Mustaches up!
Now that on couché paper it is fashionable to talk about legitimate and illegitimate children , true or false, of famous people, we are going to Figueres , to follow in the footsteps of his favorite, the pampered, the one who captures all eyes and of the owner of the most famous mustaches in the world : Dali, the one and only , from alpha to omega: from the house where he was born to the place where he is buried (and unearthed).
1. MONTURIOL STREET
Number 6 of this street saw the birth of Salvador Dali on May 11, 1904. In it, sharing space with the his father's notary and that is currently in the process of musealization, oblivious to what was to come, he lived until he was 8 years old.
Postcard of Monturiol street from the beginning of the 20th century
Later, always on the same street, they would move a couple of numbers down, to another beautiful modernist building , where he had his first workshop. There Lorca, his friend from the Residencia de Estudiantes, premiered in a petit committee for the family (who continued to live there until 1947) his Marina Pineda.
The curious thing is that in the same street where the inventor of surrealism , the movement that seeks to dive into the depths of the individual to reach its most authentic essence, the inventor of the submarine was also born, Narcis Monturiol (and the poet Carles Fages de Climent). For something the Monturiol in Figueres is known as the street of geniuses.
Dalí Museum in Figueres
2.**JOURNEY MUSEUM**
It might seem like something for children, but surely the ones who enjoy it the most are his parents (and his grandparents), because in it they will be able to recognize objects with which they spent countless childhood afternoons.
And also because Dalí's footprint reaches here , in the form of Marquina Bear , a teddy bear that his parents brought him from Paris and that was always in the dining room of the family home. It was, again, Lorca who baptized him that way during one of his visits, due to his aristocratic air that reminded him of the marquina poet.
3. THE RAMBLA
It seems unbelievable that Bigoti Bar (very own) something so great could come out, but the truth is that there Buñuel wrote in one sitting An Andalusian Dog . They say that on that day, like many others, a boy was hanging around there shining shoes for a few coins, who again ignored the painter's calls: "not you, you always draw me pictures instead of giving me money".
A few meters away is another of the bars that the painter frequented, the ** Cafeteria Astoria ,** many times to see (and above all to be seen) on your terrace , which is preserved almost the same as then.
4.**HOTEL DURAN**
This old-school hotel used to belong to a good friend of Dalí's . In fact, when he came to Figueres , they stayed there: always in two rooms, one for Dalí and another for Gala . His cozy cellar (the Ca la Teta cellar ), very rustic, was his favorite place, where he felt calm and protected (one of his recurring obsessions). Today it is still a good place to eat.
5. SAN FERNANDO CASTLE
We do not imagine Dalí subjected to any discipline, but the truth is that he had to fulfill his obligation and do military service . The visit is now much more pleasant and even has its dose of adventure, because it can even be done from its subterranean depths, in a zodiac or in a 4x4.
Castle of San Fernando
7. THE GORGOT TOWER
Pink , decorated with eggs (for him her shell was a synonym of protection) and breads (imitating the Casa de las Conchas de Salamanca), today the Galatea Tower (in homage to Gala), which was part of the wall, is one of the most iconic places in Figueres, and above all, a metaphor of the very personal and capricious universe of Dalí.
In it, ** Ávida Dollars ** (as André Bretón called him because of his obsession with money) lived the last years of his life, retired after the death of his wife.
8.**THE DALI THEATRE**
The old municipal theater is the space that today occupies one of the essential museums in Catalonia : the Dalí-Museum Theater . Before that, he had come to see countless performances, and even had a curious moment, like when the mayor of the city died while he was giving a lecture.
This and no other was the place where he wanted to keep all his legacy . In the central atrium, which serves as a welcome, is the largest surrealist installation in the world ( rainy cadillac , where you can see it rain, always, upon payment of one euro).
Dalí Museum in Figueres
There he wanted to be buried and there he also created his jeweler staff , the treasure room , where to store your most precious gems, surrounded by red velvet.
Gala in profile, Gala from the front, Gala upside down, upside down and from the side... yes, but here (for once) there is another work that steals the limelight: the bread basket (1945), the most important of all, since it was the image of the Marshall Plan, which announced the prosperity of Europe. Such is its value that it is the only work in the museum that cannot be loaned to any other institution.
Rainy Cadillac