Partners

Not long ago I was visiting a great exhibition of nativity scenes, all of them magnificent, beautiful scenery, wonderful figures, telling all this extraordinary story that seeing it forces us to reflect in some way.

And my reflection has led me to the most humble characters that were not missing in any of those precious works. Some essential characters from the largest to the smallest. Without them a nativity scene would be incomplete and although sometimes we do not even notice that they are, we would surely notice their absence.

I am logically referring to animals, from the big elephant to the tiniest snail, including camels, oxen and cows, sheep and goats, dogs, cats, pigeons, birds, mice, roosters, chickens and chicks, geese, horses and mules. They are all in some nativity scene, helping, announcing, snooping, working or lounging, each and every one of them occupies a place that nothing and nobody else could occupy.

Since time immemorial man has used animals. The history of the peoples would not have been written the same without them, they have been essential contributing their work in the fields, in communications, in hunting, in defense, and of course in human nutrition.

Little by little, social evolution has relegated many species to these functions and their association with men has evolved, some of them becoming companion animals that create a great emotional bond with those of us who live with them.

They wait for us, they accompany us, they give us all their affection and put their intelligence at our service to continue being useful, to continue being our companions when history is written.

To pay tribute to all of them, I am going to choose two representatives, who at some point have been controversial, the ox and the mule.

History tells us that they were the first to offer the Newborn what they had, warmth, protection and the straw of their manger.


With love and gratitude to:
Sam, Negus, Dyc, Volga, Nil, Taca, Piula, Esquitx, Ros, Nina, Fira, Lluna and Jack. Faithful and disinterested accomplices and friends.