90 Varas

Multimedia creation for the photography exhibition "90 Varas" by Susana Girón.
Premiered at Instituto Cervantes in Lisbon on October 3rd, 2023, as part of the official exhibition section of IMAGO Lisboa Festival.
Photography: Susana Girón - susanagiron.es/
Original music and multimedia: Francisco Cuadrado - [franciscocuadr...](franciscocuadr...)
"This is an ancient and intimate story, the story of María and Antonio. A story that begins in 1273 with 90 shepherd's rods.
90 Castilian shepherd's rods was the measure that regulated, by royal edict of King Alfonso X the Wise in 1273, the width of the Royal Drove Roads for traditional use and the transit of transhumant livestock in Spain. And to preserve its regulation, he ordered the creation of the Honorable Council of the Mesta, the first association of livestock farmers in Spain and Europe, with the aim of protecting the paths for livestock transit and livestock trade. In its heyday, in the mid-18th century, 3,750,000 head of cattle annually traveled through the royal drove roads and paths. Today, there are barely 150 transhumant families left and approximately 150,000 head of cattle migrating along these paths full of history.
My gaze, in this project, also aims to migrate from the descriptive to the evocative. I have tried to tell a story where discovering is more relevant than describing, where we too can feel the winter cold or the fatigue of a journey. Where we can, as spectators, recognize sensations that transcend the value of these images as mere documents."
Susana Girón (extracted from the project's presentation dossier)
As a composer and sound designer, in addition to editing images from a selection of photos and video fragments, the work focused on musical and sound creation to support the power and message of the image: the hardness of work, loneliness, the unique relationship with the environment. Throughout this creation, I had exceptional sound material: the many hours of audio recording that Susana herself made during the time she accompanied this family of shepherds on their journey. It has been a path of much exploration, of much interaction between sound, music and image, with the aim of immersing the viewer in this experience, bringing them closer to the lives of María, Antonio and their entire family, to the sensations and emotions of this journey.
Francisco Cuadrado.

[@santiagocidperez5822]

Todo mi respeto y admiración por esta familia. Este video destila muchas cosas auténticas de la vida

[@franciscocuadrado7923]

¡Gracias! Es un proyecto precioso, sobre todo por el trasfondo humano que tiene

[@jlfuerzanueva]

Sublime

[@franciscocuadrado7923]

Muchas gracias. Me alegro de que así te lo parezca

[@abrahamparron889]

Magnífico, maestro.

[@franciscocuadrado7923]

Muchas gracias Abraham. Ha sido un proyecto precioso

[@AntonioReche-hf2xm]

Un reportaje bonito y alavés triste deber un trabajo duro pero lleno de recuerdos.enarmonia con la naturaleza y los animales.

Estupendo vídeo y una banda sonora muy apropiada. Enhorabuena a todo el equipo!

[@franciscocuadrado7923]

Muchísimas gracias!