Living waters

In response to this concern, on 9 July 2022, more than 40 neighbours signed a document (link: https://concomitentes.org/diario/carta-de-encargo/ text: the commissioning letter) in which a number of wishes for the town's stream and fountains were set out. This milestone was the result of a participatory process initiated in April 2022 by mediators Sören Meschede and Alejandro Alonso Díaz, who worked with a local community group.

For several months, mediators and the community reflected on the relationship between Llanos and its natural heritage. In the spring of 2023, five artists were invited to spend a research stay in the village to develop proposals in dialogue with these concerns. This process resulted in Lenguas de agua, by artist Laia Estruch, an intervention inaugurated at the end of July 2024.

Estruch's proposal consisted of transforming the fountains of Los Llanos into sound sculptures: three bronze pieces designed to emit sounds through the interaction of water and air. These sculptures, inspired by collective memory and local traditions, aim to reinterpret the historical stories and identity values of the town.

In addition to the sculptures, the intervention included the renovation of the surroundings of the main fountain, carried out in collaboration with a local stonemason. This work not only recovered the heritage dimension of this space, but also reactivated it as a social meeting place, integrating environmental, cultural and civic values that respond to the collective motivations of the community.

Aguas Vivas demonstrated how art can catalyse processes of transformation in rural areas, creating new ways of relating to the natural heritage and fostering social cohesion in Llanos. In the words of María, one of the project's promoters: "I think that this process, apart from finding a concrete solution, has already done something very important: it has brought together people who perhaps did not talk to each other about the village's needs before, which I think is very valuable. Will it solve all the village's needs? Probably not. But it has opened the door to dialogue and reflection that can continue.