Here I can visit the Plaza de España and the adjacent Parque de Maria Luisa where my great-great-grandparents, great-grandmother, grandfather, my father and his sisters used to visit. |
My grandfather in the same spot of the Plaza de España probably 65 years before me. |
Now I can visit the same places as my family before me. |
This summer I visited Seville for the first time, along with my dad (he had not been to the city in probably 30 years). We went to the neighborhood where his great-grandparents lived and saw the places he remembered as a child. We ate at the freiduría where they used to buy adobo and croquetas in the summer time. Seeing him reconnect to his past made that part of my past feel more real.
The freiduría my great-great-grandparents frequented in the Triana neighborhood of Seville. I went the other day just to get the abobo (fried fish marinated in vinegar and spices) and fish croquetas - I have to say they're definitely worth the trip from my apartment in El Centro. |
We saw the apartment where my grandfather was born in the city center, which is now the well-known bookstore Casa del Libro. In my classes my professors have referenced the bookstore as a landmark quite often and it feels surreal to think that to people walking by it’s just a bookstore, but to me there is a deeper connection to my family’s past.
The building my grandfather grew up in. |
I have eaten at the well known tapas place Blanco Cerrillo on the corner next to that apartment and I just wonder if my great-grandmother ever ate there and enjoyed the tapas as I have.
Being here studying gives me the opportunity to explore my connections to Spain, to Seville, and to my family that I had never been able to explore before. Walking the same streets as my ancestors before me, learning about the history of their city and their country, making new memories here for myself – it really is an indescribable feeling.
Caitlin M. is the Spring 2017 MOJO Blogger in Seville, Spain. She is currently a Junior studying Spanish & European Studies at Humboldt State University.
Cover photo: My great-grandmother (right) in Seville