It had been many years since I last visited Benavente, so since I happened to be relatively nearby, I decided to stop by again and rediscover a city from which I barely retained any memories. After parking the car and wandering through town for a while, I came to the conclusion that, indeed, I didn’t remember a thing. I didn’t have much time, so I limited myself to strolling around the historic center for a bit.
Just as I was about to leave, I came across a fairground, it turned out the town was celebrating its local festivities. Among all the stands, a giant SpongeBob inflatable stood out. Camera in hand, I decided to get closer and snap a picture. It seemed like a great idea, until I got there. Naturally, the place was full of children, and due to image protection laws for minors, I had to give up on photographing the inflatable. Still, the walk itself was quite pleasant.
As I was heading back to the car, I came across a mural painted on the small wall of an abandoned house. Besides being particularly beautiful and uplifting, what I loved most was how well it integrated into the surroundings. The main subject, a child playing with a bird, looked like he was running through the field of grasses that stretched out right in front of the wall. I stepped fully into the field to get the shot and ended up with my clothes and shoes covered in brome seeds. I later discovered that the mural was created by an artist named Antonio Feliz (Parsec!), who’s very active in the street art scene. In the end, I walked away with a much more interesting photograph than the one of cheerful Bob, and I got to discover the incredible work of a very talented artist. A stop along the way that was well worth it.
