Urban wine art in Haro: CCC's Street Art Contest #189

Hi friends,

It had been many weeks since I had dropped by this wonderful community and as I had commented yesterday to @digi-me, I return this week to the urban art photo contest with a small compilation of murals that I found in the city of Haro (La Rioja-Spain) that tells very well the relationship of this city with wine.

To introduce you a little bit in environment, I comment that Haro is considered the capital of Rioja wine in Spain, as it houses a large number of wineries that produce this precious and tasty product made from grapes.

And all the sculpture and urban art that I came across throughout the city is closely related to wine, with sculptures as picturesque as these.

As far as urban art is concerned, Haro has about twenty murals scattered throughout the city that has an area of 40 km² and, how could it be otherwise, most of them revolve around the wine theme in one way or another and I have selected the 3 that I liked the most to present them in this post.

The drunkards (Jarreas Customs)

Located in one of the adjacent buildings of the Plaza de la Paz, in the center of Haro is the first great mural that I found in this town.

This mural with title Costumbres Jarreas and popularly known as the drunkards is a work of Enrique Patermina.

Enrique Patermina apart from having a passion for painting, was one of the most important wine entrepreneurs of the town of Haro. I was impressed by the great love for painting of a person who was professionally dedicated to winemaking, and not just any wine, but high quality wines that are still marketed in Spain today.

This mural shows two drunks guarded by a kindly-looking policeman, who does not seem to be in a punitive attitude as it usually happens nowadays, but is with a profile of helping one of the drunks so that he does not lose his balance.

As can be perceived by the scene, it is a scene from another era. In the present day, I think the policeman would easily be writing a note to impose some sort of sanction for disorderly conduct. Sadly, how we have changed as a society.

Bacchus

In a land that breathes wine and urban art in its streets, it could not miss a mural in which the god of wine is represented.

This large mural is located on the right side of the Marqués de Francos square, which leads directly to the Basilica of the city, so it is very much in keeping with the fact that it is close to a temple related to another divinity.

In this mural, you can see Bacchus accompanied by his harem enjoying a glass of red wine typical of this land and with a smile on his face. Is he thinking about his followers having a bacchanal?

Haro Wine Tradition

On the opposite façade of the same building where the mural of Bacchus is located, there is a beautiful mural on a white background depicting some of the traditional wine-related activities of this Rioja town.

The painter José Uríszar reflects in this work the disappeared supply market that existed in Sánchez del Río street, a cart full of barrels, another one with bocoyes, two characters rolling barrels and several people in the market.

I loved that the mural is painted in black and white, as it gives a touch of nostalgia and antiquity as it was the use of draft animals instead of heavy machinery used today in winery and markets.

I hope you liked this monograph of Haro and how its streets portray the devotion for the wine that gives work to so many families in the area.

Best regards.