Aniversario do afundimento do Prestige, a marea negra e a morte de Man, o alemán de Camelle - Anniversary of the sinking of the Prestige, the black tide and the death of Man, the German of Camelle

Nestas datas en que "celebramos" o  aniversario do afundimento do Prestige e da sua marea negra de fuel-oil quero lembrar tamén aquela historia incribel do alemán de Carnota, Man . Din moitos vecinhos de Camelle que O Alemán, o anacoreta da Costa da Morte, morreu de tristeza. Foi o día dos Santos Inocentes de 2002, pouco máis dun mes despois de que o chapapote enloitara o santuario artístico ao que consagrou as últimas décadas da súa vida.

Man, o alemán de Camelle, tinha um caderno onde pedía os visitantes que deixaran un debuxo ou que escreveran algo.... hoxe um caderno como aquel está recorrendo Galiza para manter viva a lembranza. E para os que estades lonxe, um caderno virtual, onde deixar un poema, un debuxo, uma foto...

Aqui podedes ver galerias de fotos de Man e da sua obra, do seu museu.

O cantor catalán Joan Isaac adicoulhe esta Canción

E para quen non conheza, un pequeno resumo da sua vida:.

Durante mais de 40 anos un alemán viviu a beira do porto de Camelle, na Costa da Morte. Era, alto e delgado,  con melenas, barbas e vestia taparrabos.Tiña 64 años. Vexetariano dende fai décadas, comía plantas e frutos silvestres. Os da vila rían del por comer ortigas, ata darse conta de que esta dieta lhe fixo envelhecer tan ben.

O alemán foi un dos últimos superviventes da vida bohemia dos años 60, época na que algúns hippies centroeuropeos se acercaron a Galiza. Cuando chegou a esta remota aldea era un elegante xoven que incluso ia a misa os domingos. O desamor da mestra da vila fixolhe pecharse no seu mundo de soidade y ilhamento.

A mestra buscaba un amigo con quen conversar temas literarios e culturais que non interesaban no entorno marinheiro de xentes prácticamente analfabetas. Ademais, a moza xa tinha noivo con quen ia a casar: un capitán de barco.

Contan que o desengano amoroso o enloqueceu de rabia, sufriu un cambio de personalidade marchou a vivir no monte. Cando xa pensaban que tinha voltado a sua terra, apareceu de novo na vila.  Agora era irreconocible ca longa cabeleira e barbas que levou o resto da sua vida . E asi se instalou nas rochas do porto.

Na vila tenhen claro que a sua aparencia escondía un hombre moi culto, que tomou este caminho por propia iniciativa. Tamén din que todo o dinhero que recadaba o donaba a institucions benéficas.

No seu "museu" o ar libre levantou un universo de figuras construidas con elementos atlánticos. Pedras, troncos, restos de naufraxios o osos de baleas, serven para formar as suas esculturas.  Pedialhe os visitantes cen pesetas e un debuxo ou un escrito no seu caderno. Na sua chabola conservaba miles de esas ilustracions.

 

In the anniversary of the sinking of the Prestige, I also want to remember the incredible history of the German of Carnota, "Man". Many neighbors of Camelle say that the German, the anchoret of the Coast of the Death (Costa da Morte), died from sadness. It was the 28 December of 2002, arround one month later that the fueloil puts ito mourning the artistic sanctuary to which he consecrated the last decades of its life.

"Man", the German of Camelle, had a notebook where he used to request to the visitors to left a drawing or that  wrote something.... today a notebook like that is traveling around Galiza to maintain alive the memory. And for those of you that are far from here, there is a virtual notebook, where to leave a poem, a drawing, a picture... 

Here you can see  Man and his work pictures, in his museum.

The catalán singer Joan Isaac devoted this Song to Manfred

And for those that don't know their history, a small summary of his life:
   
During more than 40 years a German lived beside the port of Camelle, in the Coast of the Death (Costa da Morte). He was high and thin, with manes, beards and loincloth dressed. He was 64 years. Vegetarian for decades, ate plants and wild fruits. Those of the village laughed at the one to eat nettles, until realizing that this diet made him age so well.  
 
 
The German was one of the last survivors of the bohemian life of the 60's, time in which some Central European hippies came to Galiza. When he arrived to this remote village he was an elegant young man that even went to mass on Sundays. The indifference of the teacher of the village made him close in his world of solitude and isolation.  
 
 
The teacher looked for a friend to talk about literary and cultural topics that didn't interest in the fishermen environment of practically illiterate people . Also, the girl already had boyfriend with who will marry: a ship captain.  
 
 
They say that the loving disappointment made him mad of rage, suffering a change of personality and he went to live in the mount. When they already thought that he would have returned to his country, he appeared again in the village.  Now he was unrecognizable with long hair and beards that he wear the rest of his life. And he settled this way in the rocks of the port.  
 
 
In the village they have clear that his appearance hided a very learned man that took this way for own initiative. They also say that all the money that he collected were donated to beneficent institutions. 
 
In his "museum" outdoors he created an universe of  figures built with Atlantic elements. Stones, trunks, remains of shipwrecks or bones of whales, were good to form his sculptures.  He requested to the visitors a hundred pesetas and a drawing or a written in his notebook. In their shanty he conserved thousands of those illustrations.