José Enrique works founding bells following a long family tradition going back to 1630, in which year his foundry in Arcos de Condesa (Pontevedra province) was established.

In casting his bells he uses just three materials: clay, firewood and bronze.

His first step is to make wooden… templates for forming the bell moulds. He obtains their measurements with a gauge rod that measures in Galician arrobas, a former traditional unit in the region. These templates are fitted on a spindle acting as a lathe on which the dimensions of the intended bell’s diameter are marked, and finally they are cut with a saw.

To cast each bell José Enrique makes three moulds. The first is an inner mould called macho and has the shape of the inside of the bell. He then overlays a second clay mould with the bell’s shape and thickness, to which he adds a little wax, on which decoration is carved: figures, crosses, etc. This mould is used to make the third one, with fine layers of clay. This last mould acts as a negative. The decoration is printed into it by the wax on the previous mould. Once the three moulds are ready, he separates them and discards the middle one, placing the last mould over the first one. He carries the whole assembly to the furnace and buries it with 15-20cm layers of earth that are tamped down and reapplied until the mould is covered. The earth serves to secure the mould and also to make the bronze cool down slowly. The wood furnace he uses, which he made himself, has capacity to cast three tonnes of bronze. Finally he fills the mould with molten bronze and leaves it to set for two to five days depending on the bell’s size.

There are three types of bell: the esquilón, much taller than wide, which makes a fine sound close to but does not ring out very far; the campana achatada, broader and clearly audible from a distance, though less so by the bell-tower; and finally the campana entretallas, midway between the other two in all respects. This is the type of bell that José Enrique makes.

José Enrique used to work with his father, who retired recently. Now he works alone. He has made bells not just for customers in Spain but also for other countries such as Senegal, Mexico or Argentina.