La Font Antiga

Introduction

La Font Antiga project documents Crevillente’s historical hydraulic system, which was inherited from the Andalusian period. It focuses on the qanawaat, which are underground aqueducts that carried water from mountain springs to the town center and its orchards for centuries. However, in the 1970s, the extraction of water from the northern part of the aquifer drastically reduced the availability of this resource. This caused the gradual deterioration and abandonment of galleries, irrigation ditches, aqueducts, and mills. This transformation affected not only the landscape and ecosystem but also the collective memory of the community that depended on these infrastructures. Through field recordings, sound maps, acoustic analysis, and interviews, the project reconstructs and contextualizes the evolution, disappearance, and social impact of this historical infrastructure. The project addresses how water, its management, and its sounds constitute a tangible and intangible heritage that connects memory, territory, and community.

The residency took place from October to November 2025 as part of the Las Cigarreras Creative Residencies program in Alicante and lasted four weeks. The project involved collaboration with photographer Javier Suárez.