New Fuengirola memorial does not please all sides

Parque del Sol in Fuengirola stands on what used to be the site of a Spanish Civil War mass grave, in the old municipal cemetery. For years, different left-wing political groups, such as PSOE and Podemos, have been calling for a monument in tribute to the victims of Franco’s regime to be erected in the park. The Socialists brought this forward as a motion to the town council, but their proposal eventually turned into an agreement to create a “memorial monument for all victims of war, genocide and all forms of violent atrocity”.

This monument, named El Alma del Mundo (The Soul of the World), was designed by sculptor Tomás Castillo. It was unveiled last Friday by Ana Mula, mayor of Fuengirola, in a ceremony dedicated to the victims of Basque terrorist group ETA. One of those victims, Dori Arrabalí, read a manifesto from the Asociación de Victimas del Terrorismo (AVT), marking 27 years since the murder of Basque politician Miguel Ángel Blanco by ETA.

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During the ceremony, both the mayor and the councillor for culture, Rodrigo Romero, noted that there have been countless groups “who have suffered historically, and still suffer today, the dire consequences” of violent conflict, which is what prompted the town council to dedicate a monument to the memory of these victims.

It was with them in mind, they explained, that the monument in the Parque del Sol was erected. At the ceremony, specific reference was made to the victims of the Mauthausen concentration camp, to Kurds, Armenians, victims of the wars in Ukraine and in the Middle East, and to those killed in the Spanish Civil War.

“Fuengirola is an open, cosmopolitan and welcoming town. People of 135 different nationalities live here in complete harmony. Fuengiroleños are a magnificent example, rightly so, of coexistence between people of various countries, ethnicities and customs. Therefore, it was only fair to have a space where we declare, all together and with no divisions, that we are a tolerant town that rejects violence,” said Mula.

But this ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach has not left everyone satisfied. Despite the entire municipal government being invited to the unveiling, PSOEcouncillors did not attend, in a show of their disapproval.

Although Hacemos Fuengirola, a union of left-wing groups, was present, its spokesman, José Miguel López, acknowledged that he was not satisfied with the council’s decision, nor with the lack of information provided about the placement of the monument on the old site of a mass grave.

Still, he recognised that “in the end, it will be the people [of Fuengirola] who will give the monument its meaning, that is why we are here”.