It was in 2021 when I first saw Señor Luis (84) sitting on the porch of his house, doing his “cositas” (little things). He was my first next-door neighbor on Carrer de la Pau (Street of Peace) in the small Mallorcan village of Capdepera. In the years that followed, he became “mi vecino favorito,” as I like to call him—my favorite neighbor.
“Yo trabajaba en el campo, de sol a sol.” I was working in the fields, from sunrise until sunset—this is how Señor Luis Gonzales began his story. He went to the army and later to a clerical college in Andújar, near his hometown of Santaella in the Spanish province of Córdoba.
Every week, he was given one day to go home and visit his family. “And one afternoon, I saw this woman on the street. She was holding a pitcher of water on her head, another on her hip, and one more bucket of water in her right hand. I still didn’t know her at that time. I approached her and said, ‘Niña, if God allows me, we will share this strength that you have and live together our lives until the end.’” She told him he was wasting his time with her.
They were married for around 50 years, until her passing nine years ago. Not long after their marriage, they moved to Mallorca in search of a better life. They had a son and a daughter. Their son died of illness when he was only 27 years old. And although he has three grandchildren and a great-grandchild, he lives in solitude. He is who he is, he explained. He takes care of himself, shops, cooks, and cleans the house.
Señor Luis has stayed loyal to the memory of his wife to this very day. It is what drives him forward. He visits her grave twice a day, and all his art is inspired by her and the landscapes of Mallorca and Córdoba. He remembers the life they had together.
After his retirement and the passing of his beloved wife, Señor Luis felt a deep need to express himself, to create something, to leave something behind.
“This is when I started doing mis cositas (my little things)—trees, paintings, sculptures,” he said. He turned his house into a museum. From someone who had always worked in agriculture, an unexpected artist emerged.
Why did you retire or why are you still working?
Why did you retire?
Why are you still working?
After I retired and after the passing of my dear wife, I was sitting in front of my house. I was bored, and I just started doing my little things. It keeps me going in life.
Life expectancy 2023
.svg)
