When you could came to Spain to meet bandits

I still fondly remeber those wonderfull afternoons with my grandfather watching Curro Jimenez, little did I know at the time that I was seeing a portrait of a Spain that really existed, and even less did I know that Sancho Gracia (the main character) embodied under the name of Curro Jiménez, a true bandit called Andrés Lopez.

The fact is that Andrés López, was one of the many bandits who driven by poverty, posted themselves on the roads of that Spain waiting for carriages of more fortunate people to pass by to rob them.

For four centuries (XVI,XVII, XVIII,XIX), bandits acted both in gangs and alone not only stealing, but also smuggling and even kidnapping more wealthy people. These Robin Hoods, very poor people or deserting soldiers who often hid in the montains, and shared their loot with poor, where romanticised by the pople in a context strongly marked by social inequalities.

I will not recount here the punishments they were subjected to when they were imprisoned, terrible punishments inflicted by those who perpetuated social equalities, but I would like to show you a kinder side.

The romantic travelers of the 19th century

I would be lying if I said that there were no bloody bandits, but most of the time those who were attacked, apart from the odd blow, came out of the encounter unharmed, perhaps for this reason or who knows if any other reason, the so-called romantic tourism appeared in Spain in the 19th century.

Artists, writers, aristocrats, and bourgeois came to Spain from various parts of Europe: Germany, France, England… and even the United States. All of them attracted by that exotic, almost oriental Spain (we will deal with Al Andalus later on) and also in some way medieval. One of the things these adventure-hungry travellers expected from their journey was an encounter with Spanish bandits. Yes, they expected to be mugged by them! If this encounter did not happen the trip would not be complet, and I have to say that many of them returned on more than one occasion.

“Un viaje por España es todavia una empresa peligrosa y novelesca; es necesario esfozarse, tener valor, paciencia y fuerza; se arriesga la piel a cada paso; las privaciones de todo tipo, la ausencia de las cosas más indispensables de la vida, el peligro os rodea, os sigue, os adelanta; no oís susurrar a vuestro alrededor más que cosas terribles y misteriosas”.

Theophile Gautier

Travel accounts such a those of the French writer Theophile Gautier fed the idea of an exotic, magical and even dangerous Spain. A Spain where only the bravest would dare to go.

Be as it may, during the 19th century Spain was the romantic destination by excellence, and even now a days you can still discover the exoticism and oriental air there, and although you will not longer find bandits posted on the roads, it is very likely that Spain will still your heart. ♥