Green area and sculpture inaugurated in Vélez-Málaga in memory of councillor killed by ETA

Vélez-Málaga town hall inaugurated the Miguel Ángel Blanco green boulevard on Camino Viejo de Málaga on Friday 20 February.

It is a landscaped area that pays tribute to the councillor who was assassinated by ETA in July 1997. Vélez-Málaga town hall described the new area as "a ‘place and symbol of memory, unity and defence of democratic values and freedom".

The town hall unanimously voted to name the road that runs from the Axarquía school to the Camino de Remanente roundabout after the murdered councillor in July 2023. The central feature is a concrete and bronze sculpture by Torre del Mar artist Paco Martín.

Mayor of Vélez, Jesús Lupiáñez, welcomed María del Mar Blanco, sister of the victim at the town hall, where he said that "today we are fulfilling a council agreement adopted unanimously years ago" and added that the new boulevard seeks to "bring the memory of Miguel Ángel Blanco and all the victims of terrorism closer to younger generations".

María del Mar Blanco, who is also president of the Miguel Ángel Blanco Foundation, described the tribute as "a moral decision and a clear stance on our recent history" and recalled that her brother "was the symbol of a society that said 'enough is enough'".

"In the face of terror, we always choose democracy; in the face of hatred, coexistence; and in the face of imposition, freedom," she said in her speech during the inauguration ceremony. She called for "memory, truth, justice and dignity" and warned that "we cannot normalise those who have never condemned terrorism or build stability at the expense of the memory of the victims".

The sister of the councillor murdered by the terrorist group ETA almost 29 years ago criticised the fact that there are still "more than 300 crimes without a court ruling" and "unworthy tributes" in the Basque Country and Navarra and insisted that "the dignity of the victims is not negotiable, memory is not forgotten and justice does not allow shortcuts".

Blanco went on to say, "This boulevard is a wall against oblivion, because it says loud and clear that Vélez-Málaga does not accept distortions of history," she concluded, convinced that in the future, new generations will recognise in her brother's name "the true victory of democracy over terror".

Lupiáñez described the space as "a place to walk, meet and breathe, where today we sow memory" and recalled how "the whole of Spain came to a standstill’ in July 1997, when millions of hands were raised in streets and squares to shout for dignity, not of hatred, but of serenity in the face of fanaticism". The hands are represented in the sculpture that presides over the boulevard, "green like hope and the life that continues".

Local sculptor Paco Martín described his work, a concrete monolith with Blanco's bust embedded in it: "I thought a lot about his family, his brothers, his parents and Mari Mar." He said his work is a "metaphor for what happened: a stone on top symbolises the rupture of society and the mirrors reflect the sky and the moon, which will connect with the sculpture."

The ceremony, hosted by local journalist Jesús Hurtado, concluded with classical pieces of music performed by the string trio Arsis and the municipal band, which provided a solemn finale to a tribute that the town hall described as a "civic duty to strengthen the community and reaffirm its commitment to memory, dignity and justice".