“I love the austerity of these streets, the cobblestone floor, the black iron windows, without pots, clean of any type of decoration. The dark plinth. The intense light of day.”
Pedro Almodóvar
Pedro Almodóvar was born in Calzada de Calatrava (Ciudad Real). A journey through the natural and historical region of Campo de Calatrava brings us closer to the settings that have featured in his life and works and helps us understand how these places and their people have shaped the artist’s personality and cinematographic universe.
Almagro, a historical-artistic complex, constitutes by itself a benchmark for the world of interpretation. Its Corral de Comedias was built in 1628 and is known throughout the world for being the only one that remains active just as it was almost four hundred years ago. Nowadays, every July, it serves as the stage –along with other places in the town– for the performances of the Almagro Classical Theater Festival, one of the great theatrical events in Europe.
Almagro serves as the setting for several films by Pedro Almodóvar.
Very close to Almagro is Granátula de Calatrava, about 11 kilometers away. The film “Volver” (2006) begins in its municipal cemetery, for which its protagonist, Penelope Cruz, was nominated for an Oscar. In the center of town, in front of the parish church, we find the sculpture in homage to Almodóvar, a gigantic steel high-heeled shoe, 3 m high x 5 m wide and weighing more than 1,400 kg, the work of the Catalan sculptor Enric Plà i Montferrer which, although titled “Feminity II” and in the words of its creator, “reflects the provocative character of the director’s female characters”.
Then we headed to Calzada de Calatrava which, although it has not been the scene of any film, is the filmmaker’s hometown. In the Cultural Center, next to the Tourist Office, we find the Pedro Almodóvar space in which, as a cinematographic museum, various material related to the author, his imaginary and his films are exhibited.
In 1990 the Parque de Almodóvar was inaugurated in his honor. A monolith at the entrance to the park with the profile of Pedro Almodóvar marks this emblematic point of the town.