiratory virus it has been when it has been better to breathe in Madrid in decades. We must take note, analyzing the data, of how important it is for cities to have good air quality. We will have to correct many things to address city models that are more sustainable ”, says the photographer.
Rabbits run around La Rosaleda
Living close to your place of work is a great advantage , but becomes a luxury when, as in the case of Antonello Dellanotte, your office is nothing more and nothing less than **one of the great relics of the capital:**
“El Retiro houses countless treasures and discovering them has filled my life with great moments and a lot of meaning. Its beauty, its stillness, its history and its artistic and architectural heritage are enough to write many books and tell endless stories. Without forgetting, of course, that it is an ecosystem by itself”, he comments to Traveler.es.
Said and done: we can find the narrations about the experiences that the park has given him during the quarantine on his blog, as well as in the successive publications on the social networks of RetiroExperience, an independent information platform, founded by Antonello Dellanotte in 2015 and whose purpose is to publicize the heritage that the park treasures in order, in this way, to promote its proper use and preservation. **
In addition, the project's website offers courses to learn how to immortalize the best scenes of El Retiro - being the crystal Palace and its surroundings the favorite setting of the photographer-, as well as photo walks through the Royal Botanical Garden, both suitable for any type of public interested in delighting in the charm of these enclaves, **regardless of their mastery of the camera. **
We will walk again in the shade of the trees of El Retiro
“I always say that it is the attitude and not the aptitude, much less the team, the one that differentiates the true photographer. Submerged in the era of futile compulsive photography, you need to put a stop to that thoughtless first shot What do we do when we are in front of something that seems beautiful or interesting to us? , but that in general we are not capable of appreciating except in its slightest superficiality”, Dellanotte tells us.
And the fact is that, according to him, the key to being a good photographer lies in practice that mindfulness that we like to talk about so much in the 21st century and thus be able to see what is presented before our eyes without making any kind of judgment, achieving impartiality.
"We will have to turn to more sustainable city models"
“The presence and full attention, key elements in the photography of the truth, have been displaced by the desire not to miss anything, which leads us to photograph life without enjoying it, with the result that we neither fully live nor do good photographic work. A good photograph has to touch us inside, make us doubt”, he concludes.
The countdown begins to enjoy this wonder again