Everywhere you turn in Sevilla, if you're a detail junky like I am, you'll come across the symbol "No8Do" on everything. It's on buildings...
...utility covers...
...construction-site signs...
and even public restrooms...
...basically everywhere you turn. But what does it mean?
From what I've figured out, it's the word "No" followed by a symbol that looks like an "8" but is actually a picture of some twisted up yarn, or in Spanish, "madeja", and then the sound "do". When you put it all together it sounds like "no me ha dejado", which basically means "you haven't abandoned me". The story seems to go that, during the 1200s, the king's brother tried to overthrow him but the people stayed true. They did not abandon him and, he in turn, will not abandon them. The No8Do is a reminder of this commitment.
My original thought when I learned what No8Do means was that it is along the lines of Montreal's "Je Me Souviens", the idea of which is basically that "I remember". In both cases, it's a reminder of our past, of who we are, and where we've come from. It gives us a foundation on which we can continue to build who we will become.
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