HEROES... Mr. Justo Gallego (Mejorada del Campo)

The man who is building his Cathedral

Justo Gallego Martínez  (Born in Mejorada del Campo, Madrid, in 1925), is a Spanish ex-monk who is building his own Cathedral in his village.

When he was 27, he joined a monastery in Soria and was expelled without having done his vows when he got tuberculosis to avoid infection of other monks.

Justo started his Cathedral in a piece of land inherited from his parents. He didn't have the Catholic Church support. Justo says his Cathedral is a symbol of his faith in Christ and it is dedicated to "Nuestra Señora del Pilar".

He has built most of the building by himself, with the help of his six nephews one moment in time and some volunteers who work in summer for the Cathedral. Volunteers come to Mejorada from all around the world. "About 2,000 people visit the cathedral", says Justo.

He has sometimes contracted a specialist' services with his own money, and builds his cathedral up with donated money or renting lands of his property for agriculture working.

There are neither plans nor official project for his job. Justo usually says he has all that "into his mind". He is not an specialized builder or brick-layer, what is more, he had to give his elementary studies up when he was a child because of the Spanish Civil War.

He acquired the knowledge on how to build a cathedral by means of books related to cathedrals and castles. Most of the materials used in the construction are recycled, using quotidian objects and materials thrown away by a building company and a brick factory in Mejorada, that sometimes donates him bricks to follow with his job.

An example is the large gas can used to build the columns, and a bike wheel is occasionaly used as a pulley. 

His job allowed him to make an advertising sport for "Aquarius", in 2005. He was paid 30,000 € in concept of give in the Cathedral for a three-days-shooting. All the money he took was used in the building. This advertisement allowed people to know about the cathedral, and thanks that fact, visits increased considerably, donations too. 

The Modern Art Museum in New York dedicated an exposition to the job of Justo Gallego.

Nowadays, Justo lives with her sister and brother-in-law near his cathedral. People think he could have been rich if he had dedicated his lands in the construction of flats or houses instead of his cathedral, but Justo's motto is "Serving God, then fellows and last myself is the key of happiness".

Justo Gallego suffers from aphonia, as he lost his voice, you can find a piece of paper with Justo's story.

 

I have personally visited Justo's Cathedral and I have to confess  this was an astonishing experience. What I felt... peace and emotion at the same time. There are no boundaries in a person's illusion and inspiration. For me, Justo Gallego is a hero. He never gave up, he has dedicated his life to what he thought was his destiny, and offers his daily job to thank he is alive.

Here you can see some photographs of Justo's Cathedral:

WOMEN'S DAY

What is it?


     
     International Women's Day (IWD) was originally called International Working Women's Day and it is marked the 8th of March. It is a celebration of respect for women's achievements in relation to economy, politics and society.


Why do we celebrate this day?
    
     The first International Women's Day commemorated a demonstration by women workers in New York in 1857 but what established the modern celebration was the was a fire  at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory (N.Y) on  25th March, 1911. It was provoked and killed 146 women workers, most of them immigrants.


     LOOK AT THE VIDEO AND ENJOY SOME WOMEN'S CONTRIBUTIONS:

THE GROUNDHOG DAY

                                                                 

Grounhog day is a holiday celebrated on February the 2nd in the United States and Canada. It is a folkloric event to make a weather broadcasting according to the groundhog's performance:
If it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day, spring will come early. If it is sunny, the groundhog will supposedly see its shadow and retreat back into its burrow; that means that the winter weather will last at least two more weeks.
The largest Groundhog celebration is held up in Punxsutawney; Pennsylvania.

Now, pay attention to important images and vocabulary about the celebration:

What is "a groundhog"? Also known as a whistle-pig, woodchuck, or land-beaver is a rodent, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as "marmots".

What is "a burrow"? It is a hole or tunnel dug into the ground by an animal to create a safe and suitable space for habitation or refuge. Some animals that usually make burrows are groundhogs, rabbits, cobayes, mice...

What is "weather broadcasting"? It is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a given location. Weather forecasts are made from collecting data about the current state of the atmosphere and using scientific understanding processes to project how the weather will evolve.
Nowadays we can find computer-based models to predict the weather, but this is something that human beings have been doing informally for millennia, using methods that have to do with folklore more that with science. Some of these methods are: groundhogs (in North America and Canada), Cabañuelas (in La Mancha, Spain), etc.

Tongue twister:

HOW MUCH WOOD WOULD A WOODCHUCK CHUCK IF A WOODCHUCK COULD CHUCK WOOD? (If you can pronounce it properly, you'll get an extra point!!! hehehe)    ;)   ;P

WHAT HAPPENED the 5th of April...?

POCAHONTAS' MARRIAGE...
In 1614 the American Indian Princess Pocahontas, daughter of chief Powhatan married the English colonist John Rolfe (they were in Virginia).
When she was born, her mother (one of the chief wives) was expelled from the tribe. It was something usual as they preferred having boys (good for figthing and ruling people) rather than girls.

Let's now know a little about history:
John Smith was one of the leaders of the colonists. He was captured and made prisoner by Powhatan's hunters. History says that John was lying on a rock to be executed when Pocahontas protected him. Nobody knows if this is true or not, because the only one versions about these facts were written by John to the Queen of England to ask respect for Pocahontas.
It is also thought that Pocahontas wasn't protecting John, but it was one Indian ritual symbolizing the death so as the prisoner would become a member of the tribe.

John Smith came back to England, and their men informed the Powhatan people he died in a war against a troop of French pirates. This is the reason why Pocahontas married some years later with John Rolfe (he was widow when he met her). She didn't know the truth until she came to England.

When she married (in a Catholic ceremony), she received baptisme under the name of Rebecca, so she became Lady Rebecca Rolfe. This marriage created a climate of peace between the Jamestown colonists and indians. They have a son.