Sorry, but no updates will be done on this site from now on. I decided to put all my efforts on the Swedish site. You'll find a translation tool on the right hand side, Translate this site / Traducir esta Página (powered by Google) or you can use the links below. You may have a good laugh since the translations sometimes mess it up, but I'm sure you will find a lot more to read this way:

• In English
• In Spanish

Sorry for any inconvience!

/Monica 2008-12-12

Osborne - the bull

The bull, which serves as "logo" on this site is called Osborne. He has nothing to do with bullfights as one may think, actually he is an advertising sign for Spanish brandy.

He was "born" in 1956 during an advertising campaign for the brandy Veterano. The owners of the bodega where Veterano is produced, the Osborne family, are devoted to bullfights and they employed Manuel Prieto, an artist who painted bulls to develop the symbol.

Soon he could be seen everywhere along the Spanish roads. From the beginning it was written Osborne - Sherry & Brandy on the sign, but due to an alteration in an Act in 1989 the written publicity was prohibited and only the silhouette of Osborne had a narrow escape. In 1995 the Spanish Government changed its opinion and now they thought that the bull could remain and furthermore that he could act as a symbol for Spain.

In the reality the bull is a huge. ugly, chunk of metal. He measures 11,5 x 5,4 meters (37.73 x 17.72 feet), and can for that reason be seen at a long distance on the Spanish roads. After a while you get used and think that he actually fits in well in the Spanish scenery.

Portugal has its own equivalence to Osborne. On the roads there you can se the "Sandeman man", an advertising sign for the port Sandeman.

The logo above is made from a photo I took when I followed in footsteps of Don Quijote in the flat country of La Mancha, south of Madrid. If you want to read more about that region, click here.

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Last revised: July 6, 2006