Walloon at Heart – Pure Joy!

Walloon at Heart – Pure Joy!

Constantino tells me, with great emotion, how he, his mother and his siblings came to Verviers.

Life was hard and precarious in a lush, mountainous landscape with poor soil – dust, dust and more dust. Northern Spain has a harsh climate. A couple struggled to make ends meet and raise their children as best they could. Constantino's parents were loving and attentive to their children's well-being. They and the local people were self-sufficient in food. However, no money came into the household. Providing for the family's needs was a struggle.

One day, Constantino's father hears that there is work available in Wallonia. He sets off alone, leaving his village, travelling through France and arriving in our Walloon region. The people of Wallonia welcome this courageous, hard-working father. He spares neither his energy nor his time. His aim is to bring his family to Wallonia, settle in and build a new life.

A year later, the family is reunited. Constantino tells me how loved, supported and encouraged he felt by the kind people of Wallonia. He loves our region and its people. Magnificent landscapes, kind and caring people, and… no dust. Good blood and good soil never lie!

Constantino never ceases to feel grateful to Wallonia and the Walloons. He loves and cherishes them. He does not know how to thank them other than by working hard, behaving in a manner worthy of this welcoming land, respecting the laws and rules of Wallonia, and integrating to the point of adopting one of our Walloon accents, along with our traditions, customs and practices.

Constantino does much more than that… he inspires us to dream. His pencils and brushes dance across the paper, and from their pas de deux, cat-like leaps and other delicate movements emerge watercolour paintings of Walloon houses, buildings, public spaces and landscapes. The history of our architecture and our Wallonia is captured in paint by a Walloon at heart – a man who became Belgian by choice, out of sheer joy. His work is a true record of Walloon life and its evolution over time.

And to top it all off, the paintings by this messenger of art are luminous, detailed and realistic. Filled with love for a land that is now his own, he wishes to give back to Wallonia some of what it has given him, his family and his children. His body of work is impressive.

It would be wonderful if these works could, in turn, find a place of honour in a protected setting where, upon seeing them, viewers' hearts would beat in unison with that of this extraordinary Walloon artist.

His email: cpr.messagerdart@gmail.com

His mobile and WhatsApp number: +32 497 48 72 70.

Victoria B. Lohay
Ambassador
Wallonia.be

The photographs published are those provided by Constantino.