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The photos now on display in Avenida Juan Molina.
A tribute to the unsung heroes in the background

A tribute to the unsung heroes in the background

Two huge murals now recognise the work of women from the village's past

CRISTINA PINTO

Friday, 12 March 2021, 20:41

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Since last week, just about everybody in Villanueva del Rosario has paused as they walked down Avenida Juan Molina, to see part of the history of this village in Malaga province portrayed in the form of two murals, each measuring 10 metres wide by four metres high. Their reactions as they have looked at the photos have ranged from 'Oh look, there's my mother!" to "Could that be my great-great-grandmother?"

Where did these murals come from, and what is this all about? They are designed as a tribute to all the women of the past who worked so hard for the village and for themselves, forging out a future in this world which was treating them so unjustly.

This project is called 'Saucedeñas' (people from Villanueva del Rosario are known as 'saucedeños') and it has been organised by the RARA art residence, which is run by Verónica Ruth Frías y Cyro García, and the local council, thanks to the funds from the State Pact against Gender Violence.

It has been produced by artists Ana Becerra and Selector Marx in conjunction with someone who is very special to the people of this village.

That someone is a man who is always called upon for help when there is a desire to find something out about the history of Villanueva del Rosario. His name is Paco Álvarez Curiel and he has spent more than 30 of his 76 years collecting photos, archaeological items and just about anything relating to the history of this village.

"All the women deserve this tribute. Life was very hard for everyone, but especially so for them. Although it has taken so long, the time has come to recognise their work," he says.

Since 2012 he has been publishing a blog called 'Murre, tanrre, querre', featuring over 5,000 photos which are accompanied by stories of village life and people's work in the past.

These photos in the 'Saucedeñas' exhibition were taken in the 1960s, and specifically at the 'chapel-schools' which had been founded by Cardinal Ángel Herrera Oria. Paco Álvarez Curiel remembers it well: "Most of the women there were teachers, and one of them was Ana María Matute. I went to her house to do a report for the local TV station and she showed me several photos; two of them have been used for this project. You can see her with the women that she used to help and teach," he recalls.

History and street art

Ana Becerra (from Ronda) and Selector Marx (Madrid), who had been staying for a week in the artists' residence RARA, became involved in this project. They both work in photography and street art, in Spain and internationally, and they were very excited about the idea of this exhibition.

"We are both fanatics of traditions and the people who have so much to tell. In the moments in history they have had to live through, they have perhaps been more in the background than they should have been," says Marx.

"This project has linked several generations, not just the people in the photos. We wanted to give a voice to stories that have been forgotten with the passage of time," says Becerra.

This project has made a strong impact in the village, because although its content was already in people's memories, it is now clearly visible to everyone who passes by. Pupils at the Pintor José Hernández secondary school also paid tribute to these women from the village, to keep in mind the way previous generations used to live.

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