There was a time when finding remote towns for sale was stunning. Entire towns with houses, terraces, hedges and orchards were put on the real estate market in groups, as the maximum expression of emptied Spain. Not anymore. Over the years, so many and so beautiful examples have emerged that advertisements for castles, islands and other distinguished national geographies are already viewed with disgust.

This exception is made by Matandrino, a remote village in the province of Segovia, which has aroused unusual interest due to a much more unusual feature: if you type its name into Google Maps and walk its roads and wastelands, you will find: A spectacle worthy of García Berlanga.

In addition to fences, ruined stone facades, and empty lots (there’s nothing you won’t find in other towns in empty Spain) in Matandrino, Google Maps shows enigmatic characters wrapped in cloaks or holding candles, and figures dressed in mourning outfits so fierce that they’re no longer available. his face and arms cannot be seen.

Click on the image to go to the tweet.

a village for sale. Matandrino’s distinctive history begins like that of many other towns in evacuated Spain. A few days ago Idealista published that the town located in Prádena, province of Segovia, was offered for sale for 180,000 euros. The core he detailed contains 17 buildings and an area of ​​thousands of square meters, almost all of which are in ruins. For decades the population of this place has decreased.

Idealista went further and said that capturing the village was a very difficult task. After all, it ensures that the properties have already passed through many hands over the past few years. It was purchased in 2005 by a man who planned to use the villa for an “education-related project” and was proposed for sale two years ago for close to €100,000. After stating that the current price is around 180,000 euros, the portal emphasizes that “The price increase in these years has been 80%.” In return, 17 residences and 4,251 m2.

Click on the image to go to the tweet.

On a walk with Google. Various media outlets, such as the 20 Minutos newspaper, soon reported that Matandrino had been sold. A B C anyone Spanish Newspaper. One of these reports reached Gonzalo Bonet, who described himself as an architect and psychologist in X, and he decided to go beyond the articles and take a short walk in the village. A virtual walk, i.e. “on board” on Google Maps. What he discovered during his journey surprised him so much that went to x leaving a record.

And he wasn’t the only one. Other users of Elon Musk’s social network are as follows: @kenaidreams It didn’t take long for them to share their surprise.

“I went on Google Maps to gossip about this town and discovered what I think is the greatest troll of all time. An abandoned town in the 60s was suddenly filled with people, each doing more surreal things.” Bonet explained.. To make it clear that he wasn’t exaggerating, he created a thread with screenshots and comments confirming that the far-flung town of Segovia was the scene of a surrealist play of inspiration.

Click on the image to go to the tweet.

Of cloaks, candles and men in white. “A woman who looks like Amy from Big Bang Theory is whispering something into the ear of a man dressed like a Buddhist, holding a Bible. A beautiful blonde, dressed like an old woman, walks in broad daylight with a lit candle in her hand. Dressed all in white, as if she’s from a sect Like, a man holding a stone in his hand, the previous heroes in the back are in the same position. Bonet tells It draws irony.

And his story goes on and on with equally wild revelations that wouldn’t be out of place in a triptych drawn by Dalí; such as “a young man completely disguised as a gentleman in a black hat”. A group of young people who appear to be “picking up jugs growing from the ground and putting them in amphorae” or having a picnic on the ground a short distance away.

So what’s the explanation? This is the question Bonet asks herself, coming to her own conclusions. In his opinion, such a mix of images – especially considering that they were shot in a village that has been abandoned for decades – can only be understood for reasons such as the filming of a TV series or, more simply, someone “wanting to troll”. “epic”.

Reply The most likely mystery was put forward by another tweeter, and it has little to do with his two hypotheses: The images may be the art of photographer Elena Kendalla-Aranda’s artistic initiative called ‘Ghost Town Initiative-Los Despoblados’.

Click on the image to go to the tweet.

Click on the image to go to the tweet.

connect the dots. The photos that caught the attention of Bonet and thousands of other tweeters who followed her hilarious post about Matandrino were actually uploaded by Elena Kendalla-Aranda, who describes herself as a visual artist and photographer, on another website of the same name. Between New York and Madrid.

“His work focuses on the construction of identity in contemporary Western society – precisely as a way of presenting oneself. He creates hybrid photographs that lie somewhere between documented fact and fiction.” Among his exhibitions, he also mentions the ‘Ghost Town Initiative’, which dates back to 2018.

“Ghost Residents”. At the Digital Artist Residency, a text signed by Kendall-Aranda herself, which finally clarifies the mystery of Matandrino, provides some clues about the Ghost Town. “There are over 2,800 towns in Spain that are classified as abandoned. These ruined cities are literally visual monuments to a moment that the rest of the world has long forgotten,” states the creator.

“During this residency, he will play with the Street View features of Google Maps and create an online space where Internet visitors can virtually wander among the ghostly inhabitants recreated in these towns, and in doing so will provide a new perspective on our collective past and present”.

Adding and maintaining cities. The most curious thing is that, despite everything, Matandrino does not seem to be a unique case. In the Digital Artist Residency, the artist gives three more examples; in fact, these are the only examples he lists without mentioning the Segovian village. In at least one of them, Tobes, Guadalajara, which has been abandoned since 1973, you can see images that seem to be taken from a surrealist dream.

Image | Idealist

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