Poet-Shepherd Awaits Snow Sculpture Return Amid Climate Worries

Arnau Orobitg, a poet and shepherd, is eagerly anticipating the return of the snow sculpture competition at Pas de la Casa this weekend after its absence highlighted concerns over climate change.

The event, which Orobitg describes as a "small gallery of monumental, ephemeral and sudden sculptures," combines cultural playfulness with high-quality works this year following a selective process. He encourages visitors to attend and view the results.

A regular participant, Orobitg last competed with his friend Mandarine, another shepherd and artisan. Their collaboration produced a winning centaur-inspired piece last time, blending hybrid figures from mythology. This year, they plan a similar full-body sculpture based on a maquette they submitted, which must be scaled to the symposium's cubic dimensions.

Orobitg embraces the sculptures' fleeting nature. "It's fantastic that they melt," he says, emphasising the process over the final product. Artists work against the clock until Sunday midday, aware of snow's treacherous quality—especially in sunlight—which allows creative freedoms without chasing perfection.

Though not his primary medium, the competition fits Orobitg's artistic path exploring transience. He is preparing to release *Herbari hermètic*, a hybrid herbarium intertwined with poetry that interprets plant characters. His verses carry deep sorrow for nature's destruction, extinction, uprooting and treatment as mere "living furniture."

This pain resonates locally in Andorra amid rampant urban development, which he says no one can deny, even the most aggressive builders. "Without nature, there is no poetry—there is no life," Orobitg states. Humans, he adds, remain part of nature despite artificial comforts and fabricated needs.

He closed the interview with a line from *Xant de Cabrota*: "Al bullent d’estols ofreno un llambreig encara en fosc."