Alberto has been our great ally in the village. In the last few days he confessed to us that he felt a bit sorry for us when, after two days in the main square, we had only taken a few portraits, because every village has its own rhythm. He took the initiative, photographed all the portraits that we had put on the exhibition and shared them on the village Whatsapp group to encourage the participation of his neighbours. That’s when everything changed.
He is a native of Mondragón and, although he has lived with his family in Orexa for more than 20 years, he will always be “from Mondra”. This made us examine what it means to be “from the village”. Is it the one who was born? Is it the one who lives there? And more questions come to mind: Is someone born in the village more of the village than someone who comes from outside and contributes a lot to the community?
All these questions, and more, were shared with some of the villagers. There were all kinds of answers, but the general answer and our conclusion in particular is that childhood is what marks our place of origin. Our roots are created at that time. The connection between memories, feelings and place is what makes you belong to one place and not another.
