La Baixà (The Bringing Down) unites us

Artwork: La Baixà (The Bringing Down) unites us

Artist: Pilar Rodríguez (Pilixip)

Location: Mayor street

Date: 2021

The Bringing Down of the Christ of Necessity in Aldaia is a festive religious event that takes place on the 5th of August, as part of the patron saint’s festivities. The Bringing Down is the transfer of the image of the Holy Christ of the Needy(Santísimo Cristo de los Necesitados), at eleven o’clock at night, on the eve of the festival, from the parish church of Salvador and the Outing (La Saleta), along the Main Street (Calle Mayor) to the Church of the Annunciation, accompanied by members of the local Via Crucis Association and other groups and people who parade while setting off fireworks held in pincers before the image. The route of Christ of the Needy to the church of the Annunciation is a voluptuous spectacle of fire and light from fireworks that illuminate the night.

Hundreds of fireworks are launched along the way from the wooden pincers carried by the “coeters” members of the pyrotechnic association Corretraca in a processional symbiosis of gunpowder, fire and light that epitomises the pyrotechnic tradition so characteristic of the Valencian people.

In 2021, the town council organised an extensive programme to commemorate this event under the title “A Town’s 5th of August (1921-2021): La Baixà Unites Us”. The work by Pilar Rodríguez is part of this commemoration.

The work stems from the original idea of representing the different groups of people who participate in La Baixà of the Holy Christ. The first part of the intervention was ephemeral and lasted approximately three months. The first layer of the mural was a photographic background with the photos that are kept in the bibliographic collection of the Aldaia Town Hall.

The photographic base was a printed paper glued to the wall. On this canvas, a series of figures were drawn representing the different groups that participate in the Bajó, such as the Christ  Bearers, the members of the local Via Crucis Association and the Corretraca Association, as well as the general public.

Subsequently, the background was painted, leaving the inside of the figures aside so that the figures could be seen as part of the photographic background. The mural is completed with the representation of fire with coloured triangles made with the collage technique. Three months later, when the photographic paper began to come loose from the wall due to the inclement weather, the mural was repeated, this time using mural paint.