Spanish Journey Part Two
4. Seville

Narrator
Seville has been the one city in the world that has inspired the most operas: Carmen, of course, Don Juan, and the very famous Barber. The fact is, not many cities in the world can compete with how colourful and dramatic Seville and its streets are. And what better way to immerse oneself in this theatrical ambiance than a ride in a coach and horses. Most of the buildings in the city centre were built for the 1929 World Fair. This is the Plaza de España and it was the heart of the exhibition. Every corner of this luxurious city oozes art. The work of silversmith Fernando Marmalejo decorates many monuments.

Robert Elms
Hello, Don Fernando.

Fernando
Hello.

Robert Elms
What is that?

Fernando
This is a drawing of work that has already been done on what was the Mezquita: the  grand Mosque and Moorish quarter of Arab Seville.

Robert Elms
And that's the Giralda?

Fernando
That's the Giralda as it was, in its original state, before being done up in the 16th century.

Robert Elms
Oh, it was the original mosque?

Fernando
The original mosque. It is something that I carry in my soul, you know, because the history of the Moors is my history as well. My profession is one that comes straight down from the Moors.

Robert Elms
Is your work for sale?

Fernando
Yes, yes....

Robert Elms
But not the big…

Fernando
It is easy because we don't charge what we should be charging, otherwise we wouldn't sell anything, because it is extremely labour-intensive. But we are dedicated, we don't allow this modern thing of slopping a bit of paint on a canvas and there you are, a work of art. Not here. Here a work of art takes many working hours. You have to enjoy hard work and love your profession.

Robert Elms
I have been told you worked for the Giralda?

Fernando
Yes, it was very satisfactory, because I wished to join that immortality of the Giralda. There were some bunches of lilies that every fifty years deteriorated with time. I suggested that they be recast in bronze. So the Giralda's lilies were recast in bronze which will be there forever, since it is anticorrosive. Every time I go past the Giralda, I look up and say to myself: "My word, I contributed to that" and I would have liked my parents to have seen it too.

Robert Elms
Yes, you have made your contribution to eternity, on the great symbol of Sevilla.

Narrator
Enrique Pareja, director of the Museum of Fine Arts, is responsible for preserving the art of past Sevillian masters.

Robert Elms
In your opinion, is Murillo the quintessential Sevillian artist?

Enrique Pareja
He is indeed, he is the one who in his paintings can best capture, absorb and make palpable the light, air and atmosphere of Seville.

Robert Elms
This painting is very important for Seville, is it not?

Enrique Pareja
They are the patron saints of the city, which in the early 16th century had troubles like earthquakes, rain, a terrible storm, and Seville then turns to the patron saints for protection, so that the tower, the Giralda, should not fall down.

Narrator
The collection contains the most famous painting of Seville painted by Bilbao.

Robert Elms
This is another famous Sevillian spot?

Enrique Pareja
Yes, it's the old tobacco factory, Seville's famous tobacco factory. 

Robert Elms
Carmen's place?

Enrique Pareja
Yes, with its cigar makers, among which is the famous Carmen. If you look closely it is the light and dark, light and dark that gives the composition its depth. In that one, Carmen is present at a typical scene from the beginning of this century.

Robert Elms
And now it is the University.

Enrique Pareja
And now it is the University. But cigar makers still exist to this day. The new factory is in Triana and the cigar makers, and Triana, and Sevilla – the theme is ever-… [music].