La Ventilla de Beas

Ventilla de Beas is where the people of Beas de Segura waited and received, with great joy, the delegation of Saint Teresa of Jesus to accompany them to the place of the foundation.

The procession reached Beas de Segura along the royal road, currently the A-6301 road, along the right bank of the Beas river, without crossing it. La Ventilla de Beas was about two kilometers from the town, owned by a brother of the foundation’s promoters, Doña Catalina Godínez and Doña María de Sandoval, and the junction of the Beas road with the royal road.

So this is the place the official reception and many other locals waited for the Saint’s entourage to accompany them to the place where the future foundation would be located:

(…) “The people received them with great solemnity and joy. In general, the happiness was overwhelming; even the children showed conscience of the work of our Lord. ” (…)

Foundations Book. Chapter 22. 19.

La Ventilla de Beas still stands, though with no activity and refurbished in great part. Likewise, there is also a monument made by the artist Constantino Unguetti in 1970 in memory of Saint Teresa of Jesus.

You can recreate yourself in this Teresian place and pay tribute to the existing monument in memory of Saint Teresa of Jesus.

Monastery of San José del Salvador

The Monastery of San José del Salvador represents a fundamental milestone in the foundations of Saint Teresa, since it was the first one in Andalusia. In addition, the walls of the Beas Monastery hold one of the happiest moments of her life, because this is where she personally met Father Jerónimo Gracián, Provincial of Andalusia, with whom he exchanged opinions on the Carmel Reform and the problems with the Discalced.

The current appearance is the result of the passing of time, as its structures have endured great deterioration, the most serious caused in 1810 by Napoleonic troops during the War of Independence.

The building has been reformed over time, yet the original structure is preserved. The oldest part corresponds to Saint Teresa´s Cell, Oratory and Hall of Relics, in the south wing, next to the parish church. Its conventual temple (from the mid-17th century) stands out, with its stonework façade with a simple and sober appearance according to Carmelite architectural canons and a beautiful Baroque style doorway.

You can also visit the parlor where Saint John of the Cross communicated and spiritually attended to the nuns. In it, there is a painting of the famous painter Ricardo Sanjuán, which represents the arrival of the Saint to Beas and the first interview with his religious.

Hospice of Discalced Carmelites

This Teresian place is following Saint Teresa´s stay in Beas, but it is still part of her legacy because it is sponsored at the expense of the Carmelite nuns.

The Hospice, which was built in 1659 for the Discalced Carmelites, is today part of several private properties on Calle Saint John of the Cross.

The street is historically known as Callejón del Hospicio and we recommend that you stroll through it slowly enjoying the typical architecture of the area.

Interpretation Center of the town of Beas, the 16th…

The “Interpretation Center of the Villa de Beas, the 16th Century and Mysticism” is located next to the Sanctuary of the patron saint of the town, the Virgen de la Paz, in an old convent-school of the Calasancias Mothers, built in the XIX century onver the remains of the old Castle and Fortress of Villa Vieja.

The Center is divided into two different spaces, History and Mysticism. In the thematic space dedicated to History, the visitor can explore aspects related to Beas de Segura, such as its history, the different noble families, the castle-fortress, the Order of Santiago and the Assignment.

In the area of ​​Mysticism, the figures of Saint Teresa of Jesus and Saint John of the Cross are the basis of this thematic space where the origin of the Beas foundation, the conventual life, with an exhibition of original pieces of the monastery. You can visit the room of the dwellings and that of the mystical scale, and enjoy an allegory of the mystical garden, among other elements of interest.

Mocho bridge

Saint Teresa and her entire entourage crossed the Guadalimar river through the Mocho Bridge on their way to Beas to found the first convent of the Discalced Carmelites in Andalusia.

It is a Roman bridge of great solidity, with a rigging of large ashlars placed by rope and brand and located on the Guadalimar river. The bridge stands between two municipalities: Beas de Segura and Chiclana de Segura and it is very interesting because it was part of the “Camino de los Cartagineses”, a branch of the Via Augusta that, according to hypothesis, would connect Cástulo with Carthago Nova.

Although it is thought that Saint Teresa of Jesus and her entire entourage must have crossed the Guadalimar river through the Mocho Bridge, this is not entirely clear since there are no specific references to this fact. Ana of Jesus in the process of beatification of Saint Teresa declared the following:

(…) and this lightness of the mules was in such a way, that having taken out that day beasts and men out of the carts, from the town we left to cross the Guadalimar river, when we reached it we found ourselves on the other side without having had a chance to get out of the cars or be able to collect ourselves (…)

Nor is it documented that, on their way to Seville for the new foundation, they used the Mocho Bridge to cross the Guadalimar, but it seems that it would be the best place to get around it.

