Luz Greco 2014: the inspiration of El Greco's work illuminates the Cathedral of Toledo on the IV centenary

The sixth edition of the Luz Greco audiovisual show, which coincides with the IV centenary of the death of the Cretan painter, It began last weekend, exceeding the expected expectations with respect to previous editions with a video mapping in a setting as complex as it is emblematic.: the Primate Cathedral of Toledo.

The city of Toledo has once again recreated a festival of light, sound and effects with the first visualizations of the Luz Greco show 2014, with a renewed videomapping compared to past editions and with a single enclave starring on the façade of its cathedral, in the year that commemorates the IV centenary of the death of El Greco (see in detail the past editions in Digital AV Magazine).

Precisely this year's edition will be the last that will follow this audiovisual format that the Toledo City Council started six years ago, in 2009, to prepare citizens and tourists for the events that would take place in 2014, coinciding with the centenary of the death of the Cretan painter, and that this council has decided to turn into a permanent spectacle at this time.

This is what the mayor of Toledo has pointed out, Emiliano García-Page, after highlighting the success of this light and sound show in recent years that “has caught on with citizens and visitors, since it was presented as a show to raise public opinion that in 2014 the Greco Year would be celebrated, and from now on it will be a fixed show because all the objectives have been met: “make Luz Greco a tourist and cultural attraction scene”.

Besides last weekend, the next 18 y 19 In July there will be six sessions of this show, from the 22:30 until the 1:30 of the morning, uninterruptedly. This year's project, sponsored again by Caja Rural Castilla-La Mancha with a contribution of 20.000 euros, and a total game of 106.951 euros has become an event that attracts thousands of visitors to the capital of La Mancha during the summer.

According to data provided by the Toledo City Council and its Municipal Tourism Board, in the first weekend of Luz Greco screenings 2014, specifically on Saturday 12 July, This city has recorded an average of 86% hotel occupancy, which means a 20% more regarding the same weekend of 2013, who registered a 64% of reserves.

Complexity and maximum luminosity

The complex and emblematic structure of the Primate Cathedral of Toledo is the protagonist of Luz Greco 2014, On whose façade a spectacular video mapping lasting about fifteen minutes is projected., co-directed by Óscar Testón and Manuel Horischnik, made by companies BNC Audiovisual Montages with the production of Ibercover, that recreates its construction process, with a special tribute to the Fat Bell with sound included, as well as figurative and organic movements and effects of this building, that are combined with canvases and elements present in the work of El Greco.

As Óscar Testón explained during rehearsals, “the projections in the cathedral awaken surprising forms that will not leave anyone indifferent and everything has worked better than imagined. We wanted to pay tribute to the Fat Bell and to do so we created a bell factory to show how it is built, and then see the process that was carried out to upload it, with the sound of bells.

An este video mapping, in which around twenty professionals have worked, There is also a dynamic game with the doors of the cathedral and the representation of organic shapes on the façade.

The technology used to achieve this is based on four projectors with a luminosity of 40.000 lumens each of the HDQ-2K40 model of the Belgian firm Barco, and three more 20.000 lumens, supplied by the company BCN Montajes Audiovisuales.

Although the façade of the Primate Cathedral of Toledo is the nerve center of this year, the work of the Cretan painter and his imagery takes center stage. One of the challenges of Óscar Testón's direction was to achieve an impeccable vertical projection in the tower, about ninety meters high, since it was not possible to make a perpendicular.

“We had to build two towers facing each other,” explains Testón.- to cover and 'stain' the largest possible surface of the cathedral façade, with a very complex and laborious process, since it is necessary to project from two different points of the Town Hall Square so as not to generate shadows that cloud the images and maintain the common thread of this creation and so that the public recognizes the history that is shown.".

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