September 27, 2023

Fried eggplant sticks —and the university city of Salamanca

Natacha Sanz Caballero Vegetables, Events & Travel AATSP conference 2023, berenjenas, Universidad de Salamanca, vegetable garden, vegetarian

I never imagined when I planted two small eggplant plants in my vegetable garden that they would grow to give such generous production for our family. I get 2 to 4 eggplants every couple of weeks, just enough to supply us with produce to make some of the dishes we are familiar with, like pisto, (check the recipe here) or fried eggplant sticks. Soft on the inside, crunchy on the outside, they are so addictive that you will not be able to stop at just a few!

I leave you with a few photos of the eggplants in the garden, used to prepare today’s recipe, fried eggplant sticks. But I wanted to add some more to this post. Today is National Teaching Spanish Day, and I couldn’t help talking about it. Why? Because Mrs. Becker, Spanish teacher at Bishop Dwenger High School, and I attended and presented at the 105th Conference of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP) a few months ago in Salamanca, Spain, and what a venue that was!

At the Palacio de Congresos, where we presented our session DE LA NAO AL AULA

One entrance to the Escuelas Menores

View of Salamanca Cathedral from my hotel room

View from the Gardens of Calisto and Melibea

Salamanca’s Plaza Mayor (or the section of it that fits in the photo) at night

Salamanca is a gorgeous, historical city in the region of Castilla and León in Spain, about 200 km from Madrid. It is a smallish city, with about 160,000 inhabitants, whose population increases when you add the 35,000 college students that attend its two major universities, the University of Salamanca and the Pontifical University of Salamanca.

If you’re looking forward to learning Spanish and want to have an experience abroad, I would recommend many Spanish locations, of course, but I have to admit that Spanish in Salamanca is clear and accent-free, and the atmosphere in the city, warm and welcoming. Walking through its streets, its Plaza Mayor, its different gardens, squares, bridges, cathedral, convents and monuments make you feel like you’ve stepped back in time.

The Garden of Calisto and Melibea

The mandatory typesetting throughout the city

The University of Salamanca impressive facade

Patio de las Escuelas Mayores, University of Salamanca

Salamanca’s Roman Bridge over the Tormes river

Salamanca’s Roman Bridge

But not just that, you feel like you’re walking in the footsteps of Alfonso X el Sabio (author, astrologer, lawmaker and King of Spain in the 13th century), Santa Teresa de Jesús (founder of the Order of the Discalced Carmelites and Doctor of the Church), fray Luis de León (poet, priest and professor imprisoned by the Inquisition), Antonio de Nebrija (the most influential Spanish humanist of the era, author of the Spanish Language Grammar), Ignacio de Loyola (founder of the religious order of the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits), Abraham Zacut (astronomer, astrologer, mathematician and historian whose charts and astrological instruments were used by the first navigators, like Vasco da Gama and Christopher Columbus), Miguel de Cervantes (regarded as the greatest Spanish writer, author of El Quijote, amongst others), all of whom lived between the 15th and 16th centuries, or Miguel de Unamuno, author and professor between the 19th and 20th centuries.

Patio de las Escuelas Menores, University of Salamanca

An entrance to the Escuelas Menores, University of Salamanca

On the shadow of Fray Luis de León at the Patio de las Escuelas Mayores of the University of Salamanca

The School of Math and the School of Teachers, University of Salamanca

View of the Clerecía from calle Libreros

The University of Salamanca

The University of Salamanca, founded in 1218, is the oldest in Spain, and one of the oldest in Europe, together with the universities of Paris, Oxford and Bologna. It is also home to many prestigious language schools and centers whose qualified and professional staff have made Spanish teaching a tradition of Salamanca.

The University of Salamanca is one of the most important buildings in the city, and a gem of the Spanish renaissance art. It was founded by king Alfonso IX de León and later continued by Alfonso X el Sabio. The jewel of the building is its façade, in the plateresque style, using the famous local Villamayor stone that give, not just the university, but most buildings in historical Salamanca, its golden glow. This very elaborate façade is said to be an homage to Queen Isabel and King Fernando for the privileges they gifted the institution with on various occasions. Inside are the spectacular stairs, the room where Fray Luis de León taught and the very valuable and unique library.

Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, Mama Ía blog

The Pontifical University of Salamanca

La Casa de las Conchas, across from the Pontifical University

A view of the Clerecía, the Pontifical University

Sandwiched between the Pontifical University and Casa de las Conchas, on calle Compañía

Across from the university main building are the Escuelas Mayores, Escuelas Menores (whose construction started in 1480 and where high school-like subjects were taught) and the Cielo de Salamanca, Salamanca sky, a mural that used to cover the university library’s cupola. It was painted in 1480 and was moved to its present location in the Escuelas Menores in 1950. They are an astrological representation of the sky that was probably used in the teaching of Astrology at the University starting in the year 1460.

At Salamanca’s Palacio de Congresos

The opening ceremonies panel included various personalities

Monument to Antonio de Nebrija, author of the Grammar of the Spanish Language (1492)

Plaza Juan XXIII, where the Cathedral and our hotel were located

With the Director of the Real Academia Española, Santiago Muñoz Machado

With the President of the Junta de Castile and Leon, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco

The Pontifical University

The other major university, the Pontifical University, is located in the building known as La Clerecía. Construction of this historical impressive building began in the 17th century by order of queen Margarita of Austria, wife of King Philip III of Spain. Originally known as a Royal College of the Company of Jesus, it’s built in the baroque style. Its public section is composed of a church and rooms where the Jesuits taught. There’s also a private section where the monks used to live. The church has an impressive three-floor baroque cloister.

The architectural ensemble formed by the Clerecía and the famous Casa de las Conchas, located right across the street from it, defines the city’s profile and gets integrated in the urban fabric seamlessly.

Three conferences to celebrate the Spanish Language

The conference took place at the Palacio de Congresos, a short walking distance from our hotel, which was located at plaza Juan XXIII, a beautiful small square south of the cathedral that offered the most magnificent views of it (see the vue from my room in the photo).

Natacha Fried eggplant sticks, Mama Ía blog

Also walking distance was the Roman Bridge crossing the Tormes river, scene of one of Spain’s oldest legends, that of El Lazarillo de Tormes, published in 1554 by an anonymous author. The Gardens of Calisto and Melibea, named after the two lovers in the tragicomedy of the same name, thought to be written by Fernando de Rojas and published at the end of the 15th century, are also located close to the Tormes river.

I will get into more of the monuments and churches, like the Plaza Mayor, the Casa de las Conchas and the cathedral that make Salamanca one of the most beautiful, cultural and historical cities in Spain, and which have granted Salamanca to be declared a World Heritage Site. But I leave you in this post with a small sample of its centers of knowledge to celebrate the Spanish language and the teaching of the Spanish language.

The 105th conference of the AATSP was celebrated in conjunction with the conference Español para Todos and with the VII International Congress of the Spanish Language, and we had the opportunity to participate in lectures presented by personalities like Santiago Muñoz Machado, Director of the Real Academia Española or Richard Bueno, from the Instituto Cervantes in New York. The opening ceremonies panel included Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, president of Castile and Leon, the mayor of Salamanca, the dean of the University of Salamanca and the ambassador of the United States to Spain, Julissa Reynoso Pantaleón. What a fantastic way and venue it was to share ideas with our peers and to learn from them! Mrs. Becker and I also presented our program DE LA MAR AL AULA at one of the sessions, raising interest from a number of schools, both in the United States and in Europe. What a privilege!

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