Munas de Arriba, north Spain - Europe

by Rosalind
(Spain)

Magical Munas - my village

“Ser Espanol es un orgulo; ser asturiano es un titulo.”

“To be Spanish is a matter of pride; to be called Asturian is a title.”

My village is Munas de Arriba or ‘higher Munas’ that reigns supremely over its neighbour, Munas de Bajo (lower Munas).

Munas de Arriba is a hotch potch of houses perched on slopes.Predominantly white, these houses are punctuated by those painted in shades of lemon, pink and peach. Most of the houses have steps up to their front doors; the ground floor having been used as stables or servants quarters in bygone days.

Nowadays these ground floor areas either remain as storage areas or have been tastefully modernized to create more living space.

There are a few large four and five storey houses that dominate the village; a reminder of locals who emigrated to Cuba and then having made their fortunes in trades connected to tobacco, bananas, coffee and sugar came back to Spain (and Munas), settling here, flaunting their wealth. These are the Indianos.

Interspersed amongst the homesteads are ‘horrerios’ in various states of disrepair but still used for their original purpose of storing grain and vegetables; their stone mushroom shaped legs protect against the invasion of vermin. Cars that possibly predate the Civil War sit sorrowfully underneath them; their battered body work, a testimony to the elements.

A local legend tells that the old villagers were rebels against Franco in the Civil War. A faithful of the dictator betrayed them and several dozen were murdered as a result. They were supposedly buried in the area in a mass grave. It is said that the betrayer was known to the village and so he was dealt with accordingly. However it is a subject that no one talks about today, no matter how much they know. I guess that as the song says ‘Silence is Golden’.

Narrow lanes are splattered, an indication of the main activity of the village. Multi coloured cows graze the surrounding fields and are often seen being lumbering gracefully along the lanes to be milked or to fresh grazing. A local farmer grazes his two cows on our land. Pepe, plays the Asturian bagpipes which are one of the areas many idiosyncratic traditions. His music can be heard resounding through the surrounding valleys on special occasions and the countless saints’ days.

There is a thriving community of feral cats who contain the rat and mouse population. They will also ‘help’ you when you are gardening by chasing any stray leaves and twigs you have pruned and are dancing in the breeze.


As Belinda Carlisle once sang ¨Heaven is a place on earth¨.