Roofs, 2020
acrylic on canvas, 130 × 100 cm

“We reach Cádiz by train from Seville in the early evening. Kamila, Eva, Marlena, and I. It’s hot – 18 degrees centigrade. We look for a hotel among the narrow streets, charming and still empty at that hour of the day. On one street, in front of a restaurant a young woman in a red frilly dress and with a handkerchief in her hand dances flamenco. We’re not surprised because, after all, Cádiz is the birthplace of flamenco. A warm wind from the sea, music, and palm trees put us in a jolly mood.

We reach the hotel Senator Cádiz Spa near the centre of the old town. Inside, the hotel enchants us with its white and blue mosaics. We don’t think for long. We leave our luggage in our rooms and go up the stairs to the roof of the hotel, from where a beautiful view stretches forth onto the buildings in the old town, the bay, and the quay. Fishing boats move over the turquoise and dark blue waters that surround Cádiz on all sides. In the distance we see passenger ferries. This is where Christopher Columbus set out to discover the New World. The breeze is cooler now and it reminds us that evening is falling. On the streets of the oldest city in western Europe we can hear bustle, laughter, and music. The crowds of people in the many restaurants and tapas bars tell us of the night life of Cádiz.”

SEA EU Maritime Universities
in the Paintings of Aneta Oniszczuk-Jastrząbek, Gdańsk 2022