Cívica: return to a troglodyte world

I have never been clearer about the preeminent meaning of the famous phrase of the French surrealist poet, Paul Eluard, when he stated, possibly influenced by the recitals of André Breton, that he said, exhaustively, that: there are other worlds, but they are in this one

Indeed, there are places that, due to their media characteristics, their unknowable mystery and, above all, the animism of their ancestral essence, contain, in themselves, all the necessary elements to make Eluard's timely assertion good.

Located, approximately, halfway between two important towns in that special region of Guadalajara, known as Alcarria and whose names, to locate the possible future displacement of intrepid travelers, are, respectively, Brihuega and Cifuentes, Cívica is a place, eminently mysterious, where one can well reach the conclusion that, in effect, there are other worlds, even if they are in this one.

Marked by a small, although delicious waterfall, in Cívica and its media-friendly troglodyte habitat, such subtle and important factors come together, such as Art, Architecture, Spirituality and History, which combine, in themselves, a heritage and cultural scenario, which It fully enters the atmosphere of times that, today, seem to us not only too distant, but also inconceivable.

Times, indeterminate, where necessity and spiritual restlessness led many of the generations that preceded us to accept an exodus, not always voluntary, to those caves, which, in other words, were the first homes of Humanity and also the first temples and places where man, urged, who knows, if by instinct, came into contact for the first time with the Divine and supernatural.

So, in Cívica, we can reflect on various stages. Stages that range from the first hominid settlements, through the stages of hermitism that characterized both the High and Late Middle Ages, until becoming, over the centuries, family habitats that characterized the harshness of some times when a very high percentage of the population remained excluded in the murky puddles of poverty.

To this last stage possibly belongs that fantastic architecture of porticos, openings, windows and elaborate terraces, which, at first glance, make Cívica a curious hybrid, where the natural and the artificial merge in a deep embrace, whose aesthetic result, is at the same time strange and exciting.

The last time I passed by Cívica, a few years ago, the prominent sign of a real estate company, anticipated the restoration of the place, with a view to the creation of new single-family homes, which, away from the big cities, would provide an eminently quiet and located habitat. on the edge of a peculiar nature.

On my last trip, which occurred just a week ago, Cívica remained the same, although access was restricted; the real estate sign had disappeared and in its place, a simple page informed the visitor and the curious that they were on private property, adding a telephone number in case they wanted to visit it, at the modest price of 2 euros for adults and 1 euro children.

Be that as it may, there is no doubt that a visit is worth it, especially for such a modest price and always taking into account that the place, due to its media characteristics, is one of the most unique of all those that make up this region, eminently peculiar and mysterious of Guadalajara, which, as we have already ventured at the beginning of this post, is known by the name of Alcarria.

NOTICE: Both the text, the accompanying photographs, as well as the video that illustrates it, are my exclusive intellectual property and are therefore subject to my Copyright.