Audio version

Location

The beginning of the wall in Rúa Tras San Fiz de Solovio, starting from the top of the slope.(map)

Before coming here, Ruth studied a lot about the northwest of the peninsula, but in August, shortly after arriving in Vigo, she says:

‘(…) we decided to begin at once looking for costumes. On the women we hoped to see the bright red cape, banded with black, which appears in Sorolla’s Galicia at the Hispanic Society; on the men, knee breeches, pointed caps, and bright sashes. As soon as we stepped away from the cool waning of the hotel, however, we began to sense difficulty and frustration. There was little room for tradition in these busy streets, clanging with trolley cars and roaring with automobiles. All the people seemed well dressed and revoltingly unremarkable. (…)’

Whenever she sees interesting costumes on the street, she doesn’t hesitate to photograph them, with or without permission. Sometimes, she almost resorts to harassment, as with a lady who runs away from her, and who is rebuked by the locals in Noia who insist that she let herself be photographed. It is a different story with the couple she photographs there, as they gave her permission. In her book, Ruth says about this trip:

‘(…) Often when we asked a question of a couple in the road, the woman, as here, would seem to have the quicker understanding. Perhaps it was only that she had less discretion, and that while she was answering frankly and fluently, the man was searching the recesses of his mind for weapons with which to probe the reason for our questions and the profit we should make of an answer, supposing that he gave one.’

Let’s continue now to the Praza de Abastos Food Market. There we will find out how she works.