Querencia(n.): The place where one’s strength is drawn from; where one feels at home; the place where you are your most authentic self.
Querencia is a metaphysical concept in the Spanish language. The term comes from the Spanish verb “querer,” which means “to desire.” In bullfighting, a bull may stake out his querencia, a certain part of the bull ring where he feels strong and safe.
Querencia is truly a beautiful concept, and much like beauty, it can be fleeting.
There are many great references to Querencia throughout great literature.
“Our search for a querencia is both a response to threat and a desire to find out who we are. And the discovery of a querencia, I believe, hinges on the perfection of a sense of place.” – Lopez, Barry. The Rediscovery of North America. New York: Vintage Books, 1990.
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“a place on the ground where one feels secure, a place from which one’s strength of character is drawn—a place in which we know exactly who we are—the place from which we speak our deepest beliefs” (Lopez, 1992, p. 39).
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“A querencia is a place the bull naturally wants to go to in the ring, a preferred locality … It is a place which develops in the course of the fight where the bull makes his home. It does not usually show at once, but develops in his brain as the fight goes on. In this place he feels that he has his back against the wall and in his querencia he is inestimably more dangerous and almost impossible to kill.” Ernest Hemingway; Death in the Afternoon; 1932.
The Quest for Querencia is most often a journey; a path to find learn the feeling of querencia. Some people are blessed enough to find there querencia. It can be a place, a memory, a state of mind, the company we keep, or for the lucky few, true querencia can even be found in love.
While terms like querencia can often bring to mind meditation poses or zen gardens, it doesn’t need to be peace and calm. While it may bring those feelings, for many people, querencia can be found in the chaos of a family gathering or in the peace of a family melody.