Ayalga asturiana prisionera por un cuelebre

Acrylic on cardboard, Acrilico en carton.

Esta es una foto de la pintura de una ayalga asturiana prisionera por un temible cuelebre. El cuelebre es un dragon como serpiente que vive en la Asturias mitologica. La ayalga es prisionera por hechizo del cuelebre, solo un hombre de corazon puro puede rescatarla. Esta tecnicamente atrapada entre el mundo fisico y el mundo espiritual.

Now a story...

Wandering through the forests of Asturias one can encounter beings from a magical realm. I was prepared to encounter it, my mind was resolved with the idea. It was the expected day of San Xuan, and all of Asturias are prepared for magical beings. Many prefer to stay home and avoid any encounter with these magical creatures. Others like me ventured to walk through the enchanted forrests to find a treasure. The trees greeted me with a misterious whisper while I walked under their shadows. It was creepy indeed, especially because of their ancient language. But I continued hiking towards a mountainous range covered with white snow. My mind was focused in the treasure I could find for myself. The stories of old talk about such marvellous treasures hidden in the darkness of caves. The caves are jelously guarded by a cuelebre. A large serpent-like foul creature that can never be killed, except in one day of the year, the day of San Xuan. Some say it has winds, others say the cuelebre's skin is as hard as iron. I man I know well for his chantics assures me the cuelebre speak English backwards.

Nevertheless I was prepared to battle any cuelebre that stands between me and the treasure it hides. When I was near the cave entrance the sky was covered with clouds, and the mountains with fog. I wasn't sure this was the cave, in a country full of caves and abandones palaces with caves. But a vaqueiro spoke about this cave in particular. Better believe the vaqueiros, for they are simple but ancient folk of this land. I entered the cave and took my sword with both my hands. As I entered the cave, the light from the outside world was dying. But suddenly I heard somone. It sounded like a woman crying. I followed the sound and found the gruesome lair of the cuelebre. I was shocked when I saw a beautiful young woman hand tied near the cuelebre. She didn't see me. So I gazed for the treasure. But suddenly I realized the gorgeous lady was the treasure. Of course! She was an ayalga! I stood there, petrified, trying to remember what vaqueiros told me. And then I remembered a tale I heard when I was a little boy. The ayalga was a normal human being, but when the cuelebre captured her, she turns into a magical being. Trapped between our world and that of the spirits, she awaits for a man to rescue her from the fearsome dragon cuelebre. I imagined that if she was the treasure to be found, the only day to break the evil spell would be in San Xuan day.

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I did this painting in a piece of cardboard. It depicts the moment an ayalga, an Asturian woman under a spell, is found lying next to his captor, the cuelebre. Basically a cuelebre is a dragon. They live in Asturias, a celtic nation of northern Spain.