Local artist Hugo Saliente creates Escuchadera, an architectural installation beside the River Cabriel, offering a new way to immerse oneself in the landscape and actively listen to the sounds of nature without electronic devices. The installation is the result of the first Reto Ibérico Artistic Residency, launched by Rewilding Spain and Acción Cultural Española (AC/E).
Visitors to the source of the River Cabriel, near the village of El Vallecillo (Teruel), in the heart of the Sierra de Albarracín, now have an extra reason to stop and explore: Escuchadera, an installation that offers a new way of experiencing the area’s soundscape, shaped by the river, its abundant riverside vegetation and the wildlife associated with the watercourse, particularly birdlife.
Escuchadera is a structure made entirely from locally sourced pine wood. Its design is inspired by the horn of a loudspeaker and draws on physical principles used in sound engineering. Without the need for electronic devices or artificial systems, the installation amplifies and focuses the natural sounds of its surroundings, inviting walkers exploring this part of the Cabriel Valley to pause and pay closer attention to the world around them.
The installation is the result of the work of young local artist Hugo Saliente, who was selected to take part in the first Reto Ibérico Artistic Residency. This initiative, launched by Rewilding Spain and Acción Cultural Española (AC/E), brought him to El Vallecillo, where he spent four weeks developing the installation. The project also involved the local council, the La Albarca Cultural Association, the Fine Arts degree programme at the University of Zaragoza, through its Teruel campus, and many residents of this village in the Sierra de Albarracín, some of whom even helped the artist assemble the structure.
An added atraction along the Reto Ibérico hiking trail
The meeting point between art and nature embodied by Escuchadera provides an additional attraction for visitors to this area, particularly those taking on the Reto Ibérico, a long-distance walking route recently established by Rewilding Spain and the Mountaineering Federation of Castilla-La Mancha to connect emblematic natural areas across the Iberian Highlands.
The installation is located along the section linking El Vallecillo and Zafrilla, and is easily accessible from the River Cabriel Riverside Trail. This location makes it possible both to capture the sounds of the surrounding environment and to observe the river. The ever-changing dynamics of the landscape, together with the way the wood itself changes over time, ensure that every listening experience is unique and unrepeatable.
The structure was built without heavy machinery or cement, using locally sourced timber and with minimal disturbance to the ground. Indeed, as it is made entirely from biodegradable material, the installation has been designed to become part of the surrounding landscape over time.
“I would like anyone who makes their way to Escuchadera to have an immersive experience that is different from the usual walk in the countryside. We generally pay less attention to what we hear than to what we see, and my intention is to offer hikers a new way of understanding the landscape,” says Hugo Saliente.
The Reto Ibérico Artistic Residency programme, led by Rewilding Spain, aims to foster dialogue between art, nature and local communities, encouraging new ways of interpreting and experiencing the landscape. Further calls for applications are planned in other municipalities along the Reto Ibérico route.
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