20/06/2008 Archived Article: "Obituary of Dña. Clementina Bautista Benito by Salvador de Molina"
I have been asked to write about the life of Clemen for the web page gaucín.com, a page always concerned with the happenings of our pueblo. And I do so with pleasure, not only for my friendship with Sylvia (the webmaster of gaucin.com) but because it would be unforgivable not to write a little panegyric of such an exemplary figure in our recent history.
She was born in the 1930.s, into a family connected with the hospitality industry, a hospitality inherited from her ancestor D. Pedro Real, owner of the Hostal Ingles, later known as the Hotel Nacional, a place habitually visited by the soldier and sailors of HM Queen Victoria, who were stationed in Gibraltar. D. Pedro´s daughter, Encarnación Real Moya, married to Domingo Bautista Moncada, inherited the hotel, and from her it passed into the hands of D. Domingo´s brother, José, married to Adelaida Benito. Clementina Bautista Benito, the daughter of José and Adelaida, was the last proprietor. During the last forty years Clementina was able to preserve the place, and at the same time, the ideal atmosphere bequeathed by her ancestor, the celebrated Pedro Real, until the energy and strength of both the place and the owner ran out and obliged her to shut down our emblematic hotel.
It was obligatory for “llanitos” (people from the Línea area), travellers, or out-of towers of some consequence, to stop at this fonda that was one of the most famous of the region, at the beginnings of the 20th century. When Gaucín was an important town, the center of business, administration and the judiciary of the region, the Hotel Nacional was the most important and well-known stop-over for officials and functionaries, etc.
In any case, the Hotel was an active legend, not only of our pueblo, but of our region, as is testified by the inscriptions in the famous guest book, one of the most interesting primary sources of Gaucín from the middle of the 19th century --- thanks, above all, to the vigilante of Clementina ---in which numerous visitors and travellers left their impressions of our town.
Sánchez Robles said, in the first issue of the Revista Ecos de la Serranía: “the Hotel Nacional is the living memory of those trips of the past century. . the present owner, a woman of firm character, direct descendant of the founders of the Hotel, has a pride in the history of the place...”
For this reason, the last service that our friend gave to her pueblo was to accept the small homage given to her in honor of the Hotel Nacional last January 13, 2008, organized by the Ayuntamiento de Gaucín, inspired by the Asociación Iniciativas Turísticas de Gaucín.
That day a plaque was nailed to the façade of the Hotel, for which I had the honor of composing the text, which evoked that which it was
Confluence of roads,
Heart full of dreams,
Living memory of Gaucín.
Today we can say the its owner, Clemen as she was known to everybody, has found her true Way. In that which has been nailed as a cross in our paths and trails, in those years in which–as can be seen in the picture “El Castillo de Gaucín”, by Jenaro Pérez Villaamil- one can observe a cross next to the precipice, at the feet of the painter, which perpetuates the memory of the deceased.
I, in these sad moments, would prefer to write in the book of Life, in parody of some of tose stanzas that ancient travellers left in the Guest Book, like this:
Dear Clemen,
Magnificent in the kitchen,
Tireless inn keeper,
Happy and welcoming.
Your name is written here.
And, stay quiet, you who knew how to listen to others, without disturbances. Although some outcries ring in your heart, forget these noises and don´t be distracted from your inner voice. Now that Spring has arrived for you, we know that where you are there will be no complaints, nor strange hotel guests, and you will walk without problems, or sadness, nor resentments or vainglory.
Clemen our friend, “stay in silence before your God”, as the psalmist sings.
Salvador Martín de Molina
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