Recently Dublin’s City Council did something unusual: he put an escort to a woman’s statue to prevent tourists from groking her breasts. Before the Irish session had even thought about raising the monument, dedicated to Molly Malone, to leave his generous bronze bust (discolored after years and years of touching) out of reach of the caresses of visitors.
Molly Malone’s is not a unique case. If you approach the Puerta del Sol, in the heart of Madrid, you can also verify how the celebrated statue of the bear and the Madroño that has decorated the square for almost 60 years has the innkeepers and a golden leg by the remaining sovereate of tourists and neighbors.
A two -colored bear. Few more emblematic places in Madrid than Puerta del Sol. And few more iconic points in the square (and the city in general) than the famous statue of the bear and the Madroño, a work by the sculptor Antonio Navarro that decorates the area since January 1967, although since then it has already changed several times of location. If today you approach to see it, it is likely, however, two details that are relatively recent.
To start it is likely to meet tourists queuing to take photos next to the Úrsido. If you look, you will also see that the animal is two colors. Most have a dark tone, but one of the legs and tail are somewhat clearer, almost golden. Actually both details are related. If the animal has “faded” it is largely because of the touch of visitors.
@koda_009 If you are in Madrid or visit the city, you cannot go without touching the sculpture of the bear and the madroño at the Puerta del Sol. The monument is one of the most important symbols of the capital and, according to the belief, in addition to bringing luck, touching it also guarantees to return to the city. #Elosoyelmadroño #Madrid #Spain #Puertadelsol #Europa #Sabiasque? #Sabiasque #comunidaddeMadrid #SPain #Paraati #SolMadrid
♬ Original sound – Koda
Is it a matter of good luck? The legend says that touching Malone’s breasts brings good luck, but … why do people gand up the tail and the bears of the door of the Sun? Basically for the same. A quick search in networks reveals that there are people who believe that reaching the tail will bring good luck and help him return to Madrid. Other versions ensure that what you have to touch the bear is actually the heel or that the objective changes according to the origin of the one who soves: if you are from Madrid you must go to the tail, if you are a visitor you have to touch the leg.
A matter of superstition, as is the case with the statue of Malone or other sobada sculptures, such as the Porcellino of Florence, which also has the polished snout based on the handle of tourists, or the testicles of the famous Toro of Wall Street. There are even more Rocambolesque legends, such as the one that argues that those women who deliver a flower, kiss and touch the penis of the statue of Victor Noir, in a cemetery in Paris, will enjoy love and sex.
THE KEY: IMITATION. Superstitions apart, the explanation of why people caresses sculptures is much simpler (and mundane). At least in the case of the Madrid bear. The key was given in 2023 Madrid_Secreto in Tiktok: people feel the impulse of playing statues and over time that ends up leaving a mark on the surface of the monuments that attracts the attention of more and more people.
Result: the habit grows and feeds up until it becomes tradition. The equation is completed with the best selfiethe desire to return on vacation with iconic photos and the amplifier effect of the networks.
@vanessaencinales Well I don’t reach but it’s my fourth time in Madrid 😂❤️ #FyP #Madrid #Vacations #SPain #Osomadrileño #Granvia #Puertadelsol
♬ You can count on me. Amaia Montero. LODVG – Video Covers
“Lo he he hes of Ticktok”. The million dollar question in the case of the Statue of Puerta del Sol is … who was the first to touch the sculpture? When did that derive in a tradition? And how has it expanded so fast? Recently Eldiario.es approached the square to talk to tourists and even a guide and discovered several things.
To begin with, the handle of the Úrsido seems to have started a few years ago, at least before the pandemic. The historian José Manuel Moreno in fact points out that “it is not a new fashion” and points out that there are other sculptures that are also a victim of the touch, such as the curious neighbor, located on the main street with Almudena. People touch their ass in search of the same thing: fortune.
Another of the conclusions that are taken when talking to people who approach the statue to touch it is that, although the habit of the handle perhaps comes from years ago, it has expanded basically thanks to social networks. “I’ve seen it on Tiktok,” acknowledge a young woman from Jaén. And the truth is that a quick search arrives to find a handful of videos in which people are seen playing the sculpture and talking about their supposed effects to return to Madrid or have luck.
Touch statues? That is the million dollar question. Is it okay to touch statues installed in public spaces, even to the point that your patina is affected? Should institutions avoid it? In the case of the Malone statue, the Dublinous authorities are clear, although it is true that in their case it influenced that tourists focus (with jokes included) on the bust of the figure.
“I don’t like it and I would put limits … wherever it can truly be a problem. But of course, it is difficult to define,” Moreno admits. In the specific case of Navarro’s sculpture, one of the factors that could have influenced the touching is the last reform of the environment, which banks added and displaced the monument.
Images | Teltok 1 y 2
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