A very solid Roman bridge located in a beautiful place that will invite you to recreate yourself in nature and why not? enjoy the writings of the Saint.

Late Hotel Comercio

During the first two years of his stay in Baeza, Antonio Machado lived alone, still without his mother, Mrs. Ana Ruiz, in the now vanished Hotel Comercio, the only inn in the entire city, located on Calle San Pablo.

Today the hotel is converted into flats and only its facade is preserved. Until its transformation, the room was preserved as it was occupied by the poet, number 15 on the first floor, whose balcony overlooked the front of the Palacio de los Salcedo and had a view to the mountains of Magina to the west.

New Casino

The Casino de Señores, or New Casino, was an important meeting point for Machado.

The casino is still located in the same historic building on Calle de San Pablo. In his hall of mirrors, the poet sometimes prolonged his gatherings and upon request, you can see the document where the poet appears as the first passing member of the casino.

A beautiful seated sculpture of the poet has been placed next to the facade of the building, made by the sculptor Antonio Pérez Almahano in 2009.

Casino de Artesanos

Another meeting point for Machado was the old Casino de Artesanos, which has now disappeared. This casino witnessed some of the most unique episodes of Machado’s passage through Baeza and it is here where, one evening, he met a young Federico García Lorca who was still more of a musician than a writer.

One of these episodes occurred as soon as he arrived in this city and went to introduce himself to the director of the institute at his home. Upon arrival, they told him that he was in “agony” and Machado replied: “I am deeply sorry”; until they clarify that they were referring to the Casino de los Artesanos. They called the casino “the agony” because its members, mostly farmers, spent their time predicting ruins due to the poor state of the crops and the lack of rain.

The second episode, artistically more profound, occurred when he met a young Federico García Lorca at the Casino de los Artesanos, still more of a musician than a writer. The poet from Granada visited Baeza in both 1916 and 1917 as a member of the group of students at the University of Granada led by Domínguez Berrueta, professor of Theory of Literature and the Arts. One soiree was held in one of the Casino´s rooms, in which Antonio Machado recited verses by Rubén Darío and fragments of La Tierra de Alvargonzález for the travelers, while the young student Federico García Lorca played Andalusian pieces on the piano such as the Danza de la Vida Breve de Failure.

The Land of Alvargonzález. Antonio Machado

THE MURDERERS

I

(…)

They approached the spring.

As the clear water flowed,

it sounded as though it were

telling an old story, told

a thousand times, and then

repeated a thousand times. (…)

Rebotica by Don Adolfo Almazán

Machado used to attend the gatherings that were held in the afternoons in the back room of Don Adolfo Almazán, gymnastics teacher at the institute and mayor of the city in 1914.

The original building of the Almazán pharmacy was located on Calle de San Francisco, in front of the old Franciscan convent. The pharmacy was in operation until the seventies of the 20th century. Later the building where it was located was closed and then demolished. In these meetings, although the poet used to keep quiet and listen to others, they talked about politics, the country and the weather. Some gatherings where Machado would join the pharmacist’s friends: the doctor, a councilor, the director of the institute, a lawyer, the notary, the registrar and the institute’s secretary.

CXXVIII
POEM FOR A DAY

RURAL MEDITATIONS

(…)It’s nighttime. People are chatting in the back of a store.

“I don’t know,

don José,

how these liberals can be so rotten, so immoral.”(…)

Residence in Gaspar Becerra street

The professor’s salary did not allow Antonio Machado many expenses, so he soon had to leave the Hotel Comercio and look for rental accommodation.

First, he rented a house to reside with his mother on Prado de la Cárcel Street (today Pasaje del Cardenal Benavides), but he found it ramshackle and cold, so he moved to another, although more modest, as he found it more comfortable and bright. An adjoining house on the same street, which was on the corner of Calle Gaspar Becerra, from where Machado could see the Plateresque façade of the old jail, today Baeza City Hall. He lived there, alone or temporarily accompanied by members of his family, until his transfer to Segovia in 1919.

Currently there is a mosaic (Pasaje del Cardenal Benavides) and a plaque (Gaspar Becerra Street) that recall the presence of the poet in this house.