LA GIRALDA AND OTHER BUILDINGS AT LA SOLEDAD SQUARE

Former warehouse La Giralda

Former warehouse La Giralda

Architects Pinna and Delgado Millán took part in the ongoing construction of this building as of 1927, since it was built between 1923 and 1930, having undergone renovation works in 1933. It was meant for commercial claim and advertising purposes. It was the founder of the would-be department store, Manuel Cancho Monge, who had brought the building into life in 1898. The building has 2,400 square metres, of which 1,500 belonged to the commercial premises and the rest became households. The walls of the stores were decorated with an exclusive set of paintings by artist Antonio Juez, which nowadays features in the permanent collection of the Provincial Museum. The lift and the grid structurs dating from the thirties also stand out on the inside of the building.

The figure of El Giraldillo representing Mercury, Roman god of trade, crowns the top of the building. On the outside of the

building, a great variety of archs, of which most of them are poly-lobed, can be seen.

The Three Bell Building

The Three Bell Building

The Three Bell building, which was constructed in 1899, aimed to be used for comercial purposes, was comissioned by the Ramallo family.

It was burned down in 1912 and rebuilt in 1917 by Adel Pinna and and Curro Franco. The four-storey building presents an Art Nouveau Façade.

The building takes its name after the bell clock placed on the rooftop. On the inside, the carefully chosen wooden furnishing of the time is remarkable, together with the lift, which was the second one installed in the entire town.

This building housed until recently Badajoz´s oldest and most outstanding toy store, which had the same name as the building itself.

The statue of Porrina from Badajoz

The statue of Porrina from Badajoz

This sculpture group, which was erected in honor of Flamenco singer José Salazar Molina, was the work of artist Juan Cuevas Lozano.

José Salazar Molina (Badajoz, 13 Jan 1924- Madrid, 17 Feb 1977) best known artistically as Porrina de Badajoz was a Flamenco gypsy Singer.

Porrina first came into the limelight when he was 28 years, thanks to the exceptional features of the pitch of his voice: speed, cleanliness, self-confidence, musicality and flamenco echoes. All of which  made it unique compared to other flamenco singers. It must also be noticeable the singer´s temper, which ,combined with his natural instict and ability for comercial promotion posing with his attire, sunglasses and carnation in the lapel, made himself easily identifiable.

Every year at Easter, when the Virgin of Solitude, Patron Saint of the town, left the church in procession, he used to come up to the Virgin and sing to her.

As an anecdote that shows his degree of superstition, suffice it to say that not feeling comfortable about his birthday being on the 13th, he changed the date of it at the first chance he had, which was at the time of having his first identity card. He changed his birthday to seven days earlier, presenting himself to the flamenco world as a present given on the day of the Three Wise Men, the traditional day when Spanish children usually got their Christmas present.

He was indeed a prophet in his own land, where he had a great number of admirers and devotees, standing out among them José Carmona Galván owner of the first Bar Doscar and  Juan Prudencio Rodríguez, my father (In Memoriam).