Our most famous painter, José Manuel Gómez, passed away in February. Let’s hope that his work does not fall in oblivion.
Where there is a will, there is a way. Let’s hope that Fuengirola’s council gives him the recognition he deserves. Let’s hope that the Department of Culture decides to keep some pieces of his vast and versatile work to put on a permanent exposition either at the Town Museum or at any other local venue. That does not really matter. What’s important is to promote culture, the real one. Editing a children’s book which narrates his life and displays his paintings in order for the kids in our town to get to know and enjoy the beauty of his legacy would also be a good idea. Another option would be to prepare a book object thought for an adult audieance, with a cloth binding, that gathers the life and work of this wonderful painter who has been, after Velázquez, the one who has best depicted the Spanish horse. Really, it is awesome for highprofile artists like Jennifer Lopez to come sing to Fuengirola with the amount of publicity that this entails but please, let’s not silence the work of an artist as great as José Manuel Gómez, the only painter to whose work the postal service has dedicated a stamp collection while being alive.
He deserves to be proclaimed Adoptive Son of Fuengirola, like he was back in the day, and so does the tragically deceased matador Antonio José Galán.
The painter José Manuel Gómez spent his whole life here after leaving his hometown, Fuente Obejuna (Córdoba). And he was in love with Fuengirola, the town he chose to live in, where he had his best friends, where his children were born and where he has unfortunately passed away without having even received a wreath by the city council. Not even the mayor, Ana Mula, has given her condolences to the widow. Let’s hope that they rectify on time and that the memory of this beloved painter does not fall in oblivion.