Juanica Montanes
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 Lady Juanica Montanes | ||||||||||
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 Purpure, three coney's heads cabossed argent | ||||||||||
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Juanica Montanes has been playing in the SCA since 2004, and has lived in the Shire of Isles, the West, the Barony of Altavia, and the Barony of Dreiburgen. Her favorite thing to do in the SCA is to organize shenanigans, but she also likes singing, crafting of most kinds, and rapier.
In the Shire of Isles beginning in 2004, Juanica fought rapier as a member of the Crimson Skirts rapier unit and became a companion of the Isles Circle of Fence. She hosted and attended sewing nights, learning some basics of garb construction and helping others to make garb along with Theodosia of the Isles. She did not hold any offices in Isles, but did steward a handful of events and host a couple feasts, most notably the Backwards Feast.
Around 2006, the household Spanish Tigers developed and became the default group that Juanica would fight with besides the Crimson Skirts, particularly for Blood of Heroes.
In 2010, Juanica and her partner Geirr Eiriksson moved to the West for several years. During this time, she was not active in her local SCA groups, but did continue to participate in occasional Isles activities and in Potrero War. She moved back to Caid in 2012, and continues to participate as an Ex-Isles member rather than with her local group, hosting a lunch at an Isles Anniversary and attending some events and practices (particularly in Isles as well as Highland War and Potrero War). She joined the largesse guild on Facebook and continued to create garb and largesse for herself and others.
By 2016, Juanica moved to Altavia, where she began regular attendance at Altavian events and practices. She served as Arts and Sciences Officer in the Barony of Altavia from 2017-2019 and assisted with some events and classes. She also assisted the Baronage of Altavia with largesse presentations, arts and sciences competitions, bardic showcases, and various other elements of SCA life.
The year 2019 saw Juanica move back to Dreiburgen and retreat a bit from SCA life. She has been assisting Baroness Kungund Benehonig with various crafts, assisting with largesse, and so on through these pandemic years.
If you see Juanica at an event, she would love to talk about Viking and Byzantine garb (or sewing of any type), embroidery, weaving, all crafts known to God and Man, your favorite bardic presentations (songs and stories and so on), etc. She'd also love to sing with you. Please come and say hi!
Persona
Juanica is from the late 15th century in the north regions of Spain then called Montanez (hence her name). These areas are now called Cantabria.
When Juanica was in her late teens, she was assisting as a court lady to complete her education, while her father and brothers maintained the family estates. She returned home on a visit at Easter to find her family's holding in ruins, with no sign of bodies, nor of any note or burial.
Juanica gathered the personal effects she could and dismissed most of her servants. She took the wagon that had carried her belongings from court with her, filled it with whatever appeared saleable (or what she could turn to a saleable product with her crafts), and began to travel through Spain and later Europe looking for signs of her family and making a living as a roving trader.
She has been accompanied on this journey at various times by Tessa the Tipsy, Viktor of Isles, Vincente del Valle, and Raes de la Merre, among others, forming the party in the 1400s that is the Spanish Tigers.
Associates
- Geirr Eiriksson - Partner
- Raes de la Merre - Friend and Persona buddy
- Delphine de Montallieu and Amber MacRae - Partners in Hijinks
Offices & Positions
- Arts and Sciences Officer, Barony of Altavia, 2017 to 2019